Eczema, Asthma, and Delayed Vax

[lunabelly]

Hi all, 

Ds is about to turn five. He's had only the dtap and hib vaxes. Dh is very mainstream, and after going around and around I agreed to start ds on his other vaxes-- one per month-- until he has almost all of them except rota. 

Yesterday I took ds to a pediatric acupuncturist for the first time to treat his eczema. She said she'd never seen eczema so sever without accompanying asthma. She thinks he doesn't have asthma because we delayed his vaxes and because we eat local honey. 

Now I'm wondering if he's going to develop asthma (and worse eczema) if I continue to vax him-- or if he's old enough, and they're spaced far enough apart that his system can handle it now. 

Does anyone have any info or experience with this? I'm leaning toward skipping the other vaccinations, but I need to have a good case to present to dh. 

Thanks!

Tricia

[Taximom5]

There has been a lot of research lately--none publicized in the mainstream media--linking vaccines, particularly aluminum-containing ones (which is most of them) with all kinds of autoimmune disorders.

Asthma and eczema, as you know, are autoimmune disorders, as is celiac disease.  Interestingly, they all share the same chromosome markers. I think epilepsy--another autoimmune disorder--does as well.

Celiac and epilepsy are both strongly linked with autism.

Since vaccine reactions (such as seizure) can occur weeks after the initial vaccine, and unseen damage (such as celiac) can take months to years to surface, it seems to me that one vaccine a month, while better than multiple vaccines in one day, still won't allow you to really see which vaccines your child might be reacting to.

I'm sure plenty of people will post saying that vaccines are absolutely safe, and maybe for some people that may be true.

For me and my children, it wasn't.

If I could do it over again, the only vaccines I would consider would be polio, separated measles and mumps (except that they are no longer available), and diphtheria (except that, too, is not available as a single vaccine).

I also would not consider vaccinating a child with active eczema, as that is a pretty clear indication that something is already wrong with his immune system (healthy immune systems do not attack the skin without a trigger).  You need to find out what is triggering it. Was it a previous vaccine?  Gluten? Dairy? Fabric softener?

[lunabelly]

He is allergic to wheat and dairy, and we try not to let him eat too much, but lately his eczema has been much, much worse. I'm trying to clean up his diet to see if that helps, and the acupuncturist is sending us some herbs. 

It's good to know that a month isn't long enough to see a reaction. I know so many kids who have mysterious autoimmune diseases right now, too. I just don't think it's worth the risk. 

Thanks for your thoughts!

[skyblufig]

I completely agree with Taximom regarding waiting longer than a month between vaxes. We wait at least 3 to 4 months between them. (we have a very patient family practice doc)

Fwiw, none of our kids had any vaxes previously, but my youngest ds developed asthma anyway. We do have a crazy-strong family history of autoimmune disorders, but before this, no asthma. He was in & out of the hospital with moderate-to-severe attacks 4 times during 2011, and it was in the hospital that he first developed some nummular eczema. (it looks like coin-shaped flat patches of scaly skin)  Our doc did warn us to be on the lookout for the third leg of the "atopic triad": asthma, eczema, food allergies. So far we've been lucky with the food, in that he apparently doesn't have any particular food intolerances - the eczema usually shows up when he has an asthma attack right after he starts getting the meds for it - but we're vigilant anyway. And we started to very slowly vax all three kids.

All that being said, every kid & their immune system is different, so in your case I'd hold off on any more vaxes until the eczema was successfully addressed. Best of luck,

Jen

[Taximom5]

Originally Posted by lunabelly 

He is allergic to wheat and dairy, and we try not to let him eat too much, but lately his eczema has been much, much worse. I'm trying to clean up his diet to see if that helps...

Am I reading this incorrectly? It sounds like you're saying that he is allergic to wheat and dairy, but he does eat some wheat and dairy, just not "too much."