Helena

When I was born in the 1970s the UK had a policy of not giving premature babies the MMR vaccine. I'm not entirely sure why, but my mum thinks it was something to do with not ‘putting extra strain’ on babies who had had such a poorly start to life. I was about ten years old when I caught Measles. I don’t remember much, apart from my stomach being covered in a huge red rash. Apparently, I was very ill and had the worst case that my doctor had seen in thirty years. I largely recovered, although I discovered in my thirties that I have low-range hearing loss which could be attributed to the measles virus. I was also recently quite concerned to learn that studies show measles can ‘wipe’ your body’s immune memory to previously-encountered viruses. Looking back, I do remember being quite ill with various things (often tonsillitis) in the years following my infection. I am now Mum to a fifteen-year-old and have made sure she received all vaccines available to her. I want her immune system to be as prepared as it can be when she encounters viruses and bugs in her day-to-day life. I also requested that I receive the MMR vaccines myself, which I finally received about 35 years too late!