Flu Shot

[jesscarmel]

Okay i think i know the answer but i just want to make sure. i just had a flu shot and pneumonia shot, do i have to worry about them being gluten-free or no because it is a needle and not eating it???

Thanks

Jess

[Jestgar]

I don't think there is any reason why gluten should come anywhaere near a flu vaccine.

[2kids4me]

flu shots and pneumocoocal pneumonia shots are free of gluten. However - many vaccines have their origins in eggs. Anyone with an egg allergy should be very careful about vaccines and consult with a knowledgeable person first.

[tarnalberry]

ditto that. additionally, the pneumovax is recommended for celiacs due to our increased susceptibility to pneumonia, in all it's forms (not just respiratory). (of course, I had a *nasty* reaction (swelling/heat at the site), but it's proof it got my immune system going!)

[Fiddle-Faddle]

In addition, most flu shots contain mercury--and there is a link between heavy metal toxicity and autoimmune disorders.

Tarnalberry, a nasty reaction doesn't prove that the vaccine got your immune system to do anything good--it good have been the carrying agent or the preservative that you reacted to.

[tarnalberry]

In addition, most flu shots contain mercury--and there is a link between heavy metal toxicity and autoimmune disorders.

Tarnalberry, a nasty reaction doesn't prove that the vaccine got your immune system to do anything good--it good have been the carrying agent or the preservative that you reacted to.

flu shots do not continue to contain mercury any more - in the US, anyway. (you can even read the data sheets on them, listing the full ingredients.) (this is a relatively recent change... past five years?) I actually did check up on the preservative in the pneumovax, and it was a benign one I've had in the past, and since.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

flu shots do not continue to contain mercury any more - in the US, anyway. (you can even read the data sheets on them, listing the full ingredients.) (this is a relatively recent change... past five years?) I actually did check up on the preservative in the pneumovax, and it was a benign one I've had in the past, and since.

I checked last fall, and the one our pediatricians were using did indeed contain mercury. I haven't bothered to check this year; are they using individual ampules? If not, then what ARE they using as a preservative?

[tarnalberry]

I checked last fall, and the one our pediatricians were using did indeed contain mercury. I haven't bothered to check this year; are they using individual ampules? If not, then what ARE they using as a preservative?

I don't remember what the other preservatives were (fun chemical names ) but there are others besides thimersol that are actively used since mercury was required to be removed from a subset of vaccines a while ago. I believe you that there's thimersol in some of the flu vaccines, of course - I could easily have misremembered since I cared more about checking the pneumovax than the flu, and it's worth checking.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

When I checked last year, there was mercury in the chicken pox vaccine, too. The MMR never did have mercury in it; what is important to know about that one is that it is linked somehow with celiac. There was a researcher in England (Dr. Andrew Wakefield)who was studying26 autistic kids, all presenting with intestinal problems. where it should not have been . He reccomends getting separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, spaced a year apart. My pediatrician (whom I like) had no idea that separate shots are available. (You can find them at the county health department.)

Nturally, the vaccine manufacturers are up in arms at him, trying to discredit him (even though all he said was that it merited further study and that we should be much more cautious about multiple vaccines).

[Guest nini]

I can't get flu shots... The last time I got one I reacted so badly I was ill for 6 months. The Dr. told me he didn't know exactly what caused my illness, but to never ever get a flu shot again.

[lovegrov]

Just in case it goes that way, I propose that we try to avoid turning this thread into a flu versus anti-flu shot or immunization versus anti-immunization thread. At this point, according to the CDC, a few flu vaccines -- although not all -- continue to contain mercury (thimerosal). No other vaccines currently have mercury, including ALL of the childhood shots.

Flu shots definitely do not contain gluten. Of that we can be certain. People with celiac are NOT considered in the high-risk group for flu but, as mentioned before, it is suggested that they get the pnuemonia vaccine.

richard

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I'm not saying not to get any vaccines. I am saying that if you want to innoculate your child against measles, mumps, and/or rubella, it is far safer to do so with separate vaccines (as opposed to the MMR), ESPECIALLY if there is any risk that your child may have celiac.

Some of the vaccines that are considered thimerosal-free have less than .3 micrograms of thimerosal left after post-production thimerosal removal. So then we are left wondering--how much is too much for those as risk?

Surely, if one molecule of gluten can make a full-grown adult ill for up to 2 weeks, it is possible that .3 micrograms of mercury in an at-risk infant can cause serious problems.

And why are they using thimerosal in production in the first place? It is not necessary for production--just cheaper.

I'm not trying to turn this into an argument for or against vaccines. I'm not anti-vaccine myself! I just think it's important that new and prospective parents ought to know what the risks really are, both of the vaccine and the diseases they prevent (or purport to prevent--most of my son's elementary school came down with chicken pox last year, and they'd all been innoculated! And the whole thing was hushed up.) I never had that chance with my first two kids--the pediatricians and the nurses assured me that there was only a miniscule risk from the vaccines, even after two of my kids had major reactions to vaccines.

It certainly seems likely that those of us with celiac are more likely to have serious reactions to vaccines, especially those containing thimerosal. Unfortunately, I can't find any studies on mercury sensitivity amongst celiacs, or even vaccine reactions amongst celiacs. I was told 20 years ago (when I reacted to mercury in an eyedrop) that 15% of people are allergic to mercury. While that may or may not be true (it's a toxin to everyone in higher doses), it does seem awfully close to the percentage of celiacs among "normal" people...

Ity's very hard to know what to believe, even if you do weeks and weeks of research. There is a lot of conflicting information out there. I wasn't convinced that vaccines could really play a role until 1) myown children had serious reactions and 2) a relative showed me video footage of her son a couple of hours before his MMR (where he had a very clear conversation with his daddy, and laughed and joked and made eye contact) and and then footage taken the next day--where he appeared severely autistic. He is still severely autistic 10 years later. The pediatricians insisted that the parents were fabricating and exaggerating--until they saw the dated video footage.

Here is official info on the amount of mercury in the vaccines. This is from the Johs Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Interpret it however you want, remembering that the recommended vaccine schedule is upwards of 26 vaccines by the age of 18 months (unless that has changed since last year).

Open Original Shared Link

[Michi8]

I'm not saying not to get any vaccines. I am saying that if you want to innoculate your child against measles, mumps, and/or rubella, it is far safer to do so with separate vaccines (as opposed to the MMR), ESPECIALLY if there is any risk that your child may have celiac.

Apparently (according to Capital Health) MMR manufacturers are no longer making separate vaccines (at least in Canada.) I chose not to innoculate my daughter (no vaccines at all), with the plan that she could get just the Rubella vaccine if she hadn't already naturally contracted it by the time she was a teenager. I would be really happy to know if it is still being offered separately, and which company is producing it!

Michelle

[jesscarmel]

I had never heard before that celiacs are at greater risk for developing pneumonia. im glad my dr was aware of that- it makes me feel confident that hes up to date on celiac knowledge! does anyone know why we are more suspetable?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Apparently (according to Capital Health) MMR manufacturers are no longer making separate vaccines (at least in Canada.) I chose not to innoculate my daughter (no vaccines at all), with the plan that she could get just the Rubella vaccine if she hadn't already naturally contracted it by the time she was a teenager. I would be really happy to know if it is still being offered separately, and which company is producing it!

Michelle

I thought it was Merck, but I could be wrong. My info is also a year old--that's the last time I did the research.

[Michi8]

I thought it was Merck, but I could be wrong. My info is also a year old--that's the last time I did the research.

Your info is a bit more recent than mine...I last looked into it about 2-3 years ago. I'm hoping you're right.

Michelle

[skinnyminny]

So we are more susceptible to pneumonia? I have never been vaccinated for this should I??

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I don't know if we are more susceptible. Is there any definitive research on this?

For all we know, gluten-containing cold-medicines could cause us to be more susceptible to pneumonia. Somebody osted a while back that those of us with reflux might be aspirating it--that's certainly a possibility. I know Alzheimer's patients have a very high risk of pneumonia, presumably because they lose the ability to breathe and swallow food at the same time, so they aspirate the food into their lungs. I don't know that a vaccine wouold have any effect on something like that.

As far as I know, I am not prone to pneumonia--never had it, hardly even get colds. (Now, watch, now that I've said that, I'll get 300 colds AND pneumonia this winter!) I do NOT plan on getting the pneumonia vaccine.