MMR - normal reactions

[Bugsy]

My little boy had his MMR a few days ago and last night from 4.30am onwards he tossed and turned like he had nettles in his sleepsuit. He then started crying and I was unable to get him to settle back to sleep. Is this likely to be a reaction to the immunisation and do I have any other delights to look forward to?

Bugsy, a 'normal' MMR reaction is 7-10 days after immunisation. Some children have no reaction at all, others may have a slight fever, and the general misery and grumpiness that goes with it, nothing more. If he does run a fever give him calpol to bring it down. If you are concerned then contact your health visitor, or GP.

My son had an MMR injection on Monday. At nursery today one of the carers told me about another baby in the group who had the MMR and a couple of weeks later caught mumps. He was quite ill and was at home for a couple of weeks. Has anyone else heard of this and just how rare is this type of reaction?

It does happen but it is rare. It's much more usual not to get a reaction, so hopefully your son will be fine. If he does develop mumps, or any other symptoms, be sure to report them to your GP, even if they are only very slight and respond to Calpol etc. It helps the NHS assess the safety and acceptability of their immunisation programmes if all adverse reactions to any jab are reported.

My daughter is due her MMR next month and I must admit I am not looking forward to it. My dh and I have discussed it at length but not really come to any decision on it. When he was little he got all three childhood diseases and came out ok, as did the rest of his family. I am immune to Rubella and never got any of the other diseases. My sister has refused to give her kids the MMR booster.

I wish I could give her seperate injections but don't know where I could go for this. I don't want to expose her to any of the diseases as I know they can be nasty, but I have a real problem with the jab. I heard some of the ingredients is made from the cells of aborted fetuses. I am in a real dilemma as to what to do for the best. Anyone got any suggestions?

Lisav, ask your health visitor if there is anywhere locally that offers the immunisations separately - you will probably have to pay. Also, look at the other MMR threads for some websites that may help you decide. We opted for separate immunisation, but we live in SE London close to one of the clinics prepared to offer this service.
Here are a couple of links:

Single Vaccines
DoH guidelines on the MMR

It's hard but I grew up with a child the same age as me who developed encephalitis from measles and was about as mentally and physically handicapped as it is possible to be. The effects on him and his family were absolutely devastating. He lived for about 10 years (8-18yrs) after the original illness and I wouldn't wish it on any child or family. Equally, the consequences for pregnant women being in contact with a child who has rubella can also be enormous. As a child who had eczema it turned out that one of the endless rashes must have been rubella as I was immune when it came to the testing at 14. Goodness knows if I was in contact with anyone pregnant at the time and the consequences. I know it's a tough decision but quite frankly the risks of there being an epidemic of any one of the three and the risks that are associated with the diseases outweigh the (as yet unproven) risks of the MMR. And to be honest following from James, I would rather Harry risk the injections than end up dead. Incidentally, there are no benefits to giving the injections seperately - I think that there are links to research studies on other threads that demonstrate this. Maybe it helps that my husband is a doctor but we have had very full and frank discussions about this because I wanted to feel that we made the decision (not that he has had it yet) together and fully informed rather than him just stamping his doctor's foot and decreeing. Please, for your sake the sake of your child and every other child and pregnant woman with whom your child comes in contact, give him the MMR.

LisaV, search on Mumsnet for other MMR conversations, we've had quite a few!

Thanks, I'll have a look at the links. Following on from your remarks about pregnant women and Rubella - it was her 1st birthday party at the weekend and we got a call from dh's sister in law to say she suspected her baby had Rubella. We asked her not to bring the baby as my sister is pregnant and has no immunity to Rubella. She brought the baby anyway and sat it outside.
I'm now worried for my sister as I know the incubation is 10 days and even though the baby was outside, it was a BBQ party and so everyone was outside! I was flabbergasted that she went against our advice and brought her baby anyway, putting my sister in danger!

Does anyone know if the MMR does contain cells from aborted fetuses? As I also worry about the moral ethics of it all. In all probability we will let her have the vaccine, but I am not happy about it and still don't know about letting her have the booster - does she need the booster? What are the implications if she doesn't get it? Why can't she just have the one set of vaccines? I should read the other threads like you suggested Ems, I will do that now!

We have decided that our son will have the MMR. We would prefer he was covered than take the risk of him catching something. Who is to say that your child wouldnt have a reaction to one of the single vaccines?? We never know, just do what we think is best.

My son had the MMR just over two weeks ago. So far no reaction - although he was definitely not himself the day afterwards (possibly coincidence as vaccine is not meant to kick in for week t ten days). Must admit I was dreading giving him the jab, but felt sense of relief the minute he had it. Hopefully he will continue to be fine. Will keep you updated.

My 14month old had her MMR 4 weeks ago but now appears to have german measles. Is this normal? I thought the whole idea of the MMR was to stop little ones getting these things.