shots in BPI arm

[luvmykidz]

I have been told by my childs OT to NEVER, under ANY circumstances allow anyone to put a needle in the affected arm or to allow anyone to take bood pressure in that arm either. I am of the opinion that that arm has endured enough trauma, why add more? I would not let anyone come close to my childs' affected arm, but maybe others feel differently and can share their experiences.

[Kath]

This year I had my flu shot in my bum... because my unaffected arm is so overused and gets painful. The nurse started to give me a hard time... the doctor to her to oblige me as soon as I said I had a bpi.
Kath

[admin]

Here's my take on the subject.....if muscles are not inervated or not working up to par, than it would be hard for a vaccine/medication to absorb properly within that musculature! Some meds are given IM, others are given Sub-Q, etc....each have a specific absorption rate depending on the method used. So in my personal opinion, I would never give a shot in my daughter's affected arm because I just don't know if her muscles are functioning 100% as they should be.

On another note, the decrease in muscle funtion can also cause the arm to be colder due to lack of circulation within the muscle which would normally be conducting heat when working properly (in addition to a possible decrease in circulation in general).

Make any sense....I hope so, I am pretty tired today!

[Tanya in NY]

I think it is absolutely ridiculous to expect a child to accept 5 SHOTS at one visit. Talk about making a child not want to see a doctor!!! How about the simple solution of doing less shots at the visit. The vaccination schedule is a guideline and not law as to when the shots are to be given. There is a time frame for them. For example, the varicella vaccine is recommended for 15-18 months. Why not do that at another visit rather than with all the other shots at once. 5 shots at once is too much! The child's arm should not and cannot absorb that much in one arm. You can use the thigh, but usually it is reserved to the child that is not walking/cruising around. We do not do shots in our daughter's BPI arm because of decreased circulation. We also do not do more than 1-2 shots at each visit. I know it can be a pain in the neck to get a shot at each visit, and you may need a few more well-baby visits, but they can only be a nurse visit to get a shot and not have to see the pediatrician. This is what we do and the only shot that Amber is "behind" on is the varicella vaccine which we have chosen NOT to vaccinate against until she is ready to go to school.

Tanya in NY

[admin]

Yeah, it is ridiculous. Unfortunately an odd set of circumstances got us here, which included a postponement of one shot (which I had forgotten about until this visit) and then a required extra shot for school (tetanus). The deadline for school shots, a waitlist for the annual physical (because of the medical forms deadlines for all schools), and our vacation schedule makes another visit extremely difficult for us...thus the reason for raising the question. After this though, looks like she's not due for another shot for at least 5 or 6 years!

thanks again for all your input, it is really helpful...especially from you adults who can let us know what the pain and sensations are. I'll have to remember the rear options!

[admin]

Here is what happened to us. My son is 6 with a ROPBI. When he went into kindergarten, I told the HEALTH DEPARTMENT NO SHOTS IN HIS RIGHT ARM...they looked at me strange and after a lot of explaination and and a little arguing they gave him two in his left arm and wrote a note to the school that he should be left in school that due to medical neccesity(SP?) they could not administer all shots at once. The health department would not give him all those shots at once....I think there were five of them too. The schools have to accept that from the health department or the doctor whether they like it or not.....The health department said that if we needed too I could Option out on some of the shots and "CHANGE MY MIND LATER" to prevent him from missing school.

[Kath]

When my children started school all students were required to have smallpox shots. My oldest child had a case of Cow Pox from her shot and it was horrible. When it came time for my other two children to go to school their doctor refused to give them a shot after what happened to their sister and wrote a note to the school. Neither one of them ever had to get the shot.

I would ask the doctor what he can do about spreading out the shots... how much medicine can they put in a baby's system at one time?
Kath