What Should You Do if You Are Allergic To Vaccines?

Whether it be vaccination for the flu or meningitis, everyone is talking about vaccines this time of the year.    Public vaccination against diseases is one of the most important scientific achievements of all time and has increased our health and life span.  Summer is the perfect time to get your children vaccinated before returning to school or starting college.


But it raises an interesting dilemma for some persons with vaccine allergy. What should you do if you suspect you are allergic to vaccines?



What is Vaccine Allergy?

• A reaction to vaccination can be either:
• Immediate- these reactions take place within 1 hour of vaccine administration.  Symptoms include hives, swelling, itching, or anaphylaxis
• Delayed - these reactions take place more than 1 day after the vaccination.  Symptoms generally include a total body rash and possibly a fever.

What Causes Vaccine Allergy?

• Depending on the vaccine,  there are different components that can cause an allergic reaction.  Common components that are known to cause an allergic reaction are:
• Gelatin
• Egg
• Chicken
• Cow's Milk
• Yeast
• Antibiotics (neomycin, polymyxin B, and streptomycin) 
• Latex
• Thimerosal, aluminum, and phenoxyethanol 

Does Being Allergic to A Component Mean you Can't Be Vaccinated?

• No. If you suspect an allergic reaction to a vaccine you should seek evaluation by an allergist/immunologist.
• They will test you to determine the cause of the allergic reaction.
• Once they've identified the allergen, they will help formulate a plan for safe vaccination.

Bottom Line

• Vaccination against disease is one of the most important ways we have against preventing disease
• Don't let suspected allergy prevent you or your child from vaccination
• See an allergist to get help in determining what the allergy is and how you can proceed safely with vaccination.

Need help?  Please call or visit our office at 212-679-3574 or 205 East 22nd Street, NY, NY 10010

Does Diet Affect the Development of Allergies?

Pregnant and new moms often ask me about the role of nutrition in developing allergies.  Rightfully so.  Over the past decade, the incidence of allergic disease has increased from 20 to 30%.  Peanut and other food allergies are rampant in schools.  Asthma in children is on the rise.  The incidence only continues to increase for unknown reasons.  They want to know- “Can diet cause or prevent allergies?” 

I’ve written before (Food Allergy- the ugly, the bad, the good....) about the complex interaction between nutrition, environmental exposures, genetics, infections and other unknowns play a role in the whether a person develops allergies or not. 

There is some promising news though….

Researchers in Europe in a quest to find the answer looked at the role of a “diverse” diet during the first year of life and the development of food allergies, asthma and atopic dermatitis (eczema).  

They followed the diets of 856 children from year 1 to 6 years of age looking at the development of eczema, allergic rhinitis, asthma and food allergies. 

What did they find? 

• Children with a more diverse diet were at lower risk for the development of allergic disease.
• This included- asthma, food allergies, allergic rhinitis, and eczema.

Bottom line- Does Diet Affect the Development of Allergies?

• We don’t know the answer to the cause and more importantly, how to prevent the development of all types of allergic diseases.
• Nutrition does appear to influence the development of allergies.
• Eating a more diverse diet appears when you are young has an inverse relationship with the development of allergies.

 Want to read more?  Abstract

Have specific questions about allergies?  Please call the office 212-679-3574 or go to our on-line appointment scheduler .