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Okay to vax with a minor cold?

post #1 of 19
6/21/10 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
LO is supposed to receive one vax tomorrow. He has a little cold, though. Nothing serious, his behavior is fine, but there's some congestion. Is it still okay to give the vax? I don't want to delay because we are going away and won't be back until the end of the summer -- I kind of want him to have the vax before we go away so he is protected while we travel. But I also don't want to risk some serious side effect of the vax because he has a cold.
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post #2 of 19
6/21/10 at 6:43pm
I wouldn't. But I also wouldn't be comfortable vaxing right before a trip.

If he gets sicker you won't know if it was the vax or whatever he has now.

-Angela
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post #3 of 19
6/21/10 at 6:53pm
My feeling would be, if the child has never had problems with vaccines before, and you feel comfortable, and it's not live viruses (MMR), then you're probably okay.

If it's a live vaccine, you still can vaccinate (I did once, because it was SO hard to get in with our doc). But some suggest that it's better not to. I think you need to weigh the benefits.

How long after the vaccines are you going to travel? I wouldn't vaccinate like, a day before a trip, especially not a really long one, even though we are now pretty much on schedule, simply because it would be hard to work out reactions and my kids often get sick on the plane.
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post #4 of 19
6/21/10 at 9:54pm
Thread Starter 
It's not a live vaccine, and we will be traveling a week after the shot. Too soon? I thought a week would be a good window, but I really don't know . . . I guess I don't feel comfortable either way.
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post #5 of 19
6/21/10 at 10:01pm
My personal reactions to tetanus containing vaccines lasted a week.

-Angela
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post #6 of 19
6/22/10 at 2:22am
You know, my kids never had any reactions at all, not even "soreness at the injection site". Neither did I. So if it were MY family, I would do it a week before. If your family is the same, and your child has already had vaccines without any reaction, you're probably good. It really depends on the kid.

There's no way I'd vaccinate a two-month-old with a cold right before travel, just because I wouldn't know that child yet. But my bigger babies? Certainly.
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post #7 of 19
6/22/10 at 2:23am
You do not know at the beginning, whether it is just a little cold or something worse. That is why it would be wise to wait.
For example if you have whooping cough it just starts with a "normal" cough and after two weeks you get this typical coughing....

It does not matter, if it is a live or not a live vaccination.

And I have to agree with EdnaMarie that before a trip I would feel very uncomfortable to have my kid vacinated


Best regards
Andi
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post #8 of 19
6/22/10 at 11:23am
Trip or no trip. I would not vax with any kind of illness, mild cold or otherwise.

Vaccines tax the immune system. Your LO's immune system is alreday fighting something off. Not a good idea at all IMO.
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post #9 of 19
6/22/10 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marnica View Post
Trip or no trip. I would not vax with any kind of illness, mild cold or otherwise.

Vaccines tax the immune system. Your LO's immune system is alreday fighting something off. Not a good idea at all IMO.
I agree with this...the risk of a reaction is more than the risk of catching the disease you are vaccinating for.
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post #10 of 19
6/22/10 at 3:25pm
I wouldn't do it.
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post #11 of 19
6/22/10 at 4:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marnica View Post
Trip or no trip. I would not vax with any kind of illness, mild cold or otherwise.

Vaccines tax the immune system. Your LO's immune system is alreday fighting something off. Not a good idea at all IMO.
I agree, 100%...course I don't vaccinate at all-one reason being I don't know where their immune system cycle is at any particular age/day. One day of more than average tiredness for my kids could indicate a virus coming on or it could indicate being active far more than usual or too much sun..or a diet that wasn't as healthy as they are used to....I would say not with a minor cold/ailment, and not before any trip where you could potentially be away from the PCP who encouraged/provided and administered the vax and needs to follow up with any issues as a result.
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post #12 of 19
6/22/10 at 7:41pm
You also need to keep in mind that since it's a live vaccine he'll be shedding for over a week. Is there anyone (on a plane or otherwise) that might be harmed by him?

As far as him being ill, I agree that I wouldn't vax with anything especially when sick. You won't know if he's getting sicker of having a reaction (or becoming ill with the vaccine stain of the disease since it's live and his immune system is already working overtime.
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post #13 of 19
6/22/10 at 10:02pm
I wouldn't. You could end up on an airplane with a sick child with "measles like symptoms."

Could you wait until you reach your destination?
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post #14 of 19
6/23/10 at 10:29am
Not that I'm changing my opinion....I still would not vax for anything while ill, but did I miss something?? I just re-read the thread and the OP said it was NOT a live virus vaccine so any shedding issues are non-exsistent
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post #15 of 19
6/23/10 at 10:32am
I'd ask your hcp and see what they say. Usually they don't want you to vax if they're sick or have very recently been sick (in my experience, anyway).
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post #16 of 19
6/23/10 at 10:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marnica View Post
Not that I'm changing my opinion....I still would not vax for anything while ill, but did I miss something?? I just re-read the thread and the OP said it was NOT a live virus vaccine so any shedding issues are non-exsistent
oops.

I still would not do it.
  • the child's immune system is taxed fighting an illness.
  • vaccination depresses the immune system.
  • traveling taxes the immune system.
  • using public transport.
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post #17 of 19
6/23/10 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marnica View Post
Not that I'm changing my opinion....I still would not vax for anything while ill, but did I miss something?? I just re-read the thread and the OP said it was NOT a live virus vaccine so any shedding issues are non-exsistent

oops - me too. The post below the OP 'it's not a live vaccine' post said MMR and I must have blurred the two...

It still wouldn't change my mind though. No vaxes when sick!
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post #18 of 19
6/23/10 at 6:16pm
if it is a minor cold AND you are breastfeed AND it's a vax he's gotten before without any reaction, then yes, I probably would do it.

Especially if the vax in question is one that would be important for the travel (like getting the polio vax before going somewhere where there still are cases).
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post #19 of 19
6/24/10 at 2:53pm
I wouldn't.

Back when my oldest was a baby (and we were vaxing) the conventional wisdom was to not vaccinate when they had a cold (or any type of illness).

Funny how that has changed

Plus, stressing the system right before traveling, which is also very stressful, would not be wise, imho.
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