Delayed Vaccine Reactions

In my post about frequent ear infections, I wrote about the connection I made between my daughter's exposure to one of her high (at the time undiagnosed) allergens and an ear infection/bronchitis episode.  This connecting of the dots sent me digging to work on another theory I had brewing in the back of my mind.

I had read some posts from people talking about vaccines and wondering whether they should do the delayed schedule, or not vaccinate at all.  I'm pretty sure I responded once or twice saying that my daughter did fine with all her vaccines, except for her flu shots.  Well, now I'm not so sure.  Looking back, it looks like she had a problem with every set of shots she received.  

I started an Excel spreadsheet (yes, I am crazy like that) and I entered all of her pediatric doctor visits and the reason.  I then added in her immunization dates.  I sorted the records and lo and behold, there was a pattern!  

• 2-month shots: DTaP/Hep B/IPV/Pneumococcal Conj. /Rotavirus/HIB-PRP-D [suspicious ingredients: bovine protein, whey protein, lactalbumin hydrolysate]
• 25 days later: I took her in for a rash - this is when her first eczema developed and I do not, entirely blame that on the shots...
• 4-month shots: DTaP/Hep B/IPV/Pneumococcal Conj. /Rotavirus/HIB-PRP-D [suspicious ingredients: bovine protein, whey protein, lactalbumin hydrolysate]
• 7 days later: Green mucousy stools (sorry for the TMI)
• 6-month shots:  DTaP/Hep B/IPV/Pneumococcal Conj. /Rotavirus/HIB-PRP-D [suspicious ingredients: bovine protein, whey protein, lactalbumin hydrolysate]
• 14 days later: Upper respiratory infection (URI)
• 9-months shot: 1st Flu shot [suspicious ingredient: egg protein]
• 4 days later: Ear infection and "viral syndrome"
• 12-month shots: MMR/Varicella/Flu shot [suspicious ingredients: egg protein, bovine albumin]
• 12 days later: Congestion/Ear infection
• 15-month shots: Diphtheria/Tetanus/HIB/Pneumococcal Conj. [suspicious ingredients: bovine protein, lactose]
• 7 days later: cough/breathing issues requiring albuterol treatment

She first developed eczema at 3-4 months of age, which is a pretty common time for it to crop up, so I'm not too surprised about that.  I do have a feeling, however, that being directly injected with whey protein exacerbated, if not triggered, her milk protein allergy.  She basically had repeated injections of milk and egg protein, directly into her system.

I was never able to report any "adverse effects" to her shots, because they did not happen right away.  They told me that the symptoms were unrelated because it was too long after the shots.  Most times I didn't even connect the two, but in hindsight, it looks pretty obvious, since she hardly had any illnesses outside of those on that list.

Where does that leave us? Well, I don't really know.  I guess I will have to do some research to see if any vaccine formulations exists that don't contain her severe allergens.  I wonder if there are preventative measures we can take when she's due for her next shots.  When my daughter was born and we signed up with our pediatrician's office they said we couldn't be a patient if we didn't follow the standard immunization schedule, but I wonder if there are any exceptions for severe food allergies.  I have a little less than a year to figure that all out...

Update June 2012: I am adding a link to the reference document from the CDC website that lists the vaccine ingredients: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf