Cleaning Tip-Mothballs, Vaccines and Autism

First, here is the cleaning tip for today.  Mothballs...weeeee! 

Mothball Alternative: A better idea than using mothballs is to take your leftover soap slivers and put them in a vented plastic bag. You place the bag with seasonal clothes before packing them away. Not only will the scent prevent them from moth harm but also they'll smell great when you pull them out. I especially like this for sweaters, which can be difficult to remove the odor of mothballs from. Using soap you simply have a clean smell rather than the smell of an attic.

Mothball Odors: This odor is a hard one to get rid of. Your first step is ventilation - air out larger items outside for a day or two; for clothes, fluff in the dryer with fabric softener sheets for a couple of hours. Odor removers such as Febreeze® may help. If an entire room or closet is affected, place trays of activated charcoal (available in pet supply stores) in the corners of the rooms to absorb the smell.

Second, Amanda left some information and challenged me to do more research on the link between autism and vaccines.  I am in the process of doing that.  I typed "autism vaccines" in the search bar and found this article, Do vaccines cause autism, which offers information and links from both sides of the argument.

Whether you have small children or grandchildren, I really suggest reading about this.  It is quite interesting.  Did you know that there is "mercury" in the MMR vaccine?  Which seems so strange since I was always under the impression that mercury was very dangerous to humans.  So that of course leads me to wonder whether anyone is trying to adjust the vaccine and see if it can be made without the mercury.  *Ahhh, I simply needed to read on.  It appears they did adjust the vaccine.

Read more of the article though, there are many differing opinions and a wide variety of links to check out.  This is something that pulls me in one direction one minute and then in another direction the next minute. 

There seems to be a lot of focus on the MMR shot, which is the vaccine to prevent Measles, Mumps & Rubella.  This is one of the stats I found on MMR "before the vaccine was given to children, there were about 400,000 measles cases reported each year in the United States but in 1999 there were only 100 cases reported." and "before measles vaccines were introduced, 1-2 children died out of every 1000 children who got measles."

However, on the other side of the argument I found the following information: "A small study in London in 1998 first raised the possibility that autism is linked to the MMR vaccine. While the study did not prove that MMR causes autism, it did increase the level of concern of many parents."

"The question whether MMR vaccine causes autism has also been raised because the number of cases of autism in the general population seems to be growing, and some parents have noticed the developmental problems occurring soon after their child receives the MMR vaccine. "

I think one thing we can all agree on is the fact that there needs to be more done to find out if there is a link between the vaccinations and autism.  Could it be because of the preservatives used?  Is it just because of genetics?  Or is it possible that the genetics of some children is more susceptible to the thimerasol or mercury that is used in vaccinations? 

However, I guess I can understand why some parents may fear having their child vaccinated.  I am wondering though if it is possible to ask for and receive seperate Measles, Mumps & Rubella vaccines, not combined in an MMR shot, and to get them fresh without the preservatives in them?  I am sure it would be a greater expense, but I am also sure that parents who are afraid to have their child vaccinated with the MMR would not mind paying more to receive the shots seperately and without the thimerasol in them.

It certainly is a rather large issue and one that I will quietly remove myself from.  I am just thankful that all of our children were able to receive their vaccines with no terrible life changing side effects.  And I'm sorry for those children and parents who have had their lives changed by the effects of Autism, whether it was because of genetics or medicine.  God bless you all.

And no Amanda, I'm not so "infuriated" anymore.  Thank you for suggesting that I read more about it.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.