New research shows that patients who react with anaphylactic shock to a vaccine are often reacting to the gelatin in the shot. Reports presented to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology indicated that gelatin allergy could be much more common than people know.

Gelatin is used in vaccines as a stabilizer. Which vaccines have the highest amounts of gelatin? The MMR vaccine has 14.5 mg; the chickenpox vaccine has 12.5 mg. These are on the recommended standard vaccination schedule for children.

Japanese patients appear to be more susceptible to gelatin allergy. As a result, Japan has already removed gelatin from its vaccines – or ensures that the gelatin is degraded (into smaller protein particles) before putting it in a shot. The results have been impressive: there has been a significant reduction of anaphylactic death after vaccination.

Dr Jennifer Toh, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recommends that any patient who has an allergic reaction to a chickenpox vaccine should be tested for gelatin allergy. In this way, you can avoid a dangerous reaction to dietary gelatin.

Source: Medpage Today