What to do if Your Child had an Adverse Vaccine Reaction and You Need/Want to Vaccinate Again

IN BRIEF

Parents may have several options on how to handle future vaccines after a child had an adverse vaccine reaction. I often receive such inquiries from parents. Here are some possible options as illustrated by such an inquiry. 

By Anke Zimmermann, BSc, FCAH

A Parent's Letter

Dear Anke,

I've been seeking a practitioner who can help to guide me in working with my son's health, in particular with regard to vaccines that he may need to have in the coming months and years. I'm writing to ask if you might be able to help advise and work with us in this matter.

Jonathan (not his real name) is 2 years and 4 months. He was born healthy and normal as far as we could tell, a generally happy baby who loved looking into our eyes and trying to have conversations with us, babbling up a storm since very young.

When he was 3 months old he had his first set of 8 vaccines given all together on the same day. We didn't notice anything amiss except a mild rash around the injection site. He seemed fine afterwards. However around this time he began to gradually develop eczema on his cheeks. We thought this was due to him starting to do tummy time more often, as the saliva would dribble down onto his cheeks a lot. (Anke's comment: Eczema within a few weeks from a vaccination can be a sign of an adverse reaction. Read this case for a similar situation.)

However at 4 months old he suddenly woke up one morning and steadfastly avoided eye contact, and only looked up at the ceiling while making a high-pitched squealing noise. He seemed quite contented doing it, not in distress. From this day on he did not babble again for many months and continued to avoid eye contact except for some limited circumstances.

His eczema also steadily worsened until it was severe, and a few months later when introducing solids, we discovered that he had severe allergies to many foods, mainly nuts and egg - requiring an EpiPen. He was flagged as being 'at risk' for ASD when he was 18 months due to on-going lack of speech and low eye contact.

We started early intervention around 18 months and Jonathan has made immense progress. He now speaks at a level considered advanced for his age, and he's making a lot more eye contact. This is a great relief to us, however we are now struggling with the situation that he remains unvaccinated ever since his early 3-month shots, followed by a partial set of vaccinations that we gave at 5 months. We did not feel safe to give him anymore. He has been at home most of the time until now anyway, due to Covid in particular, but now he really needs to get outside more and meet with other children. My partner in particular insists that he have at least the tetanus shot, which I've heard is a concerning one due to being given as a composite with diptheria and pertussis vaccines.

I've tried desperately to find a doctor who could help advise us, as I'm terrified of losing our precious boy to a second avalanche of severe health crises. To have regained him back over these past few months has been the greatest relief and blessing of my life, and I'm so afraid that things may become even worse than they did the last time, if he is vaccinated again. However I don't have a lot of options at this point as he is also in danger from the illnesses that he might catch if he is not vaccinated, and my partner is not willing to consider a completely alternative lifestyle in which we would more or less have to leave the society that we live in.

In particular I'm wondering if you have had experience with children with similar symptoms to my son's, and if you might be able to tell us whether they've been able to safely be vaccinated when older; and also I wonder if you would be able to help us access remedies and protective treatments that we could give to Ryan during and after any vaccinations he may receive.

Thank you for listening to this long account. I hope to hear from you.

Reducing Risk of Adverse Events After Vaccination

Dear parent, 
​
​I'm sorry to hear about your son. Sadly I hear these stories every week. I'm glad he has recovered, but yes, if you vaccinate him again he could be at risk of other adverse events. Most adverse reactions to vaccines tend to be delayed by weeks or months and therefor do not ring the alarm bells of the attending physicians, who do not realize that a child like this may have had a vaccine injury in the first place and would be at increased risk of future, potentially more serious, adverse event. 

I understand that you are in a situation between a rock and a hard place and I would be happy to guide you.   

I will attach a little ebook I just wrote on the subject, in addition you may want to read the case studies on my website, especially this one.

You essentially have four options:

1) Dealing with Acutes as they come up

The option of not vaccinating further and dealing with any potential tetanus or other health scares as they come up. Tetanus infection is a very rare problem in the industrialized world fortunately, however, if he was in danger doctors could use the tetanus immunoglobulin to help him. A tetanus shot vaccine at that time is actually not nearly as effective as the immunoglobulin. There are also homeopathic remedies that have traditionally been used to reduce the risk of tetanus infection before vaccines became available. 

2) Building Your Child's Immune System

The option to not vaccinate and instead focus on building your child's immune system with nutrition, plenty of exposure to nature and with constitutional homeopathy. There are many resources on this, I especially like the Weston Price protocols on nutrition. You may also want to learn about homeopathy and/or have practitioners such as naturopaths, homeopaths, nutritionists and chiropractors, on your team to help you deal with any acute infections and other health problems your child may encounter.

3) Supportive Protocols Before and After Vaccination

The option to vaccinate and to give a supportive protocol before and after to reduce the risk of adverse events, this can be done with nutrients and homeopathy. I've helped many families with such protocols. They include nutrients such as vitamin C, D, zinc and a homeopathic remedy made from the specific vaccine to be given.

You also have a choice to space out vaccines and give fewer at one time, which has also been shown to reduce the potential for adverse events. There is an excellent book on the topic written by a well-known and highly regarded Pediatrician, Dr. Paul Thomas, MD, called The Vaccine-Friendly Plan. 

4) Homeoprophylaxis

The option to choose homeoprophylaxis, which is the use of homeopathic remedies to mitigate infectious disease. It's been around for over 200 years and research has shown that it can be as effective as vaccination but without the chemicals etc, which may cause adverse reactions. I can help you with that also in case you wish to go that route.

You can read more about Homeoprophylaxis on my website here https://www.ankezimmermann.net/homeoprophylaxis.html and here https://www.ankezimmermann.net/homeoprophylaxis-research.html

I also encourage you to sign up for these videos of Kate Birch and Cilla Whatcott discussing, the two top experts in HP in North America, $99 well spent. 

Of course the above options can be combined as well. 

I encourage you to do the research and especially have your husband review the materials. Then if and when you are ready I will be happy to support you in whichever choice you wish to make. 

​Anke Zimmermann, BSc, FCAH

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