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Original poster

MMR did your child have bad reaction?

46 replies

countless · 17/12/2010 13:25

i don't want to kick off an anti MMR thread but genuinely wondering how widespread reactions are.

dd2 due for MMR on monday and after reading some threads i'm wondering if i should postpone till after xmas.

nurse at clinic only ever says 'give calpol' so no way of knowing how extreme a normal reaction may be. i've read that some reactions can occur days later. have many people found this to be true?

ds1 had large red swelling at site and dr said probably reaction to base serum and advised not to continue MMR boosters, that was 17yrs ago. so we didn't but i assume he has no immunity and wonder if he should try again before going off travelling. i'm sure i've heard the MMR composition has changed

dd1 had all vacc without problem. but dd2 seems to suffer more reactions. hardness around site on legs and unusually tired, inconsolable crying.generally not herself for max 48hrs.

so did your children have reactions and can you describe them please?

OP posts:
WowOoo · 17/12/2010 13:29

Both my sons were totally fine after MMR. No temperatures or anything.

Ds2 had that hardness where injection was, but that's all.

bubbleymummy · 17/12/2010 15:09

If you would rather wait until after christmas then do so. 13 months is just a guideline. It's usually offered anytime between 13-15 months.

Original poster
countless · 17/12/2010 18:33

dd is 16m and think it probably is a good idea to wait until after xmas.

but i am interested to know of the kind of reactions people have experienced

OP posts:
SantaClausImWorthIt · 17/12/2010 18:35

DS2 had what I considered to be a severe reaction - his entire body was covered in what looked like a port wine stain. It looked as if I had thrown him into a bath of boiling water!

I spoke with the doctors and the practice nurse about it several times, and they all said it was within the normal range.

I wasn't convinced and so he didn't have his booster until he was 14.

He suffered no reaction from that one whatsoever.

pozzled · 17/12/2010 18:37

DD didn't have any noticeable reaction.

mumtoted · 17/12/2010 18:50

I have read recently that giving Caplol isn't a good thing to do after vaccinations.

TondelayoSchwarzkopf · 17/12/2010 18:51

DS had no reaction

Original poster
countless · 17/12/2010 20:46

mumtoted- what's wrong with the calpol advice?

OP posts:
TheUnmentioned · 17/12/2010 20:48

Ds was 15 months when he had his, I personally would delay until after Xmas.

He didnt have any reactions apart from a red hard swollen injection site which I was told was normal. He didn't have the pneumo or whatever the other injection they get at the same time though (he had it later).

scouserabroad · 17/12/2010 20:49

DD1 had the MMR at the reccomended age (can't remember what it is now but she was my PFB & I did everything to the letter!) and had a slight temp & kept being sick. This happened again after her booster. It may have been a coincidence, we will never know.

DD2 had her first MMR jab at the age of 3.2, and had no reaction whatsoever.

dccarm · 07/01/2011 09:37

Nothing out of the ordinary for our two either. They might have been a bit grisly afterwards, but that could as easily have been an off day as attributable to the vaccine.

philmassive · 07/01/2011 09:38

Only reaction with both my ds's was runny poos for about 2-3 weeks. Have heard alot of other mums say the same.

Idlewild · 20/01/2011 20:25

DD had a febrile convulsion on day 9 post MMR. The danger time for fevers appears to be days 7 to 10 when the measles bit starts to take effect She was ok after the jab but then got a chest infection just as the measles bit kicked in.

I blamed MMR for her fit but pediatrician said that while the jab would have contributed to that seizure it wouldn't have caused her to become any more prone to them than he otherwise would have been, and a dose of measles is 5 times more likely to cause a fit than the vaccination. Sure enough she's had another 2 fits in the 3 years since her MMR, one due to pneumonia and the other due to a combination of chicken pox and chest infection. She had a slightly raised temp 7days after her MMR booster last year but was otherwise ok.

Catrinm · 03/02/2011 17:46

Both sons had no reaction at all to any vaccinations.

GoldysMum · 04/08/2011 06:40

I think having the mmr is so important, I know how serious the illnesses they prevent can be and I think every child should have it. However I gave it to my son a couple of weeks after a very small febrile convulsion (his first) caused by a temperature. I wish I had waited as he is only 13 months. 9 days later (Sunday just gone) he had a massive convulsion and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. A huge team in reuses could not stop the fit so after 40 mins an aneathetist had to make him sleep and it finally stopped. We were in hospital for 2 days and they found no cause for the fit other than his temperature. They were quick to downplay the link with the mmr but this is understandable as they have seen kids die from measles and don't want to stop people having it. I would stillimmunise but wish I'd waited a few more months to see what happened with his convulsions and also would have kept a closer eye on him in the following week!

GoldysMum · 04/08/2011 06:43

Meant to say a huge team in resus (resuscitation room)

SabrinaMulhollandJones · 04/08/2011 08:17

Interesting, I know this is a really old thread, but I just read the bit about risk of febrile convulsion 2wks after the MMR, and as my dd was hospitalised after a febrile convulsion at 14mths I checked her red book to find out the date of her MMR jab. (Couldn't remember when she had the jab - the date of her hospitalisation is forever ingrained on my heart!)

Turns out she had the MMR jab 2 months after her febrile convulsion - so no link in my case. Just shows that they are susceptible to these things anyway, obviously there is a link with fevers and the jab - but sometimes these things just happen anyway.

GoldysMum · 04/08/2011 11:24

Hi Sabrina - did she ever have another one after the first incident? I am so terrified now that it could happen again and if as serious as the last one he might not make it. It's terrifying!

SabrinaMulhollandJones · 04/08/2011 11:45

No, she hasn't had another thank goodness! But we have had some close calls - seems she is particularly susceptible to temperature spikes, and is at risk of going febrile again.

The hospital were very reassuring about what to do if she had another - have you discussed with your GP or anything?

You have my sympathy, what happened to your ds must have been terrifying. dd's fc is honestly the most scary thing that ever happened to me - she stopped breathing and her lips turned blue! I thought she was choking/dying and dialed 999, and she taken to hospital in an ambulance. She was fine (was UTI) but the docs reassured me that fc are very scary, but rarely do any permanent damage. We keep a good eye on her now, and if she's showing any signs of developing a temperature we give her calpol and strip her down a bit. Prevention is better than cure kinda thing!

bruffin · 04/08/2011 12:06

I just looked at DS's blue book (he will be 16 next month)
He had his first MMR on 25th september and his first febrile convulsion on 15th november. He went on to have 20 odd febrile convulsions and has his last one when he was 13 so very abnormal history of FC. But I new we as a family had an abnormal history and there has been a recently discovered syndrome called GEFS+
We never found out what caused the first FC other than he cut a tooth that night and he went on to have croup the next week, however A&E was filled with children on nebulisers that night from croup. As I said above he did go on to have quite a few more febrile convulsions over the next few years.

Obviously when it came to his booster I spoke to gp about the febrile convulsions and her advice was the chance of having a fc from any of the diseases was higher than the mmr so we went ahead with it. He had no reaction to either his first or second mmr.
My DD did have a few spots with a few weeks of mmr which was probably the measles part taking affect, but they didn't bother her. Incidently she did have 4 fc between the age of 3 and 4 but none after any vaccinations.

I can imagine that some parents may have connected ds's first fc with the mmr, but it obviously wasn't, or if he had had his mmr a few weeks later so much closer to the fc the connection may have been made.

Some one tried to tell that DS nut and seed allergies were connected to his vaccinations. His first bad reaction was when he was due his preschool boosters (boosters were done at 4 in those days), but for some reason he didn't have his booster until the day before his 5th birthday, again if he had had his booster at the right time then it will have been a coincidence but a lot of people would have blamed the booster.

GoldysMum · 04/08/2011 12:45

Yes who knows if it caused it or not, maybe just a coincidence that it was 9 days later but even a small rise in temperature which the mmr is known to cause can make it happen so I'd be surprised in this case if this wasn't the connection - in this case he could also have died from the siezure as he wasn't able to come out of it without extreme intervention but I would still rather he was vaccinated than risk him going through actual measles. In his case it seems any rise in temperature could trigger it so will have to be permanently on guard and armed with calpol - by the way, I've asked in another thread as not really relevant ti this but but can anyone with a history of convulsions recommend a suitable baby monitor - a video one? Or any with sensors (although think they pick up a lack of movement so may not be suitable)?

bruffin · 04/08/2011 13:26

Sorry Goldy wasn't saying all fc following MMR weren't caused by it, just some will have been a coincidence.

Have you been given rectal diazipam Goldy. Not sure what age it is suitable from, but ds was prescribed it just in case his fc went over 5 minutes.I can't remember at what aged that was prescribed, I also managed to get a reluctant paediatrician to prescribe rectal paracetamol. It is ridiculously expensive over here.
We never used the diazipam, however the last fc he had at school, diazipam was administed through a drip by the paramedics as he hadn't come round and he looked like he was fitting again. That fit was caused by pneumonia.

GoldysMum · 04/08/2011 14:11

Thanks bruffin - my gp on phone yesterday said she could prescribe if I wanted it - however he was given it in hospital and it didn't stop the fit so not sure I should get it in his case - maybe I will, can't hurt to have it to hand, especially as we're meant to be going on holiday next week - although considering cancelling....

bumbleymummy · 04/08/2011 17:21

Goldys, that must have been very scary for you. There are a lot of studies showing that antipyretics don't actually prevent convulsions though. I think the understanding is that it is the sharp temperature rise that causes the convulsion so it may happen before you've even realised he has a temperature iykwim. Current guidelines (NICE) do say that you shouldn't try to use antipyretics to prevent convulsions. I'm sure your doctor would be happy to discuss your son's individual case with you and there's plenty to read about febrile convulsions that might help to reassure you or at least arm you with more information! :)

bruffin · 04/08/2011 17:44

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