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Hepatitis B/other vaccines! Are they ok to have for PWME?

Ellie_Finesse

Senior Member
Messages
192
Location
UK
After seeing @charles shepherd thread, I was wondering what the thoughts were of everyone here regarding the thread title? Maybe they have some experiences that they wouldn't mind sharing!

Just a quick background as to why I have given this thought!

Within my job their is a risk of getting Hep B because of the children we work with. The school pay for all those it concerns to have the vaccine, which is opptional. I was due to have this last March but because I was off sick due to this illness I wasnt there to have it when the nurse came to the school.

My boss asked me to check to see if I can have it because they are worried that it will make me sicker. Of course when I asked they said it will be fine. After searching online, I decided not to have it as I didn't think it was worth the risk. Also there is the question about flu vaccine, I have had it in the past but it made me ill, so I decline now when asked.

Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves, I just thought it might be an interesting topic to discuss in length. It doesnt have to just be about the Hep B Vaccine but any.
 

daisybell

Senior Member
Messages
1,613
Location
New Zealand
I made a decision not to have the flu vaccine after I got sick. I would only have a vaccine now if it was absolutely essential as I would worry lots that it might make me worse....
Wasn't there a paper that came out of Australia which recommended not having vaccinations if possible?
 

Kati

Patient in training
Messages
5,497
I made a decision not to have the flu vaccine after I got sick. I would only have a vaccine now if it was absolutely essential as I would worry lots that it might make me worse....
Wasn't there a paper that came out of Australia which recommended not having vaccinations if possible?
Actually it's the opposite, Dr Marshall-Gradisnik published on immunological effect of flu vaccine on patients with ME and it was in support of receiving the vaccine.

Personally, I prefer to not get a flu shot. They are not being extremely effective anyways (covering different strains than the flu trends) and since my immune system is definitely in a state of high alert anyways (haven't had a cold in over 7 years). I live by myself (no contact with children) so I am low risk for flu (well as low as can be). I am overdue for my tetanus shot and keeping this in mind should I have small injuries which put me at risk to contract tetanus.

As for Hepatitis B, @Ellie_Finesse casual contact with children will not put you at risk of contracting Hep B. Hep B is contracted through blood or sexual contact, often from birth transmission, or using dirty needles, or blood transfusions before they screened the blood which was a long while ago. Unless you are a RN, it might not be absolutely necessary.
 
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Ellie_Finesse

Senior Member
Messages
192
Location
UK
@Ellie_Finesse casual contact with children will not put you at risk of contracting Hep B. Hep B is contracted through blood or sexual contact, often from birth transmission, or using dirty needles, or blood transfusions before they screened the blood which was a long while ago. Unless you are a RN, it might not be absolutely necessary.

The school I work at is a mainstream school with specialist unit attached. I work with children from mild to severe SEN. We have a mixture of SEN children at our school. You are right when you say usually working with children wouldn't require having Hep B. But the children I work with are high dependent children, medically.
  • PMLD (profound multiple learning difficulties) most children that are PMLD can't do anything for themselves. They are still in nappies and can't walk or talk.
  • High medical needs like Haemophilia, trachia, tube fed, severe epilepsy.
Thats why we are offered Hep B, we are trained to deal with all their medical needs. At the moment I am in main stream working with a child that has Autism. We get moved around a lot and that will change at some point.
 

Kati

Patient in training
Messages
5,497
i am not sure what SEN means.

But unless you will give injections to their children, or they will bite you, the risk of contracting hep B remains low.
In the end, the choice to get vaccinated remains yours. There is a risk either way.
 

HowToEscape?

Senior Member
Messages
626
Check with your doc, provided they have at least 100 or so patients with ME/CFS. Since there's no large scale research regarding our condition (can't be, as there's not even a universally agreed definition much less a firm Dx), docs have to work with observation. You may also have just flip a coin.

An example, N=1 so it is hardly definitive: My doc recommended against the flu vax for me, based on his observations of other patients. I used my personal experience with colds and flu (different bugs, but the same immune system) and have requested the vax, doc said OK. I now insist on getting it every year regardless of how strong or weak the match is. I did that because even a whiff of a cold or flu knocks me out, although I went several years without getting one. I decided that a predictable and probably mild reaction bested an unpredictable, weeks long crash.

Result: In the seasons I've taken the flu vax since getting ME/CF, I've never had a significant flu or even cold, despite living in a major city which is quite filthy and has many people who disdain personal hygene. It has worked for me, YMMV.
 

Ellie_Finesse

Senior Member
Messages
192
Location
UK
i am not sure what SEN means.

But unless you will give injections to their children, or they will bite you, the risk of contracting hep B remains low.
In the end, the choice to get vaccinated remains yours. There is a risk either way.

SEN = Special Educational Needs

I forgot to metion that we also have children with severe behavioural and unfortunately some of our children bite. They offer and pay for Hep B vaccinations because there is a risk we can contract it. Sorry should of made that clear when explaining.

I have had it before when I first started working with the children but it didnt take. Because I have been so poorly Lately I decided not to have it again.

I just wondered what others experiences were with vaccinations, which is why I put thread up. Maybe I didnt make that clear enough in original post sorry! :)
 

Ellie_Finesse

Senior Member
Messages
192
Location
UK
What do you mean it didn't take? How would you know?

When work hired a nurse to come in and have the next wave of vaccines done those that had already had it were asked to have a blood test to see if they were immune. Mine showed up that I wasn't. So I was put forward to have it done again.