Hi,

First of all I am so thankful this discussion board is available. I have found my doctors not to be that great of help. Anyway I need some advice, my DD is scheduled for her 1 yr. app. they are suppose to give her the MMR vacination. She is severely allergic to eggs though. The Dr. said she'd be o.k, and that the benefits outweigh the risks of getting sick. Have any of you chose not to get your allergic child vaccinated, or when they did get the vacination did they experience a reaction? Please help!!!

On May 16, 2007

3 of my 4 kiddos are egg allergic, Jake is my most severe, he's had neck squeezing(anaphylaxis) from it. All of my kids have had their scheduled vaccines and they also get flu shots every winter. So if that helps, not one reaction ever from any of them. Good luck!

------------------ Chanda(mother of 4) Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma) Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma) Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig and EE) Savannah-1 (milk and egg)

On May 16, 2007

Ditto what Chanda said (but I only have one egg allergic babe). Melissa

On May 16, 2007

I'm probably in the minority, but my ds actually BECAME allergic to egg after having an ana reaction to a flu shot last year.

But would I still give him his shots, ESPECIALLY the MMR shots? Absolutely.

On May 16, 2007

My DD is egg allergic and had no reaction to her MMR. (at the time I was too clueless to know that I should even ask about it!). So no problem here!

On May 16, 2007

MMR shots for my egg alllergic little one--YES.

Flu shots for my egg allergic child - NO.

Allergist advice.

On May 17, 2007

The vaccine insert for the MMR actually advises AGAINST using the vaccine on anyone with an egg allergy. I would strongly advise against using this vaccine on any egg allergic child. The manufacturer does, also. This is one of the main medical contraindications for MMR vaccines. Don't do it!

On May 17, 2007

Dd was anaphylactic to egg at the time she was due for MMR and per the recommendations, she did not receive MMR. Recommendations were that egg allergy is not a contraindication, but anaphylaxis to egg is.

On May 17, 2007

This is taken from the Feb-Mar 2007 issue of Food Allergy News

[i]Egg Allergy Update by John M. James, M.D.

"Several vaccines have been associated with adverse effects in children with an egg allergy. In the past, adverse reactions to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine were thought to be related to egg allergy; but research studies have demonstrated that these reactions are most likely secondary to a vaccine component called gelatin, which is a protein contained in collagen, and not egg.

The MMR vaccine can be safely administered to patients with an egg allergy. The influenza vaccine is typically of most concern to those with egg allergy.

Influenza infection represents a major public health concern yearly to high-risk groups, including young children, people with asthma, and the elderly. Due to manufacturing processes, influenza vaccines, including the nasal vaccine, contain detectable amounts of egg protein.

Those with egg allergy, especially patients with a history of anaphylactic reactions to egg, are typically advised not to use the vaccine. Those who have asthma and who also have an egg allergy might be denied the vaccine because of the risk of adverse reaction.

Current evidence supports that, under the supervision of experienced physicians, (typically allergists), the influenza vaccine may be administered with relative safety to those who have an egg allergy and for those whom it is deemed necessary. A practical method of administering the influenza vaccine includes incremental dosing of the vaccine in this high-risk group has been published. Ask your doctor for more information. "[/i]

[This message has been edited by lilpig99 (edited May 17, 2007).]

On May 17, 2007

DS had his 1yr MMR within weeks of his egg allergy diagnosis. He had no problems but as a precaution we were asked to stay at the DR's for one hour so he could be monitored. He has had a few more vaccinations since then with no problem but the doctor does recommend he stay away from the flu shot.

He has no history of anaphylaxis to egg and low numbers though so your situation may be different.

On May 17, 2007

Well, as a mom who is delaying many vaccines for my son and skipping others, I would never even consider the flu shot. But if my child was ana. to eggs, I would not give the MMR, either. In the past that has been the recommendation, and I have read about so many cases of severe reactions. Check the VAERS database.

Always ask to read the insert that comes with the vaccine before allowing one to be given to your child, allergic or not.

On May 17, 2007

Our doc said absolutely NO Flu shots, but MMR was still questionable

On May 17, 2007

Well again, this is something that should be decided between you and your child's doctor(allergist). *Our allergist* decided it was best to get the flu vaccine then to end up seriously ill, and possibly dead, or in the hospital from the flu(since asthma plays a big roll with my kids as well). We weighed the pros and cons and I am glad we decided to to get them(have for each child since they were born)....No Flu, No reactions to the shot either...so win-win for us!!!! Good luck with your decision, I would never tell you what to do with your child, but I will share what I've done with *mine* when you ask. HUGS

------------------ Chanda(mother of 4) Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma) Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma) Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig and EE) Savannah-1 (milk and egg)

[This message has been edited by chanda4 (edited May 17, 2007).]

[This message has been edited by chanda4 (edited May 17, 2007).]

On May 17, 2007

My DD is 17 months old and egg allergic. She skin tested positive at 4 months but her CAP-RAST done at 9 months was negative. We are treating her as allergic and avoiding all egg. As far as the MMR - I decided to decline it at her 1 year well visit. ( You can space them out, don't have to get all of the vax's at one time) After checking with our allergist and getting her approval I will have DD receive the MMR next month at her 18 month appt. I plan on staying in the office for at least 1 hour to make sure no reaction occurs ( we also have epi and benadryl with us at all times for her dairy allergy) This is just our situation and not advice to you. Your child may have a higher egg sensitivity so definately check with your allergist (NOT just the pediatrician - sometimes they don't really know much about food allergies).

On another note we do NOT have DD get the flu shot. Won't until she completely outgrows egg.

Good luck [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

On May 17, 2007

DD had MMR but not the flu shot (per allergist advice). She had no reaction from the MMR shot.

On May 17, 2007

MY DS has PA only, but is completely nonvaccinated at 4 1/2 years old. He is by far the healtiest of my children. My older son was up to date on all vaccines until age 4, but he was sick constantly until he was over 2 years of age. He was antibiotics almost the first 2 years of his life for ear infections and also caught every viral thing going around. Both of my children were nursed for 2-3 years. Not telling you what to do... just sharing our experience.

Andrea

On May 17, 2007

Lilpig99, I saw that same article in the FAAN Newsletter. They don`t address MMR and people with a history of anaphylaxis to egg in that article at all. If my child were allergic to egg, but not anaphylactic I would probably give it.

On May 17, 2007

My DS (almost 3) is allergic to eggs. He has never had a flu shot - Dr. said absolutely not. When it was time for the MMR we had it done at the allergist's office. They skin pricked him w/ it, waited 15 minutes, pricked again waited again and then administered the shot and we waited at the office for about an hour. We had no problems at all.

On May 17, 2007

Quote:

Originally posted by Carefulmom: [b]Lilpig99, I saw that same article in the FAAN Newsletter. They don`t address MMR and people with a history of anaphylaxis to egg in that article at all. If my child were allergic to egg, but not anaphylactic I would probably give it.[/b]

Ya, I noticed they didn't address that. I would agree, if you're ana to eggs, probably not a good idea. We had not ever seen a reaction in my egg allergic son. He was tested as a 9 month old for FA's and came up class 4 for egg, and class 3 milk...(i think....embarassed to say i can't recall at the moment...) I know before he had the MMR we retested his blood and he was down to class 3 for egg. I opted to have him immunized at the ped's office, not the allergists, since the ped's office was attached to the hospital. We hung around for about an hour or two after the shot. He had no reaction whatsoever. I was pleased.

On May 17, 2007

Thanks for all of your responses. Many of you wondered if shes "ana" to eggs, well I'm not sure if the numbers tell if the reaction would truly be anaphalactic or not. My understanding is that you don't know what type of reaction it will be until there actually is a reaction (and every time it gets worse)all I know is that her numbers are pretty high. For now we are holding off, I will discuss this again with my Dr. and hubby in a few more months! Thanks.

On May 18, 2007

There is no rush for the MMR shot. Take your time and research and perhaps she will grow out of it by the time she is ready for school. There ARE exemptions... she doesn't need to have the shot (or any shot) for school. They are recommending two shots now but if she gets the first one after age 5 or so, a titer should be fine. The two shot rec is only because 10% of the kids don't "take" the first time, so they are revaccinating EVERYONE to cover the 10%. A titer makes much more sense and will be accepted by most schools as proof of immunity.

Hope this helps! There's never any rush to vaccinate.

On May 18, 2007

My dd had titres also. She got her first MMR at 12 months, because at that time she had never eaten egg, so she did not have a history of an ana reaction to egg. It is the history of an ana reaction that is the contraindication. When she was ready for kindergarten, she had titres done, and her measles titre was fine, but her rubella titre was low. Since she then had the history of the ana reaction to egg, she could not get the immunization. When she outgrew her egg allergy at age 9 and passed her challenge, she went back to the ped and got just a rubella shot, since her measles titre was fine. She also now gets flu shots now that she has passed her egg challenge, although we stayed for awhile after the first flu shot.

On May 20, 2007

my son has a history of anaphylaxis to egg. at age 1 1/2 Rast score for egg was about 57. he rec'd mmr with out problems, and at that time we didn't know about his egg allergy. At age 4, Rast was around 18 for egg and we went to the allergist to get the shot. the allergist did various skin pricks and intradermals to determine the correct dosages of MMR that were tolerable. He rec'd the complete MMR vaccine in 5 doses every 15 minutes. We waited in the office and had no reaction. He recently had the flu shot done the same way. He is now 6 and has a RAST score of 7 to egg white. If your allergist is willing to take the time to determine the point at which the vaccine is tolerable, I think it is worth getting the shots....been there and done that with the flu....not much fun for a child with asthma as well....

On May 20, 2007

That`s an interesting approach; however, it isn`t consistent with the current recommendations. It isn`t about the allergist taking the time; it is about following what is recommended. Just like I wouldn`t allow a test on my child to see how much peanut she could tolerate and then have it given to her five times, I would not have allowed my dd to have a shot that is contraindicated due to history of anaphylaxis. I`m glad it worked out for you. The insert does state it is contraindicated in those with a history of anaphylaxis to egg. If it were safe to give by divided doses, the insert would state that. Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics states, "Skin testing of egg allergic children with vaccine has not been predictive of which children will have an immediate hypersensitivity reaction." Also, the AAP states, "Persons are not at increased risk if they have egg allergies that are not anaphylactic, and they should be vaccinated in the usual manner." So most on this thread would not have a problem with MMR, but if your child has a history of anaphylaxis to egg it is a different situation.

I`m glad it worked out for you.

[This message has been edited by Carefulmom (edited May 20, 2007).]

On May 20, 2007

my son is anaphylaxic to egg, he has had a reaction to meragne pie and also to cake batter. His neck started squeezing immediently after dipping his finger into both(and tasting)....but contradictory to the insert(going off carefulmom's post) he has received the MMR and the flu shot with no problems. I am unsure if his brother and sister are anaphylaxic to egg, they tested postive, but they too have recieved both vaccine. But based on my oldest son's reaction history, he still had no problems with the flu shot. I decided(along with our allergist and ped) that the flu shot was important and posed little risk(for us only) my 3yr old had previously been in the hospital with RSV, so I don't mess around with flu. None of my kids have had it, thankfully and I believe it is because of the flu vaccine every winter.

I would never tell anyone to go ahead and do it, we all have to base our decisions on medical opinions, knowlege of our children and reaction history. But when you take all into consideration, you'll know what you need to do for your particular child, just like I did with all mine. Some may shake thier head at me, and I may diasagree with those that avoid these vaccines...but that's okay...to each their own, right??!!! HUGS [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

------------------ Chanda(mother of 4) Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma) Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma) Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig and EE) Savannah-1 (milk and egg)

[This message has been edited by chanda4 (edited May 20, 2007).]

On May 20, 2007

FWIW, DD is probably one of the most sensitive kids around w/r to her egg allergy (she react to traces on shared lines, and is aerosol sensitive) and has recieved MMR without any trouble whatsoever.

IF this vaccine contains egg at all (and there is some doubt as to whether it even does anymore, at least routinely) it is a small fraction of what flu vaccines do, so if your physician feels it is the right thing to do, it probably is.

More recent research suggests that MOST, if not all, of the severe reactions resulting from MMR vaccination are actually reactions to [i]gelatin.[/i] Not egg.

On May 21, 2007

Our allergist(on staff at Children's in Boston) says it is safe to have the MMR vaccine with egg allergy. he did do it in his office per the ped's request, but all was fine. We waited 2 hours to be sure she would be fine. We then did the follow up with the regular ped ofice(at my own request!). I had plenty of my own epi. All was fine. becca

On May 29, 2007

Here's something of interest that I found regarding egg allergies and vaccines....its a transcript from CNN. If you read about 1/2 thru it, there is a question asked to Dr. Hugh Sampson ( A LEADING RESEARCHER IN FOOD ALLERGIES):

GUPTA: OK, don't test this at home without talking to the doctor first. Another e-mail on egg allergy. Specifically Siobhan from Woodbridge, Virginia asks, "My son has a severe egg allergy. Can he get a flu shot?" A lot of people asking about flu shots now. Doctor, what is the relationship here?

SAMPSON: Right. The flu vaccine is actually grown in egg protein. So there is some residual egg protein in the vaccine. There is a difference from lot to lot. Some lots have very low levels.

Typically, you can go to your allergist and they will test a particular lot and see whether or not it can activate the allergic reaction. If there's very little egg it can be given, otherwise we can actually do a desensitization routine, so that even a highly egg allergic patient could still receive the flu vaccine.

Thought that this was interesting...

Here is the link to read more....

transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0510/22/hcsg.01.html