Vaccines

[gfmelissa]

My work dictates that we must get a TB/PPV test/vaccine each year. I am supposed to get it in two weeks. is it gluten-free?? does anyone know?

[mommida]

What state are you in? It may be illegal for your company to require vaccination.

You need to read the vaccine package insert before you get the vaccine. Look under contraindictions, it may say it will exacerbate auto-immune diseases.

Vaccination should be your decision.

I feel having an auto-immune disease is contraindiction for all vaccines, regardless of ingredients.

Your local library will be able to help you find the release form for your state. (Yes, most states have release forms.)

Your doctor's office may not want to give you a copy of the vaccine package insert. 3 doctor's offices would not give me copy. They are online on the cdc website.

Laura

[lovegrov]

Having a vaccination is not a contradiction for ALL autoimmune diseases. I've never heard that people with celiac should avoid immunizations. I get the flu vaccine every year with no harmful results.

It appears from another post by the same person that this is NOT a vaccine but a test to prove she is free of TB. In certain types of work, this most certainly can be required if you want the job.

I assume this is the scratch test? If so, it will certainly be gluten-free. And even if it weren't gluten-free, it doesn't matter unless you're swallowing it.

richard

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Just because you don't injest it doesn't mean you won't have a reaction.

I don't know about those ones but I had the meningitis shot and did have a reaction to it. It wasn't too bad (rash, burning, redness, and swelling) but lasted a week or two and the doctor saidto only be concerned if I felt dizzy.

Just be careful about what is put in your body.

[Guest PastorDave]

Hi there, I asked a pro about this (a nurse who worked in vaccine preventable diseases as well as a celiac herself) and she said that there is no way that any vaccine should be made with gluten, since gluten is a thickening agent, and the last thing a nurse wants is to have to push something even thicker through a needle.

And momida it is not illegal for employers to require TB tests if they believe that it is possible that thier employees might have come in contact with it. In fact the American Government requires one for anyone who wishes to immigrate to the US. TB is an awful disease and extremely contagious, it is important to keep it contained. Many employers will allow you to opt out of a skin test, but you will need a chest x-ray instead, however the employer may not pay for that.

[tarnalberry]

You can definitely react to elements in a vaccine - that's why you're not supposed to get a flu shot if you have an egg allergy. (It's "grown" in eggs.) I had a pretty annoying reaction to the pneumovax myself, but a side-effect, even an annoying one, needs to be weighed against the value of the vaccine itself. If the vaccine I got reduces my chance of getting pneumonia by 33% over the course of the next five years, given my chances otherwise of getting it, it's well worth the "too painful to even touch for a week" and "too itchy to not touch" arm that I had.

[lovegrov]

I didn't say that you can't react to ingredients in an injection. I said you wouldn't

have a celiac reaction. Allergic reactions are an entirely different thing and are very well documented. A rash, burning and redness is NOT celiac. Allergic and celiac reactions are not the same.

As I think I said, I have also been told by medical people that injections and IVs will never contain gluten. It's simply not something we need worry about.

richard

[MySuicidalTurtle]

What is it when I wear gluten make up or shampoo and get red burnign eyes and itchyness and burned scalp? Can we have allergic AND celiac symptoms to gluten?

[lovegrov]

Yes, you can have celiac AND allergic reactions. Reactions like that on your skin sound like allergic reactions. It is not a celiac reaction,

richard

[mommida]

I replied in regards to the vaccine, not the t.b. test.

Vaccines work on the premise of a "normal immune" system. Celiac Disease is an auto immune disease.

If you would like to read the vaccine package insert, some do say "may exacerbate auto-immune related illness."

It should be this person's personal and PRIVATE DECISION!

This person is asking for information to make this decision. This is a highly arguemented topic. There is A LOT of information available, and I think the first place she should start looking is the actual information sheet for this particular vaccine.

Different states have different laws. Some states allow religous exemptions, some for contraindictions. It has come to my attention a lot of people don't know what their rights are.

Laura

[mommida]

What happened to Mariann/Marian/Marrianne's post?

L

[lovegrov]

The original poster clarified in a different post that this is a TB TEST, not a vaccine. Certain jobs can certainly require you to prove you don't have TB.

My own doctor has celiac and he says the warning about vaccines and autoimmune diseases does not apply to people who are faithfully on the gluten-free diet. As long as we're not eating gluten, our immune systems are fine, unlike other autoimmune diseases where your system is out of whack all the time. At least that's how I understand it. I know that flu and pnuemonia vaccines ARE recommended for us (although having just celiac disease does not put you in the high-risk category).

Everybody should consult with his or her own doctor.

richard

[gfmelissa]

Actually, I am the original post-er, and I would like to say that i appreciate everyones different opinion. Thats why we have this message board!! so no one needs to get upset! They are doing the shots on monday and, i am going to ask the nurse what she thinks before I get it.

Thanks for the info guys!

Melissa

[mommida]

Don't take a nurse, doctor, Richard, Richard's doctor, or my word for your information, if you have a vaccine concern. The package insert will have ingredients, contraindications, adverse reaction information, and effeciency statistics.

If you are receiving a single dose or from a multi-dose also can have an effect.

When you go on a gluten free diet you learn to read the labels, this should not be that different.

You did not mention if you have any other sensitivites or health issues, that would be another reason for you to read the package insert for anything going into your body.

I own stock that pertains to this subject so I do try and stay informed.

Laura

[lovegrov]

I agree that nobody should base their decision on my advice or opinion or even that of my doctor (although because he has celiac he knows a HECK of a lot more about it than your average medical person), I can't agree that you shouldn't listen to what your doctor has to say. That doesn't make any sense. Sure, go ahead and read the insert, but I also would't fully base my decision on that.

No matter what is decided, you don't have to worry about gluten in the injection.

richard

[mommida]

Doctors usually don't memorize the ingredients of vaccines.

I would have to go in favor of the ingredient list over what the doctors professional opinion of what the ingredient list would be.

Does that make sense to you?

L

[lovegrov]

Doctors might not memorize all the ingredients, but every medical person I've seen who has commented on the subject has said that IV's and injectables NEVER have gluten -- without exception. These same people say that even if they did have gluten, it would not be a problem because you're not swallowing it. The problem with just reading an ingredient list, as we know, is that ingredeints are often hidden.

I'm not a doctor and not an expert. Please don't take what I say as gospel. I'm merely repeating what I've read and what my doctor who has celiac has told me.

richard

[mommida]

O.K. Let me clarify this for you. A person on a gluten free diet has to read every label for food and products they are going to ingest. People who notice products on their bodies cause reactions need to read the labels too. Every person should pay attention to what is being put into their body. There are safe guidelines for vaccines. They may have a safer vaccine available. ( if you need more specific comparison = the injectable polio versus the ingested live virus polio, now we should only be using the injected )

I had a pediatrician swear up and down that the vaccine for my child did not have mercury in it. Law went into effect to stop the manufacter of mercury in this vaccine. I said I wanted to check the vaccine package. Guess what? It had mercury in the vaccine. We chose to wait for the thimerisol free vaccine. (Doctors do make mistakes.) Does it hurt to double check? How much could it hurt not to?

Taking some time to make an informed decision, that is right for you, is what I am trying to advocate. I get really annoyed people don't know it is their right to decide on this issue. In states that make that a little more difficult you do have the right to go to court and fight on this issue.

Laura

[lovegrov]

Maybe we're talking about different things -- sort of. If I were ingesting or swallowing the vaccine I would most certainly check the ingredients for gluten. If it were being injected, I would not check it for gluten because I know it's not there and because I'm not swallowing it.

I don't know all the legal ins and outs, but private employers have a pretty wide latitude in what they require of employees. They can require certain dress, hair length, invasive drug tests and so on. If an employer tells you you can have a job but one requirement is to get a TB vaccine, I would think that would be perfectly legal (although maybe not if they add this requirement on after you've been hired). You have the right to turn down the job but I simply don't see where you'd have the right to say "No, I'll take the job but I won't follow your vaccine rule."

richard

[mommida]

People take jobs and yet continue to practice religion.

Christian Science, Jehova's witness, Christian, or Jewish, Muslum, Tao, etc.

There are religions that do not belive in vaccinations.

Can you say discrimination lawsuit?

L

As for reading the label on something injected into the body, we would be foolish not to. Eggs are a food allergy and yet there is a warning on the MMR vaccine. We feel confident they do not put gluten in the vaccines on the market now, what about next year? Part of new vaccine research is to put it in food.

L

[tarnalberry]

Actually, jobs can require vaccinations regardless of religion because there is no requirement that you take the job. Public schools, I believe, are required to have exemptions, but that's because you are required to attend school - and public schooling is required to be accessible to all. A job is a privalege, not a right, and they may require any of a number of things that are not legal in the public sector (including searches that would elsewhere amount to invasion of privacy).

[mommida]

I think that law would still vary from state to state. vaccines.com can provide a link to vaccine laws for each state.

L

[lovegrov]

I couldn't download everything on that site because of the size of some of the files but everything I saw had to do with the vaccines required in each state, not how you can get out of taking them.

If your proposed job is health sensitive, and your private employer requires certain vaccinations because of that, then if your religion doesn't allow vaccinations, why in the heck would you apply for that job!!!!!!! You are not required in any way or manner to apply for or accept this job. The employer is not going out and forcing you to apply. The state is not requiring you to apply. So there would be no religious discrimination.

My wife is a nurse and if you want to be a nurse, you most definitely need to take (actually, she's REQUIRED to take) the hepatitis vaccination (you'd be a fool if you didn't), and you 'd be an idiot if you didn't take the flu shot every year. Plus, you'd be a threat to the health of your patients because you could spread hepatitis or the flu to them.

richard

[mommida]

The point was to make an informed decision. The laws, exemption, ingredients, contraindications, benefits, risk of adverse reaction, your personal risk for infection, and options for a possible safer vaccine are all reasonable concerns. The time to ask the question is sooner rather than later.

Your profession is your choice.

Religion is your choice.

I could not even begin to speculate on the choices people make.

If law's are in place to protect someone's right, and a employer chooses to violate those rights, legal action should be taken.

L

[mommida]

Sorry I was interrupted,

If you need to find a waiver form for your state, you can go to your local library. The librarian can assist your search and provide a hard copy.

Richard,

What if your wife, the nurse, had a change in her health and she was now contraindicated for the mandatory vaccine? The label states clearly the RISK now outweighs any benefit the vaccine can offer. To get the vaccine clearly violates the intended usage.

What options have you left for that person?

Although you seem to be argueing the religous exemption, a medical exemption has the same implications. You state she is a risk to her patients.

Why should she be able to keep her job?

Laura