Kiwi mum opens up about being an anti-vaxer until her son contracted measles

Vaccinations can seem scary for some parents, but the reality of measles is even scarier.

That’s sadly what happened to Kiwi mum Ally Edward Lasenby unvaccinated son Cameron.

Ally admits she did not vaccinate her son after hearing about a "research" paper – which has since been retracted and completely debunked by the scientific community – that supposedly found link been between vaccinations and autism.

• READ MORE: Roald Dahl's heartbreaking letter to anti-vaxers goes viral amidst measles outbreak

Thankfully Cameron, who ended up in hospital, survived his brush with the potentially deadly measles virus.

"I believe that it’s important to immunise," Ally told Laura, Sam and Toni, "we wouldn’t be in that position [if we had].

"I played Russian roulette with my son’s health, which I’m not proud of," she added.

"What we went through, I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody."

Dr Sash also talked with Laura, Sam and Toni about vaccinations and the recent measles outbreak happening in New Zealand and across the world.

She advised parents with young children on how they can protect their kids from measles, and when asked if there was "any weight" in the argument of anti-vaxers, she simply said: "no".

Watch below to hear Dr Sash explain the warning signs of measles and what you can do about it:

SIGNS OF MEASLES

The illness usually starts 10-12 days after you've been exposed.
If you have measles, you will get:

• A fever.
• A runny nose.
• Sore and watery 'pink eyes'.
• Sometimes small white spots on the back inner cheek of your mouth.
• A rash that usually starts on the third to seventh day of the illness. This tends to start on the face, or behind the ears, before moving over the head and down the body. The rash lasts for up to a week.