MMR vaccine cause of ITP?

My daughter's low platelets were discovered when she was 15 months old. In reality, they were probably low for about a month or two before that, but I didn't pay much attention to the bruising until after the fact. She has had a ton of tests run, but no cause of the low platelets have been found. She will be 3 years old in a month and her count has continued to be in the 20-30 range.

I've been doing some research on my own and I see that the MMR vaccine can cause ITP. She would have recieved it at her 12 month check up. Does anyone have any information on the MMR vaccine related to ITP? I'm really wondering if this could have caused it and the chances of the vaccine causing ITP in my youngest daughter who hasn't received it yet. Thanks!

EDIT: I retract this statement. There is no evidence the MMR causes ITP (this is NOT to say there aren't claims). There is evidence that withholding the MMR causes serious issues for some.

Sorry Tamar, I differ. It is documented that the MMR vaccine can trigger ITP in some children who are probably already predisposed. It is a listed side effect. Any vaccine or medication has the potential to trigger ITP. The chances of it also happening to your other daughter would be rare, so I'd try not to worry about that.

Acute ITP occurs after vaccinations against several infectious agents. Best studied is measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination, but there is reasonable documentation for acute thrombocytopenia developing after vaccination against pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae B, hepatitis B virus, and varicella-zoster virus (VZV).

The estimated incidence of ITP-MMR is 1 in 40 000 doses, defined as thrombocytopenia developing within 42 days of exposure,15 an incidence 6-fold higher than acute ITP of childhood. Most cases occur after initial vaccination during the second year of life, and there is a male predominance.15,16 Thrombocytopenia is often severe,16 but responsive to IVIG or corticosteroids. More than 80% recover within 2 months, typically within 2 to 3 weeks,16 with less than 10% evolving into chronic ITP,17 simulating the pattern of acute ITP of childhood.18 The pathophysiology is unknown, although antibodies to GPIIb/IIIa have been identified in few patients,19 similar to primary ITP. Patients in remission or with stable ITP may receive all recommended immunizations,15,16 as the incidence of ITP-MMR is 10- to 20-fold lower than after natural infection. Delays in vaccination are appropriate during resolution of acute ITP or immunosuppressive treatment. The Centers for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended assessing immunity to determine the need for revaccination, although recurrence of thrombocytopenia after revaccination is rare.15

bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/113/26/6511.full

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-mmr.pdf

Suzanne,

I had to think long and hard about answering your post b/c it opens a huge can of worms I do not desire to open. But laying in bed, remembering sitting where you are, I have to. Yes, in short, the MMR is very much known to be a factor in ITP. It's also a factor in any number of autoimmune diseases b/c it damages the immune system. I have three vaccine damaged children. All given shots up to age 12mos (the MMR being the last). I would highly encourage you to do some serious study on if you want to continue vaccinating your children. Start with Dr. Sherry Tenpenny and from there you can branch out (Dr. Mercola and others). Study both sides. Be informed, because your doctor will NOT inform you (especially of both sides of the equation). Vaccines are damaging to the immune system. Natural immunity is always a better method of immunity. We vaccinate to "save" a very small number of children/adults affected by diseases compared to the massive amounts of damage done from the shots themselves.

I have three kids. One with major nervous system damage, one with major gut damage (my ITP kid), and one with mild nervous system damage from shots. All very easily connected to when and what shots they received.

What I DO want to encourage you is that vaccine damage can be "undone." While it will not remove immunity (although many of these viruses are now mutating and the current shots may not provide immunity to the mutated viruses) you can help the body remove the damage. We have used homeopathy with all three of my children and seen tremendous reversal in the damage caused by the shots they had. The MMR being the most damaging to them. In the case of my son's ITP, it was critical that we dealt with it as it was a huge factor in his getting ITP. While we are mostly through the ITP now (still have the occasional bump in the road - although not often), we are still continuing to work on detoxing out the vaccine damage. For my ITP boy, we had to deal with mulitple layers of vaccine damage, drug damage (pred./IVIG/benadryl) before we could even get him above zero platelets. And while it was a slow process of getting him back into the normal range, the h-pathy did get us there. He still bobbles once in awhile but we're a far cry from the zero that we sat at for what felt like forever (months).

So when it comes to healing ITP as a result of vaccine damage (really, it's immune system damage caused by the vaccine), do not let anyone tell you it's not possible. It IS possible. And while people like to say that most children are acute ITP cases and it most likely will go away - I haven't seen that. When ITP results from vaccine damage, I see more often then not they become chronic because that shot doesn't magically leave the body nor does the body magically fix the immune system damage. I do see where cases of ITP caused by odd viruses, etc. being mostly acute. But that goes against the grain of what everyone spouts so do with it what you will.

But the short answer to your question is "yes," the MMR very well could have been a factor in ITP and I personally would not do it for another child since they carry similar genes and factors. Because while the next child might not get ITP, you may end up with nervous system damage (tics, MS, etc.) or something else (have a friend whose boy got JRA from the MMR).

The bottom line is, do your research. Research ALL sides of the vaccine issue. When you are done, you can at least feel confident in whatever decision you make. Because ultimately, you have to feel like you're doing the right thing for your family. If you're here wondering, it's probably a good indicator that more research for future vaccination is worth the time and effort.

And my last thought is this - when I was researching (started after #2 had MMR damage) I began to research the actual ingredients to many of these shots. I soon realized that if I were to take an empty syringe, fill it with attenuated virus (which simply means weakened, not dead), added ethylene glycol (anti-freeze), a little mercury (my kid's shots had mercury), formaldahyde (preservative used in embalming), and a few other ingredients, and shot that into my child's thigh - I'd go to jail for child abuse. But have a doctor do it and it's called a vaccine.

Food for thought............

I stand corrected. It is everything else from autism to MS that is not caused by MMR! I just got confused.

tamar wrote: I stand corrected. It is everything else from autism to MS that is not caused by MMR! I just got confused.

This is an incredibly ignorant statement. You do realize that ITP is autoimmune? As are MS, JRA, and a host of other autoimmune diseases. If the MMR can be the cause of ITP (which is autoimmune), then it is also possible it is the cause of other autoimmune diseases. That is just logical. I don't have the time or energy to expend explaining/documenting how vaccines affect the immune system. You're a big girl, I would encourage you to do some serious research (and I don't mean one day on the internet searching). Several autism cases have now been ajudicated that have shown, in fact, a link between the MMR and autism (aside from the biology which is a whole other ballgame of proof).

We will have to agree to disagree on this issue.

Any vaccine or medication could possibly trigger an autoimmune disorder. However, you have to weigh the benefit vs risk and if the vaccine is necessary, it may be worth the risk. Each patient and parent has to make their own decision on that. It's hard enough as it is without the guilt/blame thrown at them.

Sandi wrote: Any vaccine or medication could possibly trigger an autoimmune disorder. However, you have to weigh the benefit vs risk and if the vaccine is necessary, it may be worth the risk. Each patient and parent has to make their own decision on that. It's hard enough as it is without the guilt/blame thrown at them.

Agreed - regardless of my stand on vaccines. My issue was with the ignorance of making a statement that is blatantly untrue.

I did not mean to cause a vaccine debate. I apologize for that. I am just searching for more information. I was never anti-vaccine but this has opened my eyes a bit. My husband has crohns disease so I should have realized my girls are at increased risk of an autoimmune response.

Suzanne:

Do not apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. Debates occur here once in a while due to some very strong forces. Sometimes we learn from them, sometimes we don't.

Patti:

I think we could do without the accusatory verbiage. Tamar also blatantly admitted that her fact was incorrect, and she is far from ignorant.

Sorry, Suzanne. This is mostly my fault, and I apologize.

Here is some unbiased information that I found: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/vaccine-decision/side-effects.html

Suzanne, vaccines and ITP will always be a hot button issue. You have nothing to apologize for. I would encourage you to look at the discussion as food for thought vs. conflict because it IS food for thought. And if there is just one parent on this board that the entire discussion helps, then it's worth it.

Tamar, I'm not arguing with you here, simply pointing out the other side of the coin. I tried to find pieces of this I could cut and paste but it's just too long so you will have to read it for yourself, beginning to end, to discover that the CDC, FDA and pharma companies are intertwined and regularly ignore the conflict of interest in their recommendations (providing conflict of interest waivers rather then following their own rules). People are sitting on the boards of both the CDC and FDA that approve these vaccines (in spite of research indicated they should not be approved) that sometimes have very large stock investments in the very companies that are making the vaccines/drugs. They are not impartial when it comes to decision making. This is worth the read to understand the connection.

www.vaccineinfo.net/issues/conflictofinterest/conflicts_of_interest.shtml

The CDC is not a reliable source of information in terms of damages caused by or side effects from vaccines.

Sandi wrote:
Patti:

I think we could do without the accusatory verbiage. Tamar also blatantly admitted that her fact was incorrect, and she is far from ignorant.

ig·no·rant
/ˈignərənt/
Adjective

Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular: "ignorant of astronomy".

I stand by my statement. It was used correctly. And Tamar admitted her lack of knowledge AFTER your correction. My statement that she was ignorant regarding the subject is correct. It was not accusatory - it was truthful. You will note that you and I posted at nearly the same time BEFORE she retracted her statement. You may not like the word, but it was used correctly. I'm not politically correct and won't be to come up with a word that makes someone feel better b/c they don't like the definition of the word used.

This all just goes to show you can't believe everything you read on the Internet, and it does no good to get worked up about it either. I, for one, don't really care if someone on the internet thinks I'm ignorant based on one post. NO ONE is right all the time. NO ONE.

Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Suzanne- I share a very similar situation, my son recieved the MMR vaccine June 14th July 15th was diagnosed with ITP with a count of less than 1..That night when we met the hematologist one of the first things she sais was he had shots just about 4 weeks ago, she fully believed that was the cause. She never suggested we should never vaccinate again as most Dr's believe what the vaccines prevent are worse than ITP, however my son is now 3 and it still below 20!!

I have a 20 month old now, he was 5 weeks old when Bryan was diagnosed and he did get all his shots until it was time for MMR. His ped understands my fears and feels it is OK to hold out awhile. I have read though that 2 out of the 3 viruses can cause ITP themself so I guess it is a no win and risk either way.

Okay, I get both sides here. All I'm asking is that it not keep going just because someone needs to have the last word. We get the point, and can make our own decisions, thank you.