Hi Bonnie,
Yes, the vaccines can cause a big drop in the platelets fairly immediately in some people. Still, others will have a reaction some weeks later. It largely depends on the degree of susceptibility in your particular child. This can come from inherited weaknesses, environmental exposure and the current health of the child when getting their shot.
While I personally am not in favor of vaccinations, if you do decide to vaccinate, it's imperative to give only when your child is completely healthy. If they have even a cold or an earache or slight fever, they are at much higher risk to have an adverse reaction. Doctors SHOULD know this, and they SHOULD heed the contraindications given, but they very often ignore this important precaution. Never allow your child to be vaccinated if he is already ill, even if slightly. Some studies done a few years back showed that after a HIB shot was given, the level of immunity took a steep drop for the first week immediately after, so the child was actually at GREATER risk to get meningitis or other illnesses in that first week.
It seems that the vaccines most frequently cited as having some causal effect of ITP are the MMR and the Hep B shots. But, I've also seen quite a number who have said their ITP was triggered by a DPT or Tetanus shot. While these occurrences are still rather rare, in the whole scheme of life, if it happens to YOUR child, you are effected 100%!
Viral Meningitis
My , 2-year-old twins had been playing with our 2-year-old neighbor all week. She was the first to get quite ill, and my two were very sick, within a day. (BTW, the neighbor had been recently immunized, my kids had not—she was the first to get it, and gave it to my kids.) By the next day, my two older girls were also quite ill. The neighbor’s mom rushed her to the hospital, where she was admitted and a spinal tap was done (to ascertain whether or not it was a viral or bacterial meningitis-apparently, it took them 3 tries.). The mom said the whole experience was an absolute nightmare, and quite painful and traumatic for her daughter. But, it did show that it was the viral variety, which is far less serious.
In the meantime, I treated my kids with a homeopathic remedy, called Belladonna
(Note: Belladonna in the crude, herbal form is highly poisonous. But, when given in the highly diluted, nano-doses of a homeopathically prepared version, it is rendered completely safe and is fine to give to anyone, in potencies above 12C)
Belladonna was chosen according to the symptoms they had: Very high fever that had come on quite suddenly; bright red face; hugely dilated pupils, with a glassy look to the eyes, as well as being very sensitive to any light, noise or being jarred; and throbbing headaches. I’ll admit, I’ve rarely seen any of them appear sicker than this time. All four of them were lined up in my bed, shades drawn, no tv, stereo or even reading. They just lay there being sick. But, after 3 days of this, they were just as suddenly back to normal, you’d never even know they’d been ill. (This sudden onset and sudden recovery is a keynote of Belladonna.) Our neighbor, in the meantime, was not so lucky. Her mom, though she kept her on a highly regulated, organic diet, would have nothing to do with something crazy like homeopathy!
End result: My kids, treated homeopathically, were ill for 3 days, and came out of it with sunny dispositions
Neighbor girl: Very ill and in hospital for 2 weeks. She was convalescing for 1 1⁄2 months, and was in a very weakened state after leaving the hospital. She also had developed some debilitating fears around doctors and hospitals.
Spontaneous remissions are most common in young children, occurring in about 85% of children within the first month, is what I remember from reading about that.
Good luck with your baby!
April
