According to researchers from University of California and San Diego State University, USA, giving your child acetaminophen after his MMR vaccination significantly increases his risk of being diagnosed with autism.
The parents of 163 children were surveyed, 83 of whom had autism. Use of acetaminophen after MMR was ‘significantly associated’ with autism in children aged five years or less, whereas use of ibuprofen was not.
They concluded, "This preliminary study found that acetaminophen use after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination was associated with autistic disorder."
A total of 40% of parents with autistic children say that their child was normal and then suffered developmental regression after being vaccinated. Some medical professionals contend that this is because of the current advice to give children fever reducers after they have had shots.
Why Fever is Good for Children
Fever is a beneficial immune system response to a challenge. Its purpose is to prevent bacteria and toxins from spreading and to increase white blood cells that kill viruses and bacteria. According to BMC Pediatrics, a fever increases the production of interferon and its anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. It is also known that when baby animals have a virus, they have an increased survival rate if they also have a fever.
When fever reducing medications are given, they reduce the body’s ability to mount antibodies and kill viruses and bacteria, the opposite of what should be done when a person is ill.
So when a person is exposed to a virus, either through illness or vaccination, and is then given a fever reducer, the body has a harder time defending itself. Its natural immune response to infection has been suppressed. This can mean the illness lasts longer than if it hadn’t been treated, or that the person is more susceptible to further infections. Rarely, it can result in serious complications.
A study in India in the 1980s found that measles had increased complication rates and an increased death rate if the child had been treated with fever reducers.
Could children experiencing regression and autism after MMR be suffering from measles like encephalitis resulting from suppression of the immune system with acetaminophen?
Fever Improved Children’s Autism
Pediatrics reported that autistic children who experienced fever showed an improvement in their symptoms during the fever and for a week afterwards. Doctors think this is because it influenced the production of immune signalling proteins in the brain. The immune system of the child improves so the autistic symptoms decrease.
Although researchers at the Baltimore's Kennedy Krieger Institute think this is a new discovery, the relationship between fever and recovery from illness has been known for thousands of years. Hippocrates, the doctor and philosopher from ancient Greece, used to warm up his patients in an attempt to cure them of illnesses and he did that because it worked.
Acetaminophen Depletes Immune Cells
After acetaminophen is ingested, it depletes glutathione, a natural immune substance in the body that acts as an antioxidant, immune system booster and a detoxifier, which could potentially make it difficult for a child to detoxify after illness, vaccination or other medications. A patient information leaflet for an acetaminophen product says:
‘This metabolite is rapidly conjugated with reduced glutathione and excreted as cysteine and mercapturic acid conjugates. When large amounts of paracetamol are taken, hepatic glutathione may become depleted.’
Could this make drug side-effects and autoimmune disorders more likely?
What to Do if Your Child Has a Fever
- Remove all clothes except underwear or diaper to help keep the child comfortable and ease pain. Only use a blanket if the child says they are cold.
- Make sure he stays in bed and rests.
- Make sure he drinks plenty of water, or breast milk if you are nursing him.
- If your baby is less than three months old, is crying continuously, is drowsy or hard to wake, or has just had surgery, seek medical advice.
- If your child has other symptoms, such as stiff neck, purple rash, aversion to light or difficulty breathing, call the emergency services as they are signs of serious illness.
Sources:
- Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder, Autism May 2008 vol. 12 no. 3 293-307.
- The adverse effects of antipyretics in measles, Indian Pediatr. 1981 Jan;18(1):49-52.
- Why we get Fevers, Discover Magazine, March 25, 2007.
- Is fever suppression involved in the etiology of autism and neurodevelopmental disorders? BMC Pediatr. 2003; 3: 9
- Fever in Children, Dr. Stuart Crisp, Consultant Pediatrician. Net Doctor. Accessed 31 October 2011.
- Fever Improves Autistic Symptoms, WebMD. Accessed 31 October 2011.
- Medicines Information Online, McNeil Healthcare Patient Information Leaflet, accessed 31 October 2011.
- Glutathione: New Supplement on the Block, Medicine Net. Accessed 31 October 2011.
Joanna Karpasea-Jones - I have been a health writer since 1997 when I published my own newsletter, SHOTS. I have written 2 books on childhood health, and write ...
