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Neurology (Expert Forum)
Flu shot cause neurological disorder?
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Flu shot cause neurological disorder?
by Sheila-M, Jun 12, 1998 12:00AM
A couple of weeks after a flu shot I began to have crawling, prickling sensations on one side of my face. At first they thought it was Bell's Palsy. Then the sensations were everywhere on both sides. One doctor thinks it is an allergic or auto-immune reaction to the flu shot. That was five years ago. I still have fasciculations, and sensations as well as vertigo and memory problems. No one can find a cause other than maybe the flu shot. Is it possible for a flu shot to cause a neurological disorder?
Thank you,
Sheila
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Hello Sheila!
Thank you for your interesting question. Vaccines stimulate the immune system, and because of this can serve as the trigger to set off an immunologically mediated neurological illness. Some people for instance have their first attack of multiple sclerosis after a flu shot or sore throat, and there are some other neurological illnesses that can be confused with MS (such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis) which can be triggered by vaccines and other immunological stimuli. The vaccine cannot and does not itself attck the nervous system or "cause" directly any known neurological condition, including multiple sclerosis, although this has not stopped misinformation from being promoted, most often by "alternative" medicine advocates implicating measles vaccine as a "cause" of MS. MS existed long before and after measles or its vaccine!! I like your doctor's thought of an autoimmune reaction, which is similar to what I'm explaining to you. Good Luck!!
Thank you,
Sheila
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Sheila!
Thank you for your interesting question. Vaccines stimulate the immune system, and because of this can serve as the trigger to set off an immunologically mediated neurological illness. Some people for instance have their first attack of multiple sclerosis after a flu shot or sore throat, and there are some other neurological illnesses that can be confused with MS (such as acute disseminated encephalomyelitis) which can be triggered by vaccines and other immunological stimuli. The vaccine cannot and does not itself attck the nervous system or "cause" directly any known neurological condition, including multiple sclerosis, although this has not stopped misinformation from being promoted, most often by "alternative" medicine advocates implicating measles vaccine as a "cause" of MS. MS existed long before and after measles or its vaccine!! I like your doctor's thought of an autoimmune reaction, which is similar to what I'm explaining to you. Good Luck!!
