Vaccines linked to blood diseaseThis is what passes for good news for the pro-vaccine crowd: Only SOME childhood immunizations can cause a serious blood disease. Isn't that reassuring? That disease is thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP. If blood starts shooting out your kid's nose in the days or weeks after a shot, there's a good chance he has it -- but the nose isn't the only place that might bleed. The condition is caused when the body's own immune system turns on itself and starts to attack -- and kill -- platelets. This in turn prevents blood from clotting -- and does it so well that you could start bleeding uncontrollably under the skin or even in the brain. Believe me, it's frightening and potentially deadly -- and the latest study confirms the MMR shot can trigger this harrowing disease in babies and toddlers. Since kids are supposed to get this shot twice, that's two tickets in the world's worst lottery. And I'll bet most parents have never even heard of this risk. The condition is rarer in older kids, but it's still a risk -- and researchers say it could be triggered by the hepatitis A jab in the 7-to-17 crowd and by the chickenpox and Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis) shots in kids between 11 and 17 years old. But wait... there's more! Last year, in an attempt to discredit the link between vaccines and autism, the Institute of Medicine actually admitted that immunizations can cause just about every disease and side effect you can think of. The Institute said there's "convincing evidence" that vaccines cause seizures, infection, body encephalitis, pneumonia, meningitis, hepatitis, and more. Ironically, they even admitted that vaccines can cause brain inflammation -- a condition we know has strong links to autism. (Read more here.) Still feel like letting your child or grandchild get poked? I didn't think so. Putting the shot on the spot, William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.