Comments on: Adverse Vaccine Reaction

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:00:50 +0000

At four mos. my daughter recieved the Rotavirus vaccine. One day later she developed a fever of 101, the day after that the watery stools and the vomiting started. I took her back to the doctor, when I undressed her we noticed little dots on her belly forming. By that night she was covered head to toe in hives! I took her to the emergency room. I was told, and I quote, “I don’t know what I’m treating but I’m going to give her antibiotics anyway” by the doc on call! I do not agree with medicating unless absolutly necessary. I waited to see her regular doc before giving her the meds. The ped agreed and told me to hold off. She took a lot of blood tests to see what it could be, she still won’t admit it was the vaccine, but the results showed no signs of infection at the time of the blood work or prior, there was no change in environment or formula, and the only new vaccine that was given to her was the Rota. Process of elimination, my guess is the Rota vaccine, right!? My daughter, thankfully is doing wonderful and she is now almost 9 mos. My dilema now is because she had such a reaction to the Rota vaccine, should I try my chances with the H1N1? Both her Grandmothers work in the school and see her all the time, and are not getting the H1N1 vaccine due to their own meds. Any comments on what to do?

By: Mindy

Mindy — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:06:49 +0000

My daughter had her first rota vaccine last Wed night, at 10 weeks. Friday I noticed her spitting up, which she never does but I dismissed it as typical baby spit up. On Sat the liquid stools started and by Sunday she had both going on. Here we are on Tuesday night and it is still going on. The doc is pretty sure it’s from the vaccine. No fever but it is hard keeping her hydrated. She gets sick on formula and can only tolerate Pedialyte (and only sometimes) at this point. I have never had a child this sick before. I do vax my kids on schedule but after this reaction she will not be getting doses 2 and 3 of this vaccine. My son is 5 and they didn’t have this vaccine when he was small and he is a happy and healthy 5 year old.

By: Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:12:12 +0000

Sandy, I’m so sorry your granddaughter is that sick. Please trust your instincts and take her back to the emergency room or another doctor if she is truly lethargic. You and her parents know her best and if she is not herself and is not responsive then she needs help. At this point I think it’s irrelevant whether or not it’s the vaccine. Regardless of the cause you have to deal with the symptoms of the illness. Later on you and her parents can consider whether you want to report the potential adverse reaction. If you get a chance, please let me know how your granddaughter is doing. If she is breastfed then she should absolutely continue to receive breast milk — it’s the best thing for her. Of course the doctors might also recommend IV fluids or other things for her dehydration. Best wishes.

By: sandy v

sandy v — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:47:05 +0000

I just want to say that my 8 week old granddaughter has had the rota vaccine and 2 days later has a fever of 104 and is living on tylenol (doctors request) she has a fever still and it is now 6 days later she is getting dehydrated and lethargic , the wmergency room says they are concerned but sent her home . we are sitting here worried sick . is it the vaccine ?? I dont know but this is scary she is not vomiting but has severe severe diarrea. any one??

By: Vaccine Information from Dr. Bob Sears : Breastfeeding 1-2-3 - Breastfeeding Information, News and Support

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:16:48 +0000

[...] La Leche League conferences are great because children are welcome at the lectures. As I chased my 10-month-old around the back of the room (until she finally fell asleep in the sling as you can see above), I managed to take in a lot of valuable information from the lecture. Dr. Sears discussed the occurrence and severity of various childhood illnesses, how vaccinations have affected the prevalence of those illnesses, toxins in vaccines, delayed and alternative vaccination schedules, the debate about vaccines and autism, and how the “same” vaccines vary by manufacturer and brand. I like that he offers an opinion on particular vaccines but does not push vaccination or not vaccinating; it’s all about the parents making an informed decision. If you get an opportunity to hear him speak, it’s well worth it! He stayed long after the lecture ended to answer individual questions, and I took the opportunity to ask him some questions I had about my daughter’s potential reaction to the rotavirus vaccine. [...]

By: slee

slee — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:53:06 +0000

DD got the chix pox after the vaccination. I was very upset, but it was mild, thankfully. We always follow the schedule, although I an always worried and a little heartbroken over it. I am not anti-vaccine, just mistrustful thereof. We did get the hep b vaccine in the hosp for DS, but only bc I felt like I’d have to listen to them ask over & over like they did about my decision to not have DS’s penis surgically altered. I admit, I don’t like being pestered, so we settled on vaccine now instead of later and leaving his boy parts as god intended. No adverse reactions, thankfully.

By: Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:16:25 +0000

Thanks Amy! The doctor resisted, but I insisted She agreed to file the report.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:57:04 +0000

Don’t blame yourself for this. You couldn’t have prevented your daughter’s reaction with the information you had at the time, and there is no harm done to your daughter other than a brief illness (which she could have just as easily gotten from the real Rotavirus). A fever and diarrhea are known and accepted possible reactions to the vaccine, and unfortunately it just happened that your daughter was one of the few to get it. It doesn’t mean that the vaccine is a bad idea, since overall it ends up saving more kids from Rotavirus.

I do agree that your physician and his or her office should have been more on the ball and discussed whether or not you wanted the vaccine given the delay. I’m very sorry that your doctor resisted reporting to the VAERS. I hope that you do, anyway!

By: Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Sat, 02 May 2009 02:08:19 +0000

Thanks everyone! My daughter is feeling better now, thankfully, after two days of illness. She’s just a little cranky today but she has been able to keep some solid food down.

Jamie, yes I think it was waiting until 9 months to give the last dose that was the problem. Here’s some info I read at Baby Center:

“The U.S Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises against starting the vaccine series in babies over 12 weeks old. If your baby hasn’t gotten a first dose by then, talk to your doctor about whether it makes sense to try to catch up.

The vaccine isn’t recommended for babies once they turn 8 months old, because there’s not enough evidence to show how well it works in older babies and some evidence that they’re more likely to suffer adverse reactions, like fever.”

http://www.babycenter.com/0_the-rotavirus-vaccine_1494687.bc

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Hi- VERY sorry to hear that your LO is sick… I have a baby about one month younger. If you get a chance in between caring for your sick baby (HA!) could you clarify what you think caused the problem? Waiting til 9 months to give the final Rhotovirus vaccine? Do they commonly wait until the 9 month visit to administer? I am concerned that I might need to request my guy’s last dose this week since he is rapidly coming up on that 8 month mark.

Again, I am sorry to hear about your little one’s reaction, and also your doctor’s- that is a shame! I hope that she is feeling better soon.