Neutropenia & vaccines

[namistenicole]

Hi all,

My 18 mo old daughter was just diagnosed with neutropenia, we don't know if it's chronic or cyclical at this point. But the doctor is pressuring me to have her vaccinated - especially Hib, Prevnar and DTaP. He says that because they are dead viruses they pose no increased risk for adverse reaction, even though she has a neutrophil count of 150. That seems crazy to me. He says her risk of death by bacterial infection (like menengitis) far outweighs the risks of the vaccine.

Does anyone have a child with neutropenia?

Thank you
(please let me know if I should cross post this in health...)

[lolar2]

I had acute neutropenia for a while. They didn't let me eat raw vegetables or anything but I could eat cooked vegetables, because the germs would have been killed in cooking. So I'd think that killed vaccines would not have greater risks for a child with neutropenia than for a child without neutropenia; while obviously live vaccines would be riskier.

[namistenicole]

thanks lolar2. How does it feel having neutropenia? Are you chronically tired like with anemia? My daughter doesn't seem sick at all, so I'm wondering what's going on that I don't see (she doesn't talk a whole lot yet).

[Marnica]

While I am not farmiliar with this problem, I think what the doctor was telling you is that in his assumption that alll vaccines are "safe", that because the ones he is pushing for are dead, than as the PP said, there is no increased risk for contracting the disease for which you are vaccinating against like there is for a live virus vax. I don't think the "other" potential advrse reactions have anything to do with what he was referring to. Your child may be at an increased risk for complications should she contract a VPD, however this does not negate the potential side effects that she could experience either.

[2boyzmama]

I don't know much about neutropenia. Does it impact her body's ability to mount an immune response to an antigen?

My son has Primary Immune Deficiency, so it is highly likely that he would require more doses of each vaccine to mount an appropriate immune response. Because of that, and because of the high rate of autoimmune disorders in his genetic syndrome, we have chosen to decline vaccines. It was a very hard choice, though (still is, I revisit it constantly) because he also is at increased risk of severe illness from VPDs. It's kind of a "damned if you do/damned if you don't" sort of thing.

As I understand it...neutropenia puts her at increased risk of severe illness. The "dead" vaccines are not any more likely to cause adverse reaction for her. So, given just those two facts, it might make sense to vaccinate her. BUT, there's the other issue of immune response. If she won't mount a normal one anyway, then you have to factor that in.

Vaccinating special needs kids is always a really tough decision!!! *I* can say "oh, the flu is no big deal" but that just isn't true for my son and your daughter.