A Running Argument

The pediatrician's office called and indicated that the kids could get their H1N1 shots today (2nd for the babies, 1st for Lani). Yay! Or so I thought. I asked if these were the pediatric formulations. No, I was told, these contain thimerosal (ie, mercury). Although I don't know that thimerosal causes autism in most kids, I do know that a) mercury is a dangerous neurotoxin and b) nobody really knows whether or not some children are susceptible to small cumulative amounts of mercury. I think it's very possible and in fact animal studies have found it to be so.*

Obviously, this type of thing is probably rare but it still may be as common as 1 in 200 children. (Hidden genetic variations in metabolism are probably very common; think of Asians who have trouble metabolizing alcohol or people who have unusual reactions to common medications. Unless it's immediately life-threatening like phenylketonuria, it's likely to be difficult to detect.) But even if autism isn't an issue, mercury is a poison and why would we purposefully take it into our bodies? Maybe it causes ADD down the line, or MS when you're an adult (I'm just making random speculations here). Why chance it?

However, for Lani, I feel okay getting the shot with thimerosal. She is past the age of onset for autism and has never had any other thimerosal vaccines. No, I don't like having them shoot poison in her thigh, but it was worth the tiny risk given we know of 2 small children in our area who have died of H1N1, including a 20-mo twin girl.

With the twins, I was not so sure. Their brains are developing at a breakneck rate. Who knows what a neurotoxin like mercury might do? I really didn't know whether I would give them the 2nd dose (they had the 1st in the 2-dose series, but it was thimerosal free.

Anyway, we showed up for our appointment at 2:30. Much to my relief, they had pediatric doses for all three kids. Whew! This morning, Chris and I had had a heated "discussion" over whether mercury was an issue. (This is a running argument for us.) I'm glad we kept it civil ;-) since it was all for naught.

*There is currently an animal study on the contribution of calcium channel mutations to autism risk and mercury susceptibility which has found a link.

http://www.reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/213191.html  So far from mice studies they have found -- "One mouse currently being developed possesses a mutation within a specific calcium channel (Cav1.2) that has been found to cause Timothy Syndrome (TS). Children with TS have a 60% rate of an autism diagnosis with up to 80% of the children showing some signs of autism. Two additional mouse strains are currently being studied which possess a mutation within the type 1 or type 2 tyanodine receptor Ca2+ channel (RyR1 and RyR2 respectively). The PI has found that mice possessing mutations in RyR channels have heightened susceptibility to chemically-induced adverse reactions of the immune and nervous systems."