Mmr

[karanyavel]

DD has a family -- and personal -- history of MMR reactions when the vaccine is given to younger children (say, under 12 or so). The same reaction has occurred in myself, my brother, and both of my children. According to my mom (who had wild measles as a child), the reaction is equivalent to having the actual disease. It consists of:

High fever (also febrile seizures and delirium in DD)
Measles-type rash
Koplik's spots
Light sensitivity
Cough
Runny nose

Lasted about a week or so.

We *think* (but we're not sure) that the reaction has something to do with the large amount of American Indian blood we have. This is true for everyone who has had the reaction, but not for my mom... it's from my dad's side, and he had a life-threatening case of wild measles as a child. Of course, it's common knowledge that measles was one of the diseases that led to many, many deaths among American Indians when they were exposed to it.

MMRs given at a later date (post-puberty) don't seem to have a strong reaction in my family.

Here's the issue, though. We can bet that if we give DD the second MMR while she is still young, or we get it done on DS when he reaches the usual age, we'll be dealing with this big, nasty reaction. On the other hand, if we DON'T give the MMR and one of our kids somehow gets wild measles, it'll probably be much more severe and possibly life-threatening.

Current plan is to get it done but not until they are older (say, 12 or so), since the reaction is a lot less severe in the above-mentioned family members when the MMR was administrated at a later age.

Thoughts?

--K

[13Sandals]

there is another option entirely! The second MMR is not a booster of any kind, its the same exact shot as the first and is designed to catch the few who do not gain immunity from the first shot. Most states will accept titer levels as proof of immunity for school entry. Have your doc order a titer check....if your DD is already immune, you don't have to worry about the second shot, and theoretically, she should also be protected from the wild virus. The drawback of course, is that in some people, the vaccine only confers temporary immunity - but you can always get her titers checked again before college to see if she is at risk.

[karanyavel]

Thanks! That may get us out of DD's second shot entirely.

However, I'm now pregnant with DS-to-be, and have no idea if I should put him through the hell of getting the shot or the risk (however small) of a life-threatening case of measles.

On the other hand, once we move -- long before he will be due for the MMR -- we'll be living somewhere else, where we probably won't need to worry about wild diseases so much. Wonder if I could get a medical exemption (we homeschool but some states still require proof of vax) based on his family history.

So I guess what I'm wondering is whether I should put DS (currently in my tummy) through the MMR when he gets to the age they normally administer it, or take the risk of wild measles/mumps (not worried about rubella).

--K