PCV - the new vaccination

[kashka]

I feel compelled to share our experience of the PCV this week and must start by saying that I am generally pro vaccines. Both my other children were vaccinated with everything. However, last Tuesday my nearly 8 month old baby had her first shot of PCV. All good that day. She woke up the next morning with a fever, very red face and grumpy. By midday her hands and feet had ballooned and had turned orangey red, she had red blotches on her face, her toes were deep red, the tips of her fingers were turning grey as i watched and her nails were turning blue, also the tips of her ears were covered in deep purple splotches and her body was covered in a very very faint pink rash. I called an ambulance and they decided to take her straight to A&E. The symptoms started to subside spontaneously but they gave her Pirotin and sent us home. At midnight it all came back again but less so. Off to A&E where they told us it was a "mild" reaction to the vaccine. Sent us home with a bottle of Pirotin and told us we MUST bring her back for her PCV boosters as they were important. Thursday the rashes and swelling came and went as did the fever and I decided to take her to a private specialist. The private specialist confirmed their diagnosis and treatment but said that it was, in his opinion, a violent allergic reaction not "mild" and under no circumstances should she have another shot of that particular vaccine. Now, I know her case is probably rare and like I said I'm pro vaccine - what frightens me is the thought of a less informed mum merrily taking her daughter off for the second round of vaccine with potentially awful consequences. The specialist was adamant that the first reaction was a warning and that second exposure could have been far more serious. Even now - 5 days later - her face is still turning blotchy when I take her outside - I just feel the NHS have very little experience with this one. Good luck with it.

Is that the pneumoccocal one?

DD2 had it and no reaction at all. Touch wood, she's got the booster on Tuesday at 14 months.

Yep, that's the one and i'm sure it's fine if your child had no reaction - i would hate to put anyone off this as i have had meningitis myself and it's not fun. But i think mum's should be aware that if their babe has a strong reaction to it they may want to seek more infor before taking them back. Glad your l;ittle one was fine.

Oh, indeed. DEFINITELY if htey have a bad reaction to it they should question going back.

I'm sort of bricking it, b/c she's got MMR and booster PCV on Tuesday but we're seeing a rise in measles among children in my county, which concerns me.

It's just a horrible gauntlet we have to run isn't it? Neither of my other babes had any reaction to anything.

FWIW, this vaccine has been part of the schedule in the US for the past 6 years. It's also given in some parts of Australia.

I think that this is the immunisation that dd2 is due to have ,i have cancelled the appointments they have sent me as i feel that i dont know enough about this.Also if im honest i am also chicken
Sorry to hear about your dd kashka.

Search 'amyjade's posts.

She lost a healthy, 19-month-old daughter to pneumoccocal meningitis.

It doesn't leave a rash, so it can be hard to detect.

Has a high mortality rate and a high rate of permanent disability as a side effect.

there is a website you can report adverse reactions to vaccinations, but i'm not sure of the name....sorry

i have to say, the PCV was the only vacc my DD reacted to.....and she was mad hot and very upset for 36 hours, then absolutely fine...and DS never reacted to any of his jabs

i think the A&E description as mild is incorrect to say the least, sounds really quite severe

poor you and poor DD

I think i should repeat that my only point of posting this message is to warn mothers of children who have an adverse reaction to the first jab to perhaps seek a second opinion before returning for the second as I feel we were badly advised at A&E. I'm gutted that my babe reacted badly because i would love for her to be protected from it - I've had it myself - as it stands I'll just have to hope for the best as I'm not prepared to risk another bad/worse reaction. I think there is too much persuasion done without thought.

Be aware of the fact that 90% of cases of bacterial meningitis in the UK are caused by Group B bacteria - FOR WHICH THERE IS NO EFFECTIVE VACCINE!

I do get incredibly annoyed by the aggressive vaccine propaganda that actually is quite misleading. The FACT is that most cases of bacterial meningitis in this country are not vaccine preventable. That is fact, not "anti-vaccine" propaganda.(Source: Meningitis Trust - www.meningitis-trust.org)

There are also 90 different strains of pneumococcal - the PCV could not possibly protect against ALL of them - nor does it claim to.

The Meningitis C vaccine is supposed to protect against meningitis C- it does not protect against the probably more dangerous Group B.

Vaccines are not the answer to everything and there ARE sometimes adverse reactions. If you are unlucky enough to have a child who suffers from an acute serious infection you must seek urgent medical attention, IRRESPECTIVE of vaccine status.

I think we are all lulled into a false sense of security by vaccines. One of my children suffered from an improperly-treated serious infection which was not and will never be vaccine preventable. The NHS treatment was rubbish and she endured years of problems. All entirely avoidable with proper treatment, despite the attempts by the medical profession to whitewash the whole sorry episode and deny any responsibility.

With prompt, appropriate treatment many of these tragic cases of death and complications following meningitis and other serious infections could be avoided.

As Kashka has found, the medical profession also do not take vaccine reaction seriously enough. I think the advice given in A+E to continue with boosters despite a serious adverse reaction is actually negligent and shows a serious lack of common-sense - especially given that the vaccine in question does not work for the most common type of meningitis anyway. Bone-headed thinking.

Pneumocccoal meningitis still kills roughly 56 children in the UK every year, however, and causes permanent disability in many of its survivors.

Fair enough if you don't want to vaccinate your children. You've got your reasons.

But please don't downplay this disease.

FWIW, a vaccine for MenB is in the trial status.

And since MenC vaccination was introduced, levels of death from it have fallen.

Expat is right. Pneumococcal meningitis is awful. I have seen the consequences of it and seen the change in the profile of the disease in the US after the vaccines introduction. For that reason my children were all vaccinated before it was available routinely here. It has been proven very safe in the USA. A child with an allergic reaction is frightening. If you want to carry on with the course you can always have the vaccine administered in a hospital setting if it makes you more comfortable? Although men B is more common, the neurological damage from pneumococcus is usually much much worse. Bit serious message - sorry!

Please don't make assumptions about my own children.

I can tell you that one of my children suffered from a serious infection which was not properly treated - nothing whatsoever to do with vaccination status.

Also please do not misrepresent what I have said. At no point did I downplay the seriousness of meningitis. On the contrary. I simply stated the fact, backed up by evidence, that one of the most common and most serious strains of meningitis is not vaccine-preventable.

K, well, why bring up the untreated infection on a vaccination thread?

Bit of a non sequitur.

No one made assumptions about your children.

Well, yes, there's no vaccine for MenB at present, but there is one for pneumoccocal and MenC.

And?

Didn't mean to cause offense. New to MN. Just trying to give an opinion.

Kashka, that's awful I've had an appointment notice for this vac, but we've since moved and I've had nothing from the new surgery. There doesn't seem to be any info, just a message to take your baby (or not in this case!)

Okay I am trying to make a few points with regard to vaccines and infectious diseases which I hope might help parents.

1. It is irresponsible if medical professionals are not taking a severe adverse reaction to a vaccine seriously. As I understand it the thread was about that subject.
2. I made the point that babies and children can still get serious infectious diseases such as meningitis even if they have received every single vaccine, so it is important to be vigilant.
3. If your baby or child is unlucky enough to get a serious bacterial infection, the single most important factor in prognosis is prompt, appropriate medical treatment. Unfortunately one of my children was unlucky enough to suffer from a serious infection which was not recognised properly and was not treated promptly. I regret that I was too trusting of the infallibility of the medical profession. Kashka was intuitive enough to seek a second opinion and avoided potential catastrophe.

Enough said.