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H1N1 vaccine and post encephalitis patients

claudiachristine
0 Recommendations

Can anyone please give me advise on whether I should vaccinate my son who is 1.5 years post E and is 7 years old. He has not had a flu shot since the E only a Hep A shot before a holiday, but I'm getting so many conflicting
ideas from reading and trying to inform myself. I've read that the adjuvant in the vaccine can cause autoimmune reactions and I've read that getting the flu itself could trigger a relapse. He is still in the 2 year post E reacurrance window so I am really cautious. Our neuroligist and Gp both say to vaccinate him but the vaccine is so new that I don't fully trust them.
Help anyone!

Explore topics in this discussion:

Anxiety Cancer Encephalitis Seizures Fever

12 replies

Joey_sMom

If I were in your position, I would vaccinate him. You have asked the two people who should best know what the risks are and they both believe it is riskier to not vaccinate him than to get him vaccinated.

Vicky
Caregiver

dannon

What a predicament -- your anxiety over this is quite understandable.

Encephalitis is not a "particular disease" - it is, but it isn't.
People get encephalitis from drugs, cancer, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and all sorts of things.

Judging the question of whether or not to use the shot is heavily dependent on what caused the encephalitis, the state of the patient and of course, the opinion of that person's medical professionals.

A shot exposes the person to the dna of the virus in a way that allows that person to begin making antibodies for that virus before being exposed to the virus in its full strength.

This particular virus can make children extremely ill. It has a high mortality possibility with children.

I'm not too sure about what has happened to your child as I have never heard of a 2 year post E reacurrance window. If this is a legitimate thing, then you need to discuss this directly with the medical professional that advised you there is this 2 year post E reacurrance window for your child.

My suggestion:
If you are uneasy with the suggestions of your child's GP and Neurologist, then ask them; ask them if there is someone who specialized in this area of immunology who could be consulted about your child's case.
Good luck,
-dannon

DVirginia

I posted this on another discussion, so this is a repeat:

Our neurologist is recommending the H1N1 shot (my son is 8 and had HSE two years ago). They are suggesting that he get the shot because the high fever associated with the flu could trigger seizures (seizures are a residual for him). He's received the seasonal flu shot for years with no adverse reaction, so they aren't concerned about it. They did say, however, that if at all possible, he should receive the shot and not the nasal spray (since the nasal spray contains live virus it could trigger the illness).

KOL

The more people who get the flu, the more likely it can mutate into a killing virus. The fewer people who get the virus the less likely it can mutate. If there are some casualties caused by the vaccine is it better than hundreds dying from the flu? In 1918 the Spanish Flu (swine flu) killed hundreds of thousands. A friend of mine is a nurse and her office is not taking the HINI vaccine. My son had the Swine Flu a month ago and was ill for 2.5 days...low grade fever and general aches. It was mild. He took Tamaflu (sp?). A number of children in my kids' school have also contacted it with similar symptoms. But it seems more and more people are dying from it. I wish the media would give us a profile of the people who are contracting HINI and dying...are they seeking medical attention? I think the CDC wants to prevent the spread....thus the huge media push...

claudiachristine

Thanks for your advice!
My sons E was triggered by an ear infection. Our neurologist said that the 2 years post E are when a relapse would be most common and after that he should be ok. His last MRI done 1 year ago showed 2 2mm flecks remaining which she thought quite insignificant.
I am just so uncertain as to what may cause a relapse that when I read about the adjavant in the vaccine possibly causing autoimmune responses it scares me. However, I do agree that the thought of him catching H!N! would be much worse. But what are his chances of catching it? Oh it all gives me a headache and I which the decision wasn't entirely in my hands.

claudiachristine

Thank you for your advice. My sons ADEM was triggered by an ear infection. I don't know that much about HSE but I appreciate the insight and good to know that the seasonal shot has not been a problem.

claudiachristine

Interesting as I read that this big push to vaccinate causes the virus to become stronger than it would if it were just left to naturally run its course.

claudiachristine

Hi thanks for the feedback. The neurologist actually phrased her response as, "From what I have learned so far I can't see there being a problem in giving it to him however it hasn't been around long enough yet to know" It just doesn't fill me with confidence but my son catching it is also terrifying!

Dignity

Quote from Claudiachristine: "The neurologist actually phrased her response as, "From what I have learned so far I can't see there being a problem in giving it to him however it hasn't been around long enough yet to know" It just doesn't fill me with confidence but my son catching it is also terrifying!"

It is indeed a difficult question to answer, especially considering that scientific research and articles have mentioned that the H1N1 strand has existed since 1950 (resistance found in older people indicates this). So two thing's need to be considered here: 1. children are of course not immune to any strand of flu, whether it is this particular strand or an older strand, and therefore undergo a risk, like any young, weak or vulnerable person.

2. the vaccine may also cause a risk.

So it is best to determine with the Doctor's responsibility which would be the least dangerous to the child.

You will see that in each region of the world, different vaccination policies, different risk categories, and different prevention strategies have been set up for the same flu.

It is certainly not an easy decision to make.

Dignity

Bettysangel

My personal opinion would be to get the shot not the squirt up the nose. The one that goes up the nose is the one they have been having trouble with. My sister-in-law is a Nurse Manager and got her 5 year old daughter the shot. She would not allow them to give her the spray up the nose. This is a decision that you have to make yourself we can just give opinions. Go by what the doctors tell you and pray about it for guidance. Best wishes.

cherrienb

Hi ClaudiaChristine,
I just wanted to follow up on our previous discussion regarding the H1N1 vaccine. After much research and discussion with doctors, my son received both the H1N1 and seasonal flu shots on October 31st. All went well. Good luck with your decision; I know how hard it is!

claudiachristine

Hi, thanks for everyone's advice! My son was vaccinated 1 week ago and so far he is doing great!

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