It’s nearly flu season and my wife and I are in a quandary about how to protect our severely allergic son, Graeme. With a normal kid (older than 6 months), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends the flu shot—with good reason. Each year more than 20,000 kids under 5 are hospitalized due to complications from the flu, according to the CDC.
And Graeme, who has asthma, falls into one of the highest risk groups for flu complications, such as bacterial pneumonia or increased asthma attacks.
But he’s also highly allergic to eggs, which means he isn’t supposed to get the shot. The flu vaccine is grown in fertilized chicken eggs and a tiny bit of egg protein can be left over in the final dose. If you’re severely allergic to eggs, you can suffer a bad reaction to the shot, which is why most allergists and the CDC do not recommend it for anyone with egg allergies. Which leaves us in a pickle.
Graeme’s doctors weren’t much help. His pediatrician said if Graeme didn’t have a reaction last year (he got the shot before he was diagnosed with his sundry allergies and didn’t react), he’d be fine this year. The allergist said no way; it’s too risky. So, I decided to call in more experts.
Not every child’s egg allergy is a problem when it comes to the flu vaccine, says Henry Bernstein, MD, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases.
When young children are exposed to eggs, “many of the things we see are less severe or local allergic manifestations,” says Dr. Bernstein. “Those are not contraindications to administering flu vaccine. [But] if somebody’s lips swell or they develop breathing difficulties, that’s much more problematic,” he says, indicating that their risk of having a bad reaction to the vaccine is higher. (Still, he recommends that anyone with concern over any severe egg allergy consult his allergist before getting the vaccine.)
When we scratch-tested Graeme for eggs, his allergist characterized his reaction as severe. So, do we leave him wide open to a flu bug or do we take the chance that he won’t have a dangerous reaction to the vaccine?
Both pediatricians and allergists are wrestling with this question right now. In past studies doctors have shown promise vaccinating children with severe egg allergies agains the flu. Earlier this year, for example, researchers presented the results of two small trials where allergic kids received the flu vaccine under the close supervision of allergists.
In one of the studies published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, doctors at the Montreal Children’s Hospital gave vaccinations to 115 children with egg allergies between 2000 and 2006. Most of the patients had asthma (like my son), and some received the vaccine several times during the period of the study.
None had serious allergic reactions. In some cases, doctors tested the vaccine on the skin of patients to see if a reaction would occur before giving them the vaccine. Some patients were also given the vaccine in multiple, smaller doses timed 30 minutes apart. (At least one children’s hospital has developed similar protocols to desensitize children with egg allergies and safely administer the flu vaccine, but the practice is not common.)
Though the work is promising, the researchers in Montreal say additional study is needed to determine if giving doses of the flu vaccine to kids with egg allergies is safe (despite the opinion of a researcher in the other small study).
Until that work is done, there are other ways to protect a child with egg allergies from the flu, says Tony Fiore, MD, an epidemiologist with the CDC and one of the architects of the flu vaccine.
“Try to cocoon your son by getting everyone around him immunized for the flu,” Dr. Fiore says. “That’s the way we deal with kids under 6 months who can’t get the flu vaccine and are at the highest risk for complications.”
Dr. Bernstein agrees. “If they go to a day care with six other kids, let’s hope the six other kids have gotten the flu vaccine,” he says. “One of the reasons we recommend immunizing young children is because they’re great transmitters of the flu to others who won’t do so well if they get the flu.”
We’ve already had a conversation with our day-care provider and the parents of kids who go there. Hopefully, they will get flu shots. Both my wife and I have already gotten ours. If everyone cooperates, and we limit Graeme’s exposure to other groups, his risk of contracting the flu from one of his handlers goes down substantially.
Everyday steps that help fight flu transmission, like washing hands, will also help Graeme, Dr. Bernstein advises. (Here are more tips on how to steer clear of the flu).
And if those efforts fail…
If Graeme does show signs of the flu, Dr. Fiore says antiviral drugs may help. “At first hint of respiratory illness, get your son tested for the flu,” Dr. Fiore says. “Then get antivirals if need be. For them to be effective, they have to be given in the first two days of illness. So it’s something you have to jump on.”
In rare cases, antivirals can also be given to high-risk kids and adults as a preventive measure, such as when a day care experiences an outbreak or during periods of high flu activity in a community, Dr. Fiore says.
We have our marching orders for this flu season. If things pan out in future flu seasons, there may be a safe way for Graeme to get the flu shot. And there’s a good chance he may grow out of his egg allergy, which would mean we could cross the flu vaccine off our enormous list of parenting concerns.
(PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES)
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Comments (37)
I have a 15month old who is highly allergic to eggs. We did the skin test and a Rast test. Our allergist said that the skin test can go 50-50. She said you can basically flip a coin that is how good the skin test are. She also told us if there was a reaction on the skin Test we would move on to a Rast test to get more pin point numbers. I would recommend you getting that done to see how allergic he is. If he has had eggs prior with no reaction there could be chance the skin test really is negative. I hope I am not stepping on any toes, just a thought. My 15month old will not be getting the shot as her RAst test numbers were in the high 3’s which does indicate a real allergy.
I get the flu shot yearly even though I’m allergic to eggs. I go to my allergist. He does a skin test to compare a flu vacination manufactured in the US vs. one from France. Then the one that I react to least he first does a series of subcuteaneous injections and then finally an intramuscular injection. The series might take over 6 weeks or might be in one day for about 2 hours depending on how I react. If I don’t get the flu shot and get the flu, I get very sick because of my asthma.
My son is allergic to eggs and when he got the flu shot when he was 4, his leg swelled up and had trouble walking on hit for about 12 hours. His leg was warm and red by the touch. After about a day or so it was back to normal with no other symptoms. We haven’t given him a flu shot it since. But you do have to weigh the risk of the flu since he also has asthma.
My 5 year-old daughter has a severe allergy to eggs and asthma. A couple of years ago, she had to be hospitalized because of the flu. It was this experience that made me understand how people die from the flu. In the past, her pediatrician and allergist have both said they do not recommend the flu shot for her because of her allergy. However, she has a new allergist this year who has approved her for the flu shot (it will be administered by a doctor and closely monitored). Considering what the flu did to her previously and how it affected her long term, I am willing to take the risk this year and get her the flu shot (especially now that she is in kindergarten – where germs thrive!)
I am also allergic to egg-based injections, myself. It took two injections for my reaction to appear, but when it did, I started to go into anaphylactic shock. By the way, my daughter is also allergic to egg-based injections.
My reaction occurred in 1965 and my daughter’s reaction happened in the 1970’s. Funny thing. Neither of us has ever had the flu. Maybe we don’t need the injections so much as the pharmaceutical houses want to make money. Hummmmm….
Obviously I’m on to something or you would have published my comment about the greed of pharmaceutical houses. My name and e-mail were filled in as required and still are.
One more time, in the 1960’s I nearly died from receiving my second flu shot because I am allergic to egg-based injections as is my daughter. Her reaction occurred in the 1970’s. Funny thing, neither of us has had the flu. Makes one wonder whether this is indication of a need for the injection or greed on the part of pharmaceutical houses. Hummmm…
I think the need for flu shots is way overblown, and the dangers are very much overlooked. Why? Because they’re *selling* us something, that’s why!
I’m 27 and I’ve never had a flu shot, as they have been contraindicated for me. I have severe autoimmunity, with three autoimmune diseases and high risk for others. Catching a virus of any kind sends my immune system into overdrive, resulting in all of my autoimmune diseases getting worse, and 3 to 6 months of prescription pain medications and bed rest. (You know how your joints ache when you have a fever? Imagine that for 6 months straight, all day every day.)
Because the flu vaccine contains a bit of the virus itself, my doctors have been unsure how I would react to the shot. Rather than risk hospitalizing me, my husband gets the flu shot to help insulate me, and I get through each winter with a lot of water and a lot of Purell.
If I got the flu shot, there’s a high risk it would do very nasty things to my body, *and* I’ll still be at risk for colds and flues not covered in this year’s vaccine. If I don’t, there’s a risk I’ll catch a cold or flu. Why would I take the definite risk over the possible risk?
If you *know* your kids are allergic to the vaccine, why would you give it to them?? There are many other ways to fight the flu that don’t require exposing your children to eggs and other harmful substances. Teaching your children to eat healthy, drink lots of water, wash their hands, and not touch their faces will last them a lot longer than a flu shot will.
I was allergic to eggs as an infant and was told not to ever get a flu shot. Two years ago, I went to an allergist for a skin test and was found to be no longer allergic. Prior to getting the flu shot, I contracted the flu about every 5 years. The fact that Thelma and her daughter have not had the flu has to do with either luck, good hygiene, exposure or coincience.
I have heard several stories of people getting serious injuries from the flu shot, including a child who got autism and an 80-year old man whose entire nervous system and motor skills were destroyed from it. With all the evidence out there on the dangers of vaccines, why are people still taking them?? A great alternative is olive leaf tea, which is well-documented to kill viruses of almost any kind, and is extremely effective against the flu.
I have been allergic and unable to digest eggs since I was about 4 years old. When I was 35 years old, my allergist confirmed that I had a severe egg allergy and told me to avoid all foods where eggs are an important ingredient in the food. In 2002, at the age of 41, my doctor convinced me to get a flu shot. At that time, I did not know that the vaccine was grown in egg cultures.
Unfortunately, the decision to get a flu shot resulted in me having vertigo for almost three weeks. I had severe bouts of vomitting and illness that limited my ability to work and function. Later, my doctor’s office told me that this was a mild reaction and that some people die from a severe allegic reaction to eggs. I would not recommend a flu shot for anyone with an egg allergy.
I think the allergic reaction outways the risk of the flu in your kids health. Not to mention there are other things in the flu shot that are less than good for children. Yes, the flu sucks & yes the flu can be fatal. But, I would not get it done if it where my kid.
As an allergist, I can tell you that the amount egg protein in the flu shot varies from year to year and batch to batch, therefore the safest way to administer the vaccine is first by an allergist who can skin test with the vaccine first.
If you have ever had a full blown case of the flu you would know why parents are concerned about being able to immunize their asthmatic children. Just because a child is known to be allergic to eggs doesn’t mean that they are definitely allergic to the vaccine. Each batch of vaccine is different and some have more residual egg protein than others. It also depends on the strength of the allergy. Most kids who are allergic to eggs outgrow the allergy by the time they are 5 or 6 years old. My granddaughters are allergic to eggs. The 3 year old’s allergy was never as severe as her little sister’s and she can eat many things now that have eggs cooked in them without any reaction at all. She is asthmatic and will get the flu shot this year for the first time. The little one (13mos)went straight to the ER after her first known exposure to eggs and cannot tolerate any amount of egg protein. She won’t be getting the shot any time soon.
I believe that there is a nasal spray vaccine not that does not have any eggs in it. Why not give that a try?
I’m a healthcare worker, and allergic to eggs. I got the flu shot last year at the urging of the infectious diseases physicians at the hospital where I work. They suggested I get it at my allergist’s, and when I did I wound up needing prednisone and diphenhydramine injections. I refused the Epi (my reaction was systemic, but didn’t affect my airway or blood pressure, and the prednisone did the trick). My reactions are moderate to severe, so I was pre-medicated with the benadryl. I see a lot of people who are automatically given Epi for every reaction, which is not appropriate. Not everyone needs Epi! With what I’m exposed to at work, I think I’m doing the right thing by getting the shot. It also helps to be informed about knee-jerk interventions that might happen if there is a reaction. Discuss several options with physicians AND with the nursing staff before getting the shot if a reaction is likely.
never mind, I just looked it up and I appear to have been wrong in my above post. Good luck with making your decision!
The nasal spray also contains egg protein so it is not a viable alternative to the shot. I think it is also not recommended for children.
My child has allergies,non related to egg. I have only let had the flu shot once in her 7yrs, when she was 6 mths old, now I am concern if I should give her the vaccine since I have found out the different allergies she has now, which was done using the blood tes.
It may be possible for an egg-alergic person to get a flu shot. My seven year old has gone to the hospital twice with anaphylaxis from egg allergies. A few years ago when flu shots were highly recommended (the year with the US vaccine shortage) and we had a new baby and two asthmatics in the house, we got him a flu shot at his allergist’s office. They gave him small injections over many hours, under the theory that it would tie up his immune cells so they wouldn’t be able to cause a full-on reaction. For whatever reason, theory or luck, it worked. He sure was a trouper through all that.
It’s all about Risk…my son has an egg allergies and a rare kidney disease. So every year…it’s a 4 hour appt. at the allergist. It’s brutal (we just got back)on him…but if he gets the flu he’s going to come our of remission and be in the hospital.
Some times the flu shot cause him to relapse…but then he’s home on meds and still not in the hospital.
Your Dr. should guide you on this…and the risks vs. benefits if your child has an illness.
Well that’s just my 2 cents.
Great article. My 3yo son is allergic to eggs and we have not given him the flu shot, but I always worry about that decision. It’s promising to hear that there may be a way to give him the shot in the coming years, even if he doesn’t outgrow his allergy.
Has there been any push to make a flu shot that is not grown within eggs? Why is this vaccine egg-related and the others he had as an infant were not?
The notion that human beings are “wide open” to bugs is ludicrous. If the flu were universally that deadly, there would be no one left to acquire it! True, those people with mild to severe immune compromise are more at risk, but even so, it is possible to strengthen the immune system and take common sense precautions. (I’m on immunosuppressant therapy so I’m not speaking out of ignorance) See your natural care physicians (chiropractors, naturopaths, acupuncturists. etc…) to find ways to naturally protect yourself from getting the flu and other contagious diseases. Injecting chemicals, food and mutated concoctions of viruses into your body is the strange thing, not nature.
My younger sister was violently allergic to eggs as an infant (the one time she had eggs, she went into anaphylactic shock) and she had to get a vaccine that was cultured in egg, and would most definitely still have egg protein in the dose. Despite her risk of reaction, the vaccine was important enough that the ped decided to go ahead and give it to her. They broke it down into seven smaller shots, and gave them to her over the course of a day, waiting an hour to two hours between each dose to make sure she didn’t react. It was hellishly long, but in the end she didn’t react AND she got her vaccine. Also, today, she isn’t allergic to eggs anymore :)
Severe egg allergy little girl. She was tested for the flu vaccine and came out fine. She had the flu shot and was extremely fine after. If you do your research you sould be absolutely fine. Trust your drs, but ask a lot of questions and go with your instintcts. You know your child best.
Who wrote this article and who is Dr. Fiore? Anti-virals are not typically prescribed for children and have significant side effects. It’s bad medicine and this article is fairly poorly written!
Christy, YESSS, way to go!! That’s good SOUND, COMMON SENSE advice. These people are such zombies here. But we know. it’s ignorance, Amazing why other countries call us Americans stupid.
It’s because they see that MOST of us citizens believe the hype about WHATEVER we’re told, sold and given.
Look people visit these sites:
GlobalHealthFreedom DOT org
HealthFreedomUSA DOT org
NaturalSolutionsFoundation DOT org
Organics4U DOT org
NaturalSolutionsMarketplace DOT org
NaturalSolutionsMedia DOT TV
I am an adult (49), and due to lack of money and then confirmation of my egg allergy, have had maybe 1 flu shot in my life. I used to get it annually, but since I’ve moved away from the Midwest, I rarely get the flu, and haven’t had it in 3 years. I would rather risk the flu than an anaphylactic reaction, which I have had (from allergy shots) and is far more life-threatening. While kids are at much higher risk of exposure, I think parents need to consider their child’s overall health and immune system strength and not freak out about germs and viruses. We are becoming germ-a-phobs and our body’s immune systems never get the chance to do what they are meant to do — protect us, and are therefore much weaker and propagate further weakness to things that have always existed in our world, and always will.
My 5-year-old daughter is allergic to egg and has asthma, and has received the flu shot every year since she was six months old. (She is also allergic to peanut, almond, milk, banana, and a number of other foods). She receives the shot in her allergist’s office, where she is either skin tested with the vaccine first or given a small amount of the vaccine first with the remainder given 30 minutes later. I am always anxious when she receives the shot, but thankfully, her only reaction so far has been localized – the area gets swollen and itchy about a day after she gets the shot, and it subsides in another couple of days. For her, the benefit of protection from the vaccine outweighs the cost, but I know this is not true for everyone.
MY 3 year old son has a severe allergy to eggs. He once had an anaphlyctic reaction at about a year old. Lips and tongue swelled, gasping for air, spots on his lips and around his mouth and throat. Very scary. He also has an extensive history of asthma and respitory problems. We’ve been hospitalized on occasions. He has a family doc and we see specialists in GR for the asthama and allergies. They all agree that he is high risk no matter what we do, but that giving the flu shot could very well be more detrimental than helpful here. I’m torn, I want him to be safe, but I also have seen the reactions from the proteins in the eggs. He has never had a flu shot, and may never, as they allergist isn’t sure he’ll ever outgrow the allergy because it’s so severe.
TRUE: the flu can kill
UN-Thunth: most childs need the flu shot.
Any shot is dangerous.
So keep the balance: give & get…
If your child gets the flu… He will stay home for a week. But his immune system will get out of it far beter.
Later he was rushed to the ER by an ambulance because he had a bite of animal cracker, he had swollen eyelids, lips, tongue, ears, nose, entire face, fingers and legs, and had difficulty breathing. At his one-year-old birthday party, we also had to rush him to the ER with an ambulance, he had a severe reaction to the birthday cake. We are ER and ambulance frequent customers. Now, my son is 22 months old, we go to his pediatrics allergist for flu shots, they closely watch him with each small dose of flu vaccine they gave him, every 30 minutes, until the full dose is done. We are hoping he can out grown his egg allergy soon.
My 1-year-old son is severely allergic to eggs after we got him tested by a pediatrics allergist and done with a blood test. His test number was at 13, “extremely severe”. We learned about his allergic reactions to eggs by the hard way, he is also severely allergic to TamiFlu. Last year, when my husband had flu, and my older son’s classmates in Kindergarten all got flu, (a flu outbreak in our city), so under our doctor’s order: the rest of our family to take TamiFlu for prevention (once a day with a smaller dose to prevent the flu), and my husband was taking TamiFlu to fight the flu he had. My babywas rushed to ER after his 2nd dose of TamiFlu. His eyelids lips ears nose face were swollen and difficulty breathing. His first dose of TamiFlu was fine, but not his 2nd dose.
Unless your child has other health concerns that would make the flu shot an absolute necessity (for example, asthma) I would avoid it. It’s just not worth the risk of a more than likely allergic reaction.
Unless it is an absolute necessary to give flu shot, I would abstain from one as it might trigger an asthma attack in the child.
There is an Australian invention in the market by the name of “Oralmat Drops” and they are known to have helped asthmatic children to effectively manage their allergies. My child who was asthmatic has been able to leave steroids and does not require puffs any more thanks to this small Aussie invention.
my 3yo son has egg allergies and other common allergies like peanuts and seafood, he also just got diagnosed for asthma when he got a severe attack and had to be hospitalized. Its devastating to see your baby go through all that, so im kind of opting for the flu shot. His egg allergy level is at 3 and his asthma isnt so serious yet. I think with the flu shot and some good asthma meds we wont have to take so many trips to the emergency room anymore. Any one have any oppinions or have had simmilar case??
My son is 3 also with egg allergy(4+) , asthma and has had the flu twice. His allergist suggested against the flu shot saying that the risk with the shot is greater than the risk without it. Im not so sure anymore. He is 3 and has had flu 2yrs in a row and has had walking pnuemonia. We might consider the risk next season. My baby has suffered enough.