# Stupid ignorant pigheaded parents who refuse vitamin K shots for their newborns. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 29, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297 "2014-07-29T03:09:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/41 "2014-08-01T17:50:01Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I don’t give a damn whether you respect me or not! If I were a parent I would be furious if a doctor gave my child treatment without my knowledge or consent. Not only would I not pay for such treatment, I would sue the doctor–and maybe even press assault charges. In any case, I would turn the matter over to my lawyer. Of course doctors shouldn’t do it. That was what my first post, that you agreed to, said. I don’t know what you’re arguing about. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/42 "2014-08-01T18:46:46Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Of course doctors shouldn’t do it. That was what my first post, that you agreed to, said. I don’t know what you’re arguing about. Well, if that’s what you’re saying, I am certainly not arguing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/43 "2014-08-01T19:11:03Z")
Well, SOMEBODY’S arguing about SOMETHING, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/44 "2014-08-01T19:22:14Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I don’t give a damn whether you respect me or not! If I were a parent I would be furious if a doctor gave my child treatment without my knowledge or consent. Not only would I not pay for such treatment, I would sue the doctor–and maybe even press assault charges. In any case, I would turn the matter over to my lawyer. you’re a fucking idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/45 "2014-08-01T20:54:24Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Well, SOMEBODY’S arguing about SOMETHING, dammit! No, this is abuse. Arguments are down the hall. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/46 "2014-08-01T21:41:25Z")
> [@simster](#): > > you’re a fucking idiot. Your appraisal is hardly the market quotation. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/47 "2014-08-01T22:32:24Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Your appraisal is hardly the market quotation. 😛 No, it’s pretty much the Blue Book value around here. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/48 "2014-08-02T01:46:37Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Your appraisal is hardly the market quotation. 😛 maybe, maybe not - but every single time you post on this message board - you prove that the appraisal is an honest and accurate one. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/49 "2014-08-02T04:27:47Z")
> [@simster](#): > > maybe, maybe not - but every single time you post on this message board - you prove that the appraisal is an honest and accurate one. And Brutus is an honorable man. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/50 "2014-08-02T05:32:40Z")
And the devil can quote Shakespeare. You about done stupidifying the thread? ---
**Author:** ![buddy431](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@buddy431](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddy431)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/51 "2014-08-02T07:05:11Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’m sure it’s still OMG! chemicals! I’ve never heard of a cry for a return to the oral polio vaccine (a vaccine which DID have unacceptably high risks, and the story of which is an example of how the AMA and FDA operate when a vaccine does have problems), and there is one vaccine (I think it’s HiB, but it might be rotavirus), that is oral, and I don’t see anti-vaxxers lining up for that particular one. The oral polio vaccine was what let polio nearly be eradicated from this planet. Yes, it did have a slight chance of infecting with someone with polio, and yes, in the U.S., at some point that did become higher than the chance of getting polio in other ways. But the oral vaccine is what allowed the world to be vaccinated on the scale it was, and continues to be used in high incidence areas. Sorry, what you wrote is probably true enough in the United States, but it really doesn’t represent the worldwide situation. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/52 "2014-08-02T09:54:57Z")
An interesting thing about the oral polio vaccine: It consists of an attenuated live virus and is contagious. Because of this, it’s more effective at inducing herd immunity. Obviously there are major ethical concerns with this type of thinking but when the disease was epidemic in the 50s and the 60s I suppose the ethical equation worked out differently (and still does today in some areas) than it would in a society where the disease is relatively rare. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/53 "2014-08-02T10:28:02Z")
I would feel better if the parents were consistent. No pain killers during the childbirth or when they go for a root canal. At least then I could believe their distrust of big Pharma. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/54 "2014-08-02T11:42:15Z")
> [@DingoelGringo](#): > > When I was born, in 1946, it says on my birth certificate, I was given silver iodide drops on my eyes to fight possible syphilis infection. A state mandated treatment. > Injecting a new born infant with anything is brutality. Same category ads slicing the little guys foreskin off. Wow, going for a hat trick - comparing pre-EBM medicine to modern medicine, appealing to fear of big government in medicine, and asinine blanket assertions with no backing. Lovely! Listen, you ass-monger, an injection is not some evil thing. You aren’t damaged permanently in any way simply from getting a needle in your arm. And in the case of vaccines and vitamin K, we’re giving infants protection from “natural” diseases and ailments. The barbaric thing would be to be able to do this, and not do it. Whatever’s going on in your sick, messed-up brain, keep it to yourself. > [@njtt](#): > > And did you get syphilis? No? Well then. Well, there’s _ **something** _ wrong with his brain… > [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Never miss an opportunity to make an ass of yourself, daddy-o. Good advice that you appear to follow consistently. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/55 "2014-08-02T15:01:04Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Wow, going for a hat trick - comparing pre-EBM medicine to modern medicine, appealing to fear of big government in medicine, and asinine blanket assertions with no backing. Lovely! > > Listen, you ass-monger, an injection is not some evil thing. You aren’t damaged permanently in any way simply from getting a needle in your arm. And in the case of vaccines and vitamin K, we’re giving infants protection from “natural” diseases and ailments. The barbaric thing would be to be able to do this, and not do it. Whatever’s going on in your sick, messed-up brain, keep it to yourself. > > Well, there’s _ **something** _ wrong with his brain… > > Good advice that you appear to follow consistently. Looks like this board has one comedian too many! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/56 "2014-08-02T15:14:44Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Looks like this board has one comedian too many! you’re not one of them. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/57 "2014-08-02T15:16:49Z")
> [@buddy431](#): > > The oral polio vaccine was what let polio nearly be eradicated from this planet. Yes, it did have a slight chance of infecting with someone with polio, and yes, in the U.S., at some point that did become higher than the chance of getting polio in other ways. But the oral vaccine is what allowed the world to be vaccinated on the scale it was, and continues to be used in high incidence areas. > > Sorry, what you wrote is probably true enough in the United States, but it really doesn’t represent the worldwide situation. Some countries have never used the Sabin (oral) vaccine, and only ever used the Salk (injection) vaccine, and also have no polio. Which hasn’t been eradicated from the planet. It’s still a problem in a lot of third world countries, which is why it’s still really important to vaccinate children for it here in the US, because people occasionally come in from overseas infected with it. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/58 "2014-08-02T15:47:37Z")
> [@simster](#): > > you’re not one of them. Well, I sure know non-comedians when I see them.😛 ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/59 "2014-08-02T17:31:53Z")
How is the average schmo supposed to discern the difference between fake science and the real thing? “Trust us, we’re scientists!” is unsurprisingly not compelling. If real scientists are so smart, why aren’t they better at convincing fools to make better choices? Look at Dr. Mercola and his ilk: they are clearly superior at marketing “ideas” to that segment of the population that lacks critical thinking skills. Get a better ad agency, science! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297/60 "2014-08-02T17:36:42Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > How is the average schmo supposed to discern the difference between fake science and the real thing? “Trust us, we’re scientists!” is unsurprisingly not compelling. > If real scientists are so smart, why aren’t they better at convincing fools to make better choices? Look at Dr. Mercola and his ilk: they are clearly superior at marketing “ideas” to that segment of the population that lacks critical thinking skills. Get a better ad agency, science! Do you seriously think that every single doctor in the hospital is a quack? if so, why did you go to that hospital to have your baby? Yes, I know there are some small towns with just one hospital, but seriously, we’re talking about people who were on board for a hospital birth, and presumably had pre-natal care with an OB. And then suddenly they question a vitamin injection? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ignorant-pigheaded-parents-who-refuse-vitamin-k-shots-for-their-newborns/694297.md?page=4)