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"Lead, mercury, and other neurotoxic chemicals have a profound effect on the developing brain at levels that were once thought to be safe," she said.
About 1 in 110 children in the United States has autism, a group of developmental disorders that lead to impairments in behavior, communication and socialization. The cost of autism is staggering: $3.2 million for the care of a person with autism throughout his or her life; behavioral therapy can be hard to come by and be very limited, and most medications don't help much.
Studies have strongly suggested a genetic component in the cause of autism, but it's becoming clear that genetics alone isn't the whole story; there could be interactions between susceptibility genes and environmental chemicals.
It turns out, the new H1N1 vaccine (the one that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and even President Obama have been pushing so strongly) contains an ingredient that may have some parents worrying. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that has been phased out of childhood immunizations since 2001 due to concerns that the preservative MAY be linked to autism. But thimerosal (which is about half-mercury) will be found in most vials of the H1N1 vaccine. However, it may be possible to find doses that are thimerosal-free if you ask for single-dose shots. According to the CDC, "Single-dose syringes will be thimerosal-free, which will address concerns about this additive, especially regarding pediatric and pregnant vaccine recipients (inhaler sprayer vaccine products also will be thimerosal-free)."
Is thimerosal in vaccines safe? Yes. There is a large body of scientific evidence on the safety of thimerosal. Data from several studies show the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines do not cause harm, and are only associated with minor local injection site reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site.
Three U.S. health agencies (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)) have reviewed the published research on thimerosal and found it to be a safe product to use in vaccines. Three independent organizations [The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)] reviewed the published research and also found thimerosal to be a safe product to use in vaccines. The medical community supports the use of thimerosal in influenza vaccines to protect against potential bacterial contamination of multi-dose vials.
"Lead, mercury, and other neurotoxic chemicals have a profound effect on the developing brain at levels that were once thought to be safe," she said.
Originally posted by AQuestion
reply to post by TheUniverse
Dear TheUniverse,
We are not a disease, we are not a virus, we are not a syndrome, we are who we are and we don't need a cure. Would you cure the world of artists or engineers?
"Lead, mercury, and other neurotoxic chemicals have a profound effect on the developing brain at levels that were once thought to be safe," she said.
UPDATE: Since so many of you have asked, I wanted to clarify that this discussion does not relate to vaccines. The scientific evidence available has shown again and again that vaccines do not cause autism.
Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by AQuestion
If you suffer from autism, then you should know that it is a spectrum disorder ranging from Aspbergers to full blown autism that renders a person totally incapable of surviving in the regular world.
It isn't a choice. It isn't a disease, it is a disability. Just because you were fortunate enough to have a light case of it and can learn to function, does not make it treatable.
That is like saying: I have never had a foot amputated to diabetes so those people are faking.