Back to Resources

Vaccines

Find answers to popular questions about vaccines.

Vaccines
  • Question

    I read your article on latex gloves that states there is a hazard if people inhale the dust from latex gloves. Is there any danger to a student in a school cafeteria that eats food that is prepared by someone wearing latex gloves?

    Answer

    The hazards of latex exposure exist for those who are allergic to it, but not otherwise. Latex can be found in varying degrees in many products, but items such as powdered latex gloves and latex balloons are particularly high in content. If a person is allergic to latex, strict avoidance is best. Individual sensitivity can increase over time, causing an allergic reaction to smaller and smaller amounts of latex. Interestingly, hospitals have moved away from using powdered latex gloves for a number of years, as these gloves were felt to increase the risk of latex allergy in workers. Since this shift, there have been fewer hospital workers developing latex allergy! In addition, other industries have moved toward less frequent use of powdered latex gloves, or began using non-latex gloves only, to reduce the risk.To answer your question, yes, a person allergic to latex could definitely have an allergic reaction to food handled with latex gloves. Therefore, it would be best if no latex products were used to prepare food in this situation.

  • Question

    I had an egg allergy when I was a kid, around 5-6 years old. Now I’m 33 and no longer seem to have any reaction to eggs. I would like to get a flu shot, but I’ve been told I need to be sure I don’t have an egg allergy. I eat eggs every morning and don’t notice any reaction, so I don’t think I’m allergic anymore. Can I just get the flu shot? What do you suggest?

    Answer

    If you are tolerating eggs daily without symptoms, you are no longerallergic to eggs. If you do not have any skin, stomach, swallowing, throat, or breathing symptoms related to eating eggs; then you do not have to worry about egg allergy. You should get the influenza vaccine annually, and you do not need any special precautions or monitoring.

  • Question

    I have a family history of strong latex allergy (among many other allergies). I know the best solution is prevention, so I avoid latex for myself and my children as much as possible. But there are many rubber and other products that might also contribute to latex allergy, and I'm not sure how to know which materials I should try to avoid and which ones are considered safe. For example, I am currently shopping for sandals for my family, and many shoes contain latex and similar materials. If they don't say "latex free," but they do describe what materials they are made of (urethane, vulcanized rubber, etc.), how do I know if these are likely to cause problems for my family or not?

    Answer

    A family history ofnatural rubber latex allergydoes not necessarily predict that you have latex allergy. If you believe you have had problems with skin or respiratory symptoms around latex,consult a qualified allergistto be tested to latex. If you have had no problems around rubber products in the past, and you are not yourself allergic, you need not be concerned about coming in contact on occasion with rubber latex-containing products.

    Those persons who have regular contact with latex protein in rubber gloves, such as health care workers or workers using latex materials in manufacturing, are at greatest risk to develop latex allergy.

  • Question

    I thought the flu vaccine changed every year, but my nurse looked at this year’s flu vaccine and found it has H1N1 in it. Isn’t that the same as swine flu?

    Answer

    Your nurse is right! The terminology is a little confusing, so here’s a refresher: H1N1 is a subtype of Influenza A that has caused roughly half of all human flu infections we’ve seen in the past several years.

    H1N1 viruses are identified by two surface proteins: Hemagglutinin (H) and Neuramidase (N). The strains H1, 2 and 3, and N1 and 2 are found in people – a lot more strains are found in birds and pigs, and can be spread to humans. If a sufficient genetic shift occurs in an animal virus strain, it can then be transmitted person to person.

    Scientists closely monitor the strains infecting humans as well as animals, since crossover to humans may signal the next pandemic influenza.

    Yes, the human influenza strains do shift from year to year, but it is very rare that all three strains in an influenza vaccine change in a single year. Therefore, you will see repeating strains if you watch the vaccines’ contents.

    People need a yearly influenza vaccine for two reasons: the vaccines usually contain new strains each year, and immunity to influenza decreases over time. The yearly vaccine helps keep your immunity strong and ensures that you have resistance to the strains scientists have identified as important for the year.

  • Question

    My 4 year-old son recently had anaphylaxis after the following vaccinations were given at the same time: chickenpox, DTP, polio, and MMR. Immediately after these immunizations in our pediatrician's office, he complained of his throat hurting, was sneezing, drooling, threw up and had red, itchy skin and trouble breathing. He was taken by ambulance to the ER, and treated with shots including epinephrine. In the past, he has had drooling and vomiting after eating a piece of protein chocolate bar and when taking his gummy vitamins, and complained of his throat hurting after eating marshmallows. My son doesn't have any hay fever, and we don't have a family history of allergies. Do you have any idea what could be causing these reactions?

    Answer

    Based on the information you’ve provided, your child’s reactions may be related to gelatin, which is added as a stabilizer to some vaccines and is found in both the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) and chickenpox (varicella) vaccines. Yellow fever vaccine and rabies vaccine also contain gelatin, but are not part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule.

    The foods you list also frequently contain gelatin.

    新霉素,抗生素,是另一个成分some vaccines which can be related to allergic reactions; it can also result in a reaction if used with topical application (as in “triple antibiotic” antibacterial skin creams, sold over-the-counter).

    Your allergistcan evaluate the possibility of a gelatin (or other) allergy and perform testing on your child to confirm. Given the circumstances, any further vaccinations should be held – and foods containing gelatin avoided – until the exact cause of reactions has been determined.

  • Question

    我是一名66岁的男子最近出院from the hospital after a prolonged and resistant bout of pneumonia. After seeing an allergy/immunology doctor for an evaluation of a possible immune deficiency problem, I had some lab studies done. A certain test called gamma globulin came back in the low normal range, but some of the other tests were not quite normal. The allergist recommended that I have a Pneumovax (pneumococcal vaccine) and a tetanus/diptheria/pertussis vaccination and then have some repeat blood tests. Is it really necessary to have both of these vaccines? How do they help to identify if I have an immune problem?

    Answer

    Someone with an immune deficiency is very likely to have low normal or even normal gamma globulin levels but still have an inability to make antibodies to specific organisms such as pneumococcus (a bacteria which can cause pneumonia).

    The blood work you had taken likely showedyour allergistthat you lacked proper antibodies to specifically fight pneumococcal diseases and that you lacked protection against tetanus and/or diphtheria. The absence of these antibodies does not in itself mean that you have an immune problem. You may have lost the immunity from the diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis that you had as a child, and may simply not have been exposed to many of the pneumococcal organisms that were tested in the blood.

    However, you do need protection against all these organisms – that’s a standard recommendation for all adults over 65! Receiving the vaccines your physician has recommended will likely give you that protection. Repeating the blood tests 4 weeks afer the vaccinations will help your allergist know if your immune system is functioning properly. You really need both vaccinations for protection and to gain necessary information about your immune system. If your body shows an inadequate response to these vaccines, further immune studies and treatment, possibly long-term, may be required.

    These vaccines can be administered at the same time. I would suggest that you follow your allergist’s advice and obtain the vaccines and then the blood tests 4 weeks later.