How long to wait after being sick to get a vaccine?

[left210]

DS will be one year old this week. His 12 month shots are scheduled for June 18. He had pneumonia on 5-14 and then was in ICU on 5-29 to 5-31 for pneumonia and asthma. The doctors at the hospital said it was safe for him to get his vaccines on the 18th but it worries me with his little immune system being compromised recently. We are already delaying the MMR shot and are not getting it at 12 months. I do not want to argue the autism debate but I have a friend who has an autistic child and she recommended waiting 30 days free of sickness to get his shots but my pediatrician said it is unlikely that a child will be free of sickness/runny nose, etc for 30 days so if you use that criteria that it will never happen. Any advice or medical facts/links would be helpful.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I think you have to take all the information and make a decision that you are comfortable with. I try to have at least a month on non-illness. Of course that sometimes means that shots are delayed. I don't have a problem with that but some might. Good luck!

 

[cuppycake]

We wait 30 days in my house, as well. After an illness like that, you can bet that I would be sure he was well for a few weeks.

Keep in mind that we do fully vax our girls, but we don't get them "on schedule" because we don't give more than 2 at one time (and we delayed the MMR until 4 years old).

You can also do some searching on info on which vitamins are good to give for a few days before and after the shots to help his immune system.

Dr. Sears is a good place to start.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[ldymcbth]

I wait until we are 2 weeks out from any colds, etc., HOWEVER, given the severity of your little one's recent illness, I would wait a month if it were my child.

We fully vax, but on a delayed schedule (fewer vaxes at once) and we delay the MMR until 3.

 

[Cibahwewah]

There is no reason to deviate from the recommended schedule. As far as illness, a child can get vaccines as long as they are not "acutely" ill--such as high fever, dehydration, lethargy, etc. That being said---you should never get your medical advice from a forum! Talk to your pediatrician, and get your vaccine info from the authority on the matter: CDC.gov, they have the official VIS (vaccine information sheets).

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

There is no reason to deviate from the recommended schedule. As far as illness, a child can get vaccines as long as they are not "acutely" ill--such as high fever, dehydration, lethargy, etc. That being said---you should never get your medical advice from a forum! Talk to your pediatrician, and get your vaccine info from the authority on the matter: CDC.gov, they have the official VIS (vaccine information sheets).

Totally agree!

 

[cuppycake]

There is no reason to deviate from the recommended schedule. As far as illness, a child can get vaccines as long as they are not "acutely" ill--such as high fever, dehydration, lethargy, etc. That being said---you should never get your medical advice from a forum! Talk to your pediatrician, and get your vaccine info from the authority on the matter: CDC.gov, they have the official VIS (vaccine information sheets).

Talk to a 100 pediatricians and you'll get 100 different answers to many questions. I don't think it's unreasonable for her to ask the opinions of others on a question such as this.

As for not deviating from the recommended schedule, there are well-known, very amazing pediatricians who would argue that point. It really depends on what *you* are comfortable with. For some people, vaxing on schedule and "as they are told" works. For others (especially if you've been close to a child who has had a problem due to a vax), it's not the right choice.

Seems to me that it would be common sense (if you are a not necessarily on schedule kind of vaxer, especially) that you wouldn't want to give a vax to a person who had just been so sick. The vax is meant to illicit a response from your immune system and it doesn't really make sense to overload it.

As for a child "able to get a vax unless they are currently ill"...of COURSE that is true from the mouths of those who benefit. I've had peds admit to me that the reason why children get SO many shots at a time is that they are a captive audience.....many folks don't keep bringing their children regularly to a doctor after a couple of years, so they "get them in while they can"....and I've had friends whose peds have said the same thing. It benefits our country to have the majority of our children vaxed. Honestly, what does the CDC care if a few kids have a reaction/issues if it's for the greater good?

To me, it's not worth the risk....to others, there might not seem to even BE a risk. It's a very personal decision to be sure. But really, I don't think it's something that should be decided by getting the opinion of ONE doctor and the CDC....but that's just me.

Can you tell this is something close to my heart?

 

[left210]

Thank you for your replies. Yes I have talked to my pediatrician about it but as usual they do not agree with delaying shots for any reason other than if they currently have a fever. We were delaying the MMR anyway and it will still be delayed until at least 2 or 3 years old. I was pretty sure I was going to wait the 30 days from his last illness but wasnt sure if I was overreacting and wanted some reassurance and you all have helped me with that. Thanks so much.

 

[Kallista]

DS will be one year old this week. His 12 month shots are scheduled for June 18. He had pneumonia on 5-14 and then was in ICU on 5-29 to 5-31 for pneumonia and asthma. The doctors at the hospital said it was safe for him to get his vaccines on the 18th but it worries me with his little immune system being compromised recently. We are already delaying the MMR shot and are not getting it at 12 months. I do not want to argue the autism debate but I have a friend who has an autistic child and she recommended waiting 30 days free of sickness to get his shots but my pediatrician said it is unlikely that a child will be free of sickness/runny nose, etc for 30 days so if you use that criteria that it will never happen. Any advice or medical facts/links would be helpful.

If multiple doctors told you that getting the vaccine now is safe, I wouldn't take the advice of a friend without a medical degree over their advice. I wouldn't ask my plumber to fix my car, either.

If you need information, take a look at what the American Association of Pediatricians says: http://www.cispimmunize.org/

Please don't delay your child's MMR or other vaccines. These are important to protect your child's health.

The 12 month vaccines are: Hib, PCV, MMR, and chickenpox. Some places also give Hep A at this point.

Hib prevents the most common form of meningitis in children. Meningitis is a brain infection which can kill a child or cause brain damage.

PCV prevents bacterial infections which can lead to pneumonia and meningitis. Again, babies die of these diseases. Your baby just had pneumonia. Do you really want to put your child at risk for having that again?

If you want to avoid MMR, you might want to look into a separate vaccine for measles and for mumps. MMR prevents measles, mumps and rubella. Measles kills people. It also causes blindness because it causes the cornea to ulcerate. Mumps can cause infertilty, infection in other organs, pancreatitis (very, very painful) and very rarely encephalitis. Rubella is typically a mild disease.

Chickenpox is an annoyance as a child, but once you have the virus, it lies dormant in your body. You never get rid of it completely. When you get much older, your immune system weakens and the virus reappears and causes shingles. This causes a chicken-pox like rash, but is EXTREMELY painful. Many old people require narcotic pain killers to deal with the pain from shingles.

I know you don't want to talk about autism, but please read the data on vaccines and autism. I know you're worried about your child's health, but there have been repeated studies in multiple countries that show that vaccines don't cause autism or other health problems. Period. End of story.

People who continue to say that vaccines cause autism are endangering children because they encourage parents to avoid vaccinating their children and those children get sick with dangerous but preventable diseases.

 

[left210]

As I said in my original post, I am not going to debate autism or delaying shots for that matter. I know what the studies say, I have read them prior to giving my child any shots. I am not refusing vaccinations but am considering delaying my childs 12 month shots by 30 days (actually it is only 2 weeks later than his scheduled appointment) due to recent illness. I am delaying the MMR for at least a year and I understand the risks but I also feel it is what is best for us.

 

[Pennykay]

I think you are making the right decision. I hope your little one is feeling better.

 

[Kallista]

As I said in my original post, I am not going to debate autism or delaying shots for that matter. I know what the studies say, I have read them prior to giving my child any shots. I am not refusing vaccinations but am considering delaying my childs 12 month shots by 30 days (actually it is only 2 weeks later than his scheduled appointment) due to recent illness. I am delaying the MMR for at least a year and I understand the risks but I also feel it is what is best for us.

So... you didn't want information. You just wanted someone to agree with you.

I don't agree with you. You're putting your kid at risk for preventable infectious diseases, and also putting babies who are too young to be vaccinated at risk because of potential exposure to your infected, unvaccinated child.

Your doctors are telling you the same thing. You should listen to them.

 

[Pennykay]

You seriously think that she is putting children at risk because she is waiting two weeks to vaccinate? I think you you are over reacting a bit here.

 

[left210]

No it is not that I just wanted others to agree with me. I wanted to know if anyone had ever heard of waiting 30 days or not and from this board I found that others had heard the same thing - to wait if a child has been sick. As the previous poster indicated, I am not choosing to not vaccinate but rather wait a few weeks to do so. I would rather wait a few weeks than regret a decision later that I cannot change. I did not want to go into this debate and do not plan to do so. I do not think vaccines cause autism but do believe that they can contribute to it if they have a predisposition or genetic trait. I am appreciative to those of you who are supportive. I dont know why some people have to be so argumentative on things especially when it comes to protecting our children. We are all mothers and just want to protect our children.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Kallista-Our ped does not give the MMR at 12 months. So there you have it- not every ped gives the same advice.
The schedule from the CDC and AAP is reccomended but not required. Most peds nowadays seem to go on a more delayed schedule because the amount of shots at once is ridiculous.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

If multiple doctors told you that getting the vaccine now is safe, I wouldn't take the advice of a friend without a medical degree over their advice. I wouldn't ask my plumber to fix my car, either.

If you need information, take a look at what the American Association of Pediatricians says: http://www.cispimmunize.org/

Please don't delay your child's MMR or other vaccines. These are important to protect your child's health.

The 12 month vaccines are: Hib, PCV, MMR, and chickenpox. Some places also give Hep A at this point.

Hib prevents the most common form of meningitis in children. Meningitis is a brain infection which can kill a child or cause brain damage.

PCV prevents bacterial infections which can lead to pneumonia and meningitis. Again, babies die of these diseases. Your baby just had pneumonia. Do you really want to put your child at risk for having that again?

If you want to avoid MMR, you might want to look into a separate vaccine for measles and for mumps. MMR prevents measles, mumps and rubella. Measles kills people. It also causes blindness because it causes the cornea to ulcerate. Mumps can cause infertilty, infection in other organs, pancreatitis (very, very painful) and very rarely encephalitis. Rubella is typically a mild disease.

Merk is no longer making this vaccine separate. It is almost impossible to get it separate at this point. Many have been calling Merk to let them know that they want the option to separate this shot.
Chickenpox is an annoyance as a child, but once you have the virus, it lies dormant in your body. You never get rid of it completely. When you get much older, your immune system weakens and the virus reappears and causes shingles. This causes a chicken-pox like rash, but is EXTREMELY painful. Many old people require narcotic pain killers to deal with the pain from shingles.

You are aware that the chicken pox vaccine does not offer life long immunity right? You also know that now more and more young adults are getting shingles because they were vaccinated for chicken pox and did not realize that they had to have boosters every so many years to insure immunity right?
Even then it is no guarantee.
I know you don't want to talk about autism, but please read the data on vaccines and autism. I know you're worried about your child's health, but there have been repeated studies in multiple countries that show that vaccines don't cause autism or other health problems. Period. End of story.

I beg to differ. It is not as cut and dry as you seem to think it is. Look up Guillian Barre. (sp?) I am pro vaccine but don't kid yourself into thinking that any vaccine doesn't carry any risks. They all do. Every family has to weigh the pros and cons and decide what is best for their family. You have no idea what their genetics etc. are. To make such sweeping statements is just plain rude to those who make different choices than you based on the information that they themselves have researched and discussed with their doctors.
People who continue to say that vaccines cause autism are endangering children because they encourage parents to avoid vaccinating their children and those children get sick with dangerous but preventable diseases.

Nothing is black and white. They are many shades of gray in there.