MMR Advice - Wait or Just Do It?

I have held off on the MMR as well for the same reason. My son is 3 1/2 and in school. If you decide to get the shot then wait until he is perfectly fine. Why does he have a temp for so long? Also know that you don't HAVE to get him the MMR. You do need to write a letter regarding a religious opposition to immunizations though. We have not immunized since 18 months.

Depending on the method you are using to take his temp 99-100 is not a fever and if you've been having the heat and humidity we've had I'd expect his temp to be slightly higher than normal anyways. My son has speech and sensory issues also he had them before he got his mmr and after. They aren't any worse and actually this year we've seen some improvement.....yippee!

Just do it. The vaccine won't affect your child's cognitive abilities. If the temp is a problem the pediatrician will let you know.

It's not considered a temperature until it reaches 101. Our body temps fluctuate a little throughout the day as part of our circadian rhythm. Is he sick? I ask b/c it's kind of strange that you would be taking his temp daily for no reason.

Get the MMR several days before he starts school just in case he gets a fever.

Find a doc who will sign a temporary medical exemption. Giving him the MMR now would probably be fine, but it doesn't sound like you're comfortable with it. Don't give your child a medical intervention to comply with paperwork. Give your child a medical intevention because you believe it is in his medical best interests to do so at this time.

When it comes to injecting things into your child's bloodstream, I think it's wise to be cautious and ask questions.

If you're going to proceed with immunizing him, you should NOT do it while his immune system is already compromised.

If you have concerns about the MMR, which is one of the more "ricky" vaccines, you can obtain an exemption form from the state. He does not need to be fully immunized to attend school. Buy yourself some time so you can educate yourself on this decision.

I waited until my daughter was almost 2.5 to get the MMR shot. On the day she was to get the shot, the dr checked her ears first and she had an ear infection. He assured me that is was ok to get the shot while having an ear infection. I was reluctant but finally agreed. She did just fine. No problems what so ever.

I say just do it. If the dr says its ok, trust the dr and get the shot. Best of luck to you!

I had my DD's MMR done for travel. I did it just shy of 1 year for Bermuda and she got her booster just shy of 3 for Europe. DD has had no problems with either dose.

Vaccinations are a personal decision, but the link between autism and MMR has largely been debunked.

If you have concerns, speak to your doctor. You might also speak to the preschool and discuss your options with delayed or skipped vaccinations. They may have an exception you can use while you think about it.

HOW are you taking his temperature?
Mouth? Rectal? Forehead?
Because, depending on how you take it, the range of degrees will vary.

So, has he ever gotten other vaccinations, before???? Or none??? Due to his sensory issues, as you said.

Speech delay, has NOTHING to do with getting shots or not.
My son had a speech delay, and he got shots, and he was sensory sensitive too.
He still got his shots.
And he was fine.
And he is in Kindergarten now.
He got his shots, as per the vaccination schedule of our Pediatrician. On time.

In children, especially young ones, normal temperature varies. For a child under three years old, a normal rectal temperature may range from 97 to 100 degrees. For children over four years of age, a normal oral temperature varies from 96 to 99 degrees. Children’s temperatures vary depending on the time of the day, the temperature of the room, the weather, the amount of clothing the child is wearing, and what the child has been doing. Always dress children so that they are comfortable and can move easily, overdressing will increase their temperature. As a rule of thumb, a temperature is a fever if it is over 101 degrees rectally or 100 degrees orally after the child has been at rest for a while.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/229036-normal-body-temp...

ALSO... vaccinations need a booster shot too. Which is given at specific ages. So, you need to consider that too.

Everyone's temperature varies and most doctors don't consider a temp of 99 or 100 to be a fever. Bring up your concerns with your child's pediatrician; he/she knows your child's medical history best and can advise you on what is appropriate for your son.

I delayed my son's MMR immunization. I'm forgetting...Is it usually done at 1 year? I delayed my son's until he was 2, not because I was worried about autism (he also had a speech delay)...just because it's a strong immunization for their small bodies to handle. My niece had a reaction, a fever and terrible rash covering her entire body, which I was trying to avoid with my son. He had no reaction. :)

If his temp is too high, the doctor/nurse won't give the shot -at least ours doesn't. It's probably fine though at 99.

I would get the full answer about "being required". People who have religious or philosophical objections are not required to vaccinate. (Vaccination is not necessarily immunization- I have a nephew who got a bad case of measles and all vaccines were up to date). There is a herd mentality about vaccinating which makes it difficult to get all the information easily. Once you immunize you cannot undo it, so do all your reading first and if you still choose to do it I would definitely recommend waiting until your son is completely well. I would read several books- I read some by authors who were pro and some con and some in the middle...
All the best of luck!

Investigate ways of NOT immunizing him. Religious waiver, etc.

Hi Mama,

While 99.8 - 100 degrees is not a worrisome fever in terms of acute illness or infection, it's still a low-grade fever if it's at least 1 degree above his "normal" temperature, and it's unusual to run an above-normal temperature for two weeks. You probably should talk about this with his pediatrician. There could be an underlying health issue brewing (many auto-immune diseases will first manifest with long-term low-grade temperature elevation), but do keep in mind that these are pretty rare conditions.

A less worrisome possibility is that, given that you live in a very hot place, your son's body temp is slightly elevated because of elevated environmental heat and possibly mild dehydration. Try keeping him cool and make sure he drinks plenty of cool fluids for a few days, and see how his body responds. Humans are pretty good at regulating body temperature, but temperature can still elevate in response to very hot conditions (hyperthermia) or become subnormal in very cold ones (hypothermia). Also, temperature fluctuates with a daily (circadian) rhythm. Typically, it is at it's lowest in the late evening through early morning, begins to rise just before dawn, continues to elevate until about noon, drops slightly for a couple of hours after noon, rises again until early evening, and then decreases again about an hour before customary bedtime. This is an evolutionary adaptation common to diurnal animals, and is designed to make the animal most active during daylight hours, with a small "post-lunch dip" (actually the technical term!) that encourages the animal to seek shade and rest during the hottest part of the day. (Many cultures incorporate a noontime siesta -- unfortunately, in the spirit of the true American work ethic, we buck our biology.) Anyway, temperature can vary by about a degree, more or less, throughout the day. If your son's normal temperature first thing in the morning is about 98.6 deg (considered average human temperature), then if you're taking his temp in the late morning or late afternoon, it could well be 99.6 deg or slightly higher. If he normally runs closer to 99 or 99.2 deg in the morning (still within the normal human range for body temp), then a late afternoon temp of ~100 deg is not far off the norm, for him.

Just curious -- if he's not showing signs of illness, why are you taking his temperature? If it's only to monitor him in preparation for immunization, you might not have noticed anything at all -- i.e., he's perfectly healthy. You are right, however, to make sure he's not ill before he receives vaccinations, but only because he will generate an additional immune response to the vaccine itself, which is likely to cause some elevation of temperature and may cause some localized swelling and pain at the injection site. If he's already sick, the vaccine may make him feel a little sicker, and why subject him to that? More importantly, though, is that some kids do have reactions to some vaccinations, and if he's already sick when he receives one, it could mask a negative reaction that should be reported to the doctor.

There's no reason to believe the vaccination will affect him negatively, though. The autism link to the MMR vaccine has been thoroughly dispelled since no one has ever been able to replicate Wakeland's studies, and his work has been fairly discredited at this point. Since thimerasol is no longer used as a preservative in American vaccines, the risks from mercury toxicity -- which can be associated with neurological injury -- no longer exist (unless he's eating a lot of fish, especially tuna and farmed salmon). Only a very small percentage of children react negatively to vaccination, and that probably has more to do with a genetic propensity of the immune system to over-respond in general than to vaccine components. The genetics of immune response is still a very young science, though, so there's no way to predict anything at this time.

If it helps any on a purely anecdotal basis, my daughter was also speech delayed and was fully vaccinated following the "normal" CDC recommended schedule. I can assure you there's been no affect to her intellect or speech abilities, which were fully resolved through speech therapy. She just graduated from high school with highest honors, was inducted into one state and one national honor society, is fairly fluent in French and is teaching herself Portuguese. I'm sure you'll hear from others who had negative experiences -- there's no denying that some children react very badly to vaccines and are, in all probability, vaccine damaged. However, by far the vast majority (over 97%, don't know the exact numbers of late) of children are completely unaffected, and some percentage of the 3% who are affected include kids who had only a mild adverse reaction.

I would talk to both the doctor and the center. If he's running a fever, he may not be able to start at the preschool yet anyway but they may be willing to let him start if you have the appt for the immunization scheduled for soon.

I, like you, prefer to vaccinate only when my kidlets are in their best health. If delaying the start of school is possible, that's what I'd do. The only variance to that is from the comment below. Each of my kids' temps run slightly low. If you know yours runs slightly high, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I would call your advice nurse. Personally, I would probably wait a little bit longer. Just keep in mind that reactions such as fevers can occur up to 2 weeks after the shot.

M.

I would not immunize until he is fever free...that's me. talk with your pediatrician to see what he/she says about your son and his situation...everyone is different and reacts differently...with your son's extra issues - I would defer to the pediatrician for information and ideas...

GOOD LUCK!!

IF you live in CA, you can sign a waiver at the school. Depending upon the state you live in, vaccinations can be waived without explanation.