Ask any child who has received a vaccination or any parent who has watched their child get one and they will tell you, plain and simple -- shots hurt. However, compared to the risk of complications of illness or disease, the five seconds of pain that accompanies many immunizations is well worth it. On the other hand, what about the side effects of the immunizations themselves? What risks are involved? This controversy has prevented many parents from having their children immunized against such illnesses as polio, diphtheria, tetanus and varicella. Is this really the wise choice?

With the age of the Internet upon us, access to a wider variety of topics, concerns and issues can be gained with a click of a mouse. This is not always a positive aspect as too much of the wrong information can cause parents to make misinformed decisions. For example, there is a vast database of information on the complications of immunizations over the Web; some that support this theory and some that oppose it. According to Renee McLeod, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, Calif., the information regarding the risks of medical complications as a result of immunizations holds no real validity.

"The research that has been done, most of which is coming out of England, talks about immunizations causing complications such as autism -- specifically the relation between the MMR vaccine and autism -- is very poor research and was not well done," says McLeod. "There are no true studies out there, Internet or otherwise, that show or prove this information to be correct. Currently there is actually no relationship between vaccine and any kind of complications such as ADHD, autism or neurological disorders."

Parents are aware of this type of information that is available, but may not be aware of what merit -- or lack thereof -- it holds. "I have been reading about other complications, such as a possible link between mercury in vaccines and ADD or even autism," says Marni Roiniotis, a mother from Chicago, Ill. "I've come to the conclusion that perhaps the decision about vaccinating kids is not as simple as previously thought."

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