Adventures in Vaccinating

Well, today we had yet another fun-filled trip to the doctor's office. Much to Alex's disappointment, when I said we were going bye-bye, we ended up in the one place he dreads most. He never seems to have a good appointment experience. Today we had to go because of a vaccine reaction. You see, Alex is coming to the end of his shots. His most recent one was the MMR. I was not looking forward to it because of all the crazy things you read about. Not only is it a major shot, but it is also the first live vaccine that is injected into these poor kiddos. The statistics say that 1 in 7 kids will get a reaction to this one. The reactions take place between 7 to 10 days after the shot. And if any kid would react, it would be mine. With his history of allergies and fun trips to the hospital and ER, I was not looking forward to this. So exactly 7 days after the shot, he developed a fever that would come and go over three days ranging between 99 and 103 degrees. After many doses of ibuprofen and countless temperature checks, he got past it. No other symptoms arose during the fever. A perfectly normal Alex who just seems to run a little warm. Alas, it was not the end of our adventure in vaccinating. Yesterday he developed a rash on his trunk. According to the nurse via phone, (they must have my phone number memorized by now) a rash was also part of the MMR reaction and it should disappear by 3 days. Today the rash spread to his face and arms and itched him pretty bad. So I called to see if I could give him Benedryl. The wise nurse said it sounded like hives and may be an allergic reaction and I should have him checked. Off to the doc's we went to find out that it was infact a reaction to the glorious MMR. It turns out that a reaction like this is just what they call a non-contagious small case of the measles. Great to know that the shot that they give to protect can also cause so much misery. Next vaccine...Chicken Pox. All I can say to that is...I don't think so.