Important please read- BCG vaccine side effects

[Crazybear]

This is for information purposes only. I have not come across this on mumsnet before and just wanted to inform and share this for awareness really. Very little on the Internet albeit medical journals most of which I have read.

My DD2 has been diagnosed with BCG lymphadenitis. She was given the jab as routine when she was born. Fast forward 5 months and she developed a lump the size of a golf ball under her left armpit in March. We took her to the hospital where it was diagnosed. We were told that either the lump would disappear or burst. It got bigger, puckered and eventually burst and we have been managing the wound ever since. It's June and it's still seeping.

Apparently there is nothing we can do other then to dress the wound to prevent secondary. The hospital also told us that it had seen a few of these cases.

Just wanted to say please be aware that there are side effects to the BCG jab even though it is classed as a very safe jab..

wow - I am so sorry - is there a prognosis when they think the wound will close?

All we keep hearing is 'it will take afew months' . Which doesn't tell us anything really. I went back to hospital to ask 2/3/4th opinion. Always the same response by different docs.

I've resorted to reading up as much as I can, meticulous wound dressing to prevent infection and drinking more tea. Not sure what else I can do

sorry this happened to you and your dc.
those side effects are pretty rare, though.
have you reported it to the yelliw card scheme?

Thank you mouse I never knew this scheme existed. I will def take a look. Yes you are right, the reaction is not common, but as the hospital told me it has seen a number of these cases it leads me to believe that it is not rare, just not widely publicised. Maybe I'm wrong.

if the side effects don't get reported they cannot be investigated or published.
hope your dd is better soon!

Will def be posting on the scheme, thanks again mouse!

I had the BCG at 12 and had a similar thing.

On the night of the jab itself I had a severe skin reaction - I remember my skin stretching so much it hurt.

After that, I developed a lump from shoulder to elbow, around the site of the jab. It was there for AGES. One night, it burst in my sleep and I woke up stuck to the sheets. The wound took a good while to close, but did eventually and the scar is not that bad (and I say that as someone who is "funny" about scars),

Sorry to hear that Euro. At the time did you get any information/Diagnosis from the doctors/hospital? Any tips on helping it to heal that you can remember?