My Mother had SEVERE reaction to H1N1!!!

[wdwfan16]

The Regular Flu shot is NOT the same as the H1N1 otherwise why all the hub bub about it then?

They are 2 different types of shots and yes they added different preservatives to the H1N1 and that is why she had this reaction. The ER docs and even her own Dr.'s were quite baffled by this and when the CDC contacted our office they were highly concerned because this was the first case that was so severe and my mother's office has given out hundreds of this H1N1 vaccine and she was the first severe reaction.

The batch may have been bad, but that is not a good thing either. They need to figure out what was in it that made her react that way.

She has been getting the regular flu shot for over 15 years now, if not longer so she will be able to have that shot again its this H1N1 that she can't have again.

This is very likely. That is why they keep tract of the batch when one gets a shot. In that office I would be looking at all the patients who got the vaccine from this batch and I would not give it out to others.

 

[lsyorke]

It is very possible that if she had not gotten the H1N1 and got next years season flu shot that she would have had the exact same allergic reaction. She did not have an allergic reaction to the H1N1 but to what is was made with. The H1N1 is made the same as all other flu shots. H1N1 is just a different stain of the season flu. I happens to be one that is causing deaths in the population who does not normally die. That is what makes this stain so different than the others in the seasonal flu.

Believe me, as a nurse of 26 years I understand the allergic reaction process. If she has taken the regular flu shot for 12 years, then the probability is that the h1n1 vaccine caused the problem.

I'm not bashing the h1n1, just pointing out that the risk is there and needs to be taken seriously.

 

[dis-happy]

OP, I hope your mom feels better soon. My mom had a bad (not severe, just bad) reaction to the shot they give for shingles and although I tried to get her to report it to her doctor she just shrugged it off. I wish there were better accounting for vaccine reactions.

Anyway, just to be clear, did your mom get the shot or the mist?

 

[Wonderlandmom]

I think some of the confusion is that Canadian H1N1 vaccine and some other countries are made differently. For instance, Canada's contains adjuvants, ours do not. When people goggle some of this stuff, they are often reading info out of Canada or elsewhere.

Here is a good link:
http://www.examiner.com/x-7160-Sacr...20-What-are-the-swine-flu-vaccine-ingredients

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the novel H1N1 influenza vaccine is made with the same ingredients, dose and manufacturing process as the seasonal influenza vaccine given to 100 million Americans each year.

I DO think that manufactures ingredients can vary somewhat though.

I hope your mom feels better! She may want to find out the manufacture and get a list of ingredients in her dose. Then they can pinpoint the allergy better.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

There are currently 4 manufacturers licensed to provide H1N1 vaccine in the US.

CSL
Novartis
MedImmune (mist only)
Sanofi

There are currently 6 manufacturers licensed to provide seasonal flu vaccine in the US.

CSL
Novartis
MedImmune (mist only)
Sanofi
GlaxoSmithKline
ID Biomedical Corp

It is entirely possible that your mother has always received flu vaccine from one manufacturer (most likely Sanofi as they have carried the bulk of the load in recent years) and her H1N1 vaccine may have come from another manufacturer. She needs to find out what manufacturer made her H1N1 vaccine for sure and I would try to avoid their seasonal flu product.

 

[justhat]

Not necessarily.. The allergic reaction could have been to something that was in the regular flu shot she received prior to this.. I was not allergic to sulfa drugs prior to the severe allergic reaction I had when it was prescribed for me again about a month or so later.. You can be non-allergic one day and allergic the next.. Doesn't mean there was some deadly, unusual ingredient in the H1N1 vaccine that wasn't also in the regular seasonal flu shot..

And for the nurses to all suddenly decide they aren't going to get this vaccine now because "one" person had an allergic reaction? That's not rational thinking at all..

I had the same experience with pseudoephedrine that you are describing with the sulfa drugs. Took drugs containing that for years for colds, sinus infections, etc. Then spontaneously, when I was 21yo, I had a reaction. Never dreamed it was from the Tylenol Sinus as I had taken that for years without issue. Next time it was a cough syrup and the reaction was BAD.

 

[justhat]

It is very possible that if she had not gotten the H1N1 and got next years season flu shot that she would have had the exact same allergic reaction. She did not have an allergic reaction to the H1N1 but to what is was made with. The H1N1 is made the same as all other flu shots. H1N1 is just a different stain of the season flu. I happens to be one that is causing deaths in the population who does not normally die. That is what makes this stain so different than the others in the seasonal flu.

Exactly! The reaction was not to the virus strain, but something in the vaccine, which is also in the seasonal flu vaccine.

 

[bumbershoot]

My mom had a bad (not severe, just bad) reaction to the shot they give for shingles and although I tried to get her to report it to her doctor she just shrugged it off. I wish there were better accounting for vaccine reactions.

So report it yourself! www.vaers.hhs.gov, or call 800-822-7967.



OP, I started googling to find the manufacturer's ingredient pages. Interestingly, CSL is an Australian company, and while I couldn't find the info on their site, I looked around for someone who had listed the ingredients.


Each 0.5mls contains

* Sub units of A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) v-like virus

* 15ug haemagglutinin

* 0.01%w/v Thiomersal [in the US = thimerosal]

* Sodium Chloride 4.1mg

* Sodium phosphate – dibasic anhydrous 0.3mg

* Sodium phosphate- monobasic 80ug

* Potassium chloride 20 ug

* Potassium phosphate – monobasic 20 ug

* Calcium chloride 1.5ug

* Taurodeoxycholate ≤ 5ug (Bile salt-related, anionic detergent) (can give red eyes, blurred vision etc)

* Ovalbumin ≤ 1.0ug

* Sucrose <10ug>

* Polymyxin B sulfate ≤0.11ng – check for allergies to this antibiotic

* Beta-propiolactone ≤1.4ng



So there's a sulfate in there, and this is the one based on egg protein (ovalbumin).


Novartis *says* they don't use egg, so the doctor shouldn't have been worried about egg allergies. But I found from the Novartis insert PDF that they use neomycin and polymyxin, both antibiotics, and polymyxin keeps being combined with that "B sulfate" ending....



I found this paragraph:

"There is much confusion regarding allergy to sulfa-containing drugs, sulfite as a preservative agent in foods and medications, sulfate salts of medications and the chemical element sulfur. Many of my patients assume that if they are allergic to one of these agents, then they are allergic to all of them. This is not necessarily true."


Now...I'm not interested in pulling out my organic chem books, but "not necessarily true" means that *sometimes* it could be true. So I'd think about that being a possibility, that the sulfa drug allergy has gone to the sulfate in the antibiotic (weird) used in the processes, or actually on the ingredient lists.



I gotta tell ya...searching for those ingredient lists was NOT easy! I've been amassing ingredient lists of vaccines for a couple years, and generally it's pretty easy. Seems that they're hiding them on their websites and even PDFs too...I don't like that. I'm not one to inject myself with bacteria and virii, whether dead, live, or attenuated, but I'm REALLY not into not knowing what ELSE is in the vial. And the difficulty in finding ingredient lists is really peeving me.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

Bumbershoot,

I really want to thank you for that information. I am going to let my mother take a look at all of that and talk to her Dr.

She really feels horrible today and its been 2 days so I am concerned but its just a wait and see now.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

Wow. That is scary.

My son got hives at night a few weeks ago. I jumped in the car and rushed to get benadryl. We wonder if it could be an allergy to tamiflu.

 

[Tiger926]

So sorry your mom had this reaction - I had serious reactions to the flu shot for years too. I had developed alllergies to eggs and Sulfa drugs, among other things. I've had allergies my whole life - they keep developing. One day at 14, a serious reaction to Amoxicillin. One day at 15, a serious reaction to dairy. One day at 19, a reaction to corn. One day at 30, a serious reaction to pencillin. You get the idea...

I had consumed all of these things many times in my life - one day fine, the next an allergy. So, this is totally possible that your mom could have developed a new allergy to something else in the vaccine. Chances are the Sulfa may have been the culprit - I swelled up, head to toe rash and serious breathing difficulties in which they had to give me meds at the hospital, etc. Conversely, some of my allergies have gone away, but at this point, I am allergic to most antibiotics, environmental stuff, food, etc. So, I know how frustrating it must be for your mom - I wish her a healthy recovery. Our Canadian H1N1 vaccine does not contain Sulfa, and there are several other ingredients that are different from your U.S. vaccine, so I wish you luck in finding out the culprit.

Best wishes to your mom, Tiger

 

[a1tinkfans]

OP: Best wishes to your mom, hope she feels better, what a shame she had that reaction!
Meanwhile, just today there was an article about the flu shot for elderly people that the GOAL was to cut down on deaths, but research concludes that it is not cutting it down, so the "Goal" is not even working.

Then on the news 2note, a local teen who got the h1n1 vaccine and had a neurological reaction which has made him unable to walk! It was awful..he is now using a walker and in therapy.....I just do not get it at all???
WHY are these stories out there??? Has it always been this way, but now we hear it more??? WHY are some getting these reactions??
Its scary.............
Once again, it is a personal decision that needs to be made based on your own history and doctor discussions....I hope we ALL stay healthy thru the season..

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Ingredients for each manufacture:
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm186102.htm

 

[Rora]

OP- I'm so sorry about your mother! I hope she gets well soon!!

This is just one of the many reasons why I do not get vaccinations, especially one that came out so quickly.

 

[C.Ann]

Then on the news 2note, a local teen who got the h1n1 vaccine and had a neurological reaction which has made him unable to walk! It was awful..he is now using a walker and in therapy.....I just do not get it at all???
WHY are these stories out there??? Has it always been this way, but now we hear it more??? WHY are some getting these reactions??
Its scary.............

I also saw something similar last week or so about a local girl who had a bad reaction to the Gardasil shot.. She's only a teen - and will have to take meds for the rest of her life..

Any vaccine carries risks and there are always those handful of scary stories we hear.. Each individual has to weigh the risks against the benefits.. That's all we can do..

 

[Tiger926]

Not just vaccines carry risks, but pretty much anything you put into your body: food, alcohol, drugs, etc. I was born with a liver disorder, and so if I take just 1 Tylenol I could be in serious trouble, yet my DH can take them like candy.

Many things are a risk to our bodies, but I find people are most scared of vaccines, yet so many ordinary things that people put into their bodies, or the chemicals that people use in their homes can cause the same or similar reactions. There have always been drug and vaccine reactions, but the media is just making mention of it more nowadays as it keeps them talking about the whole subject even longer. If you read the research, there have been reactions to the pandemic H1N1 shot around the world, but there have only been a very small number of reactions considering the millions upon millions of shots that have been dispensed. One reaction is too many, if it's you or a loved one, but considering the amount of vaccines that are dispensed, there have been less reactions to this vaccine then Tylenol and other over the counter medications. Check into the research on over the counter meds, and you'll see far greater reactions than the H1N1 vaccine or other vaccines.

Happy health to all, Tiger

 

[luvmy3]

OP did you see the other thread about the reactions in Canada?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2336371

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That seems ridiculously shortsighted and reactionary to me. I'm sure they have seen other people with allergic reactions before -- if someone came in with a reaction to strawberries, did they swear off strawberries?

They are health care professionals. They should be making better, more strategic decisions.

Have you considered that perhaps they know more, and have seen more, than you're giving them credit for?

 

[Normangirls]

Have you considered that perhaps they know more, and have seen more, than you're giving them credit for?

You are absolutely right -- they certainly see more, hear more, and are (or should be) better informed. But it seemed, in the context that OP made this statement, that they made the decision based on having seen one allergic reaction.

I am incredibly frustrated by the glut of information, some of it obviously biased, available on the internet. Between the fear-mongering, attention-getting reports by the media (SHAME on them) and the contradictory information from one internet article to another, who the heck knows what to trust anymore?

So, the crux of the issue with these nurses, is whether they are using their medical field knowledge and access to the best information out there (from the CDC, AMA, etc.) or just reacting to media stories that tell us there are reasons to fear these vaccines with no viable, credible information or studies with statistically significant findings to back it up.

For the record, I had DD13, DD9 and DD3 vaccinated a number of weeks ago, and I had the vaccine last week. We were all fine. So if people continue to want to make a decision based on anecdotal evidence, there's my vote to get the vaccine.

 

[wdwfan16]

OP did you see the other thread about the reactions in Canada?

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2336371

Or the thread about the DISer who died from H1N1. I am sure here family wished she had the vaccine with all it short comings. She did have asthma, so that did make it worse.

I did not know here, not here that long, but I feel bad for her family.