Trying to find out if I've had measles & mumps vaccinations

uknick

I'm in my mid fifties and until yesterday thought I'd been inoculated against measles and mumps. But, having just checked my old immunization cards from the early sixties it appears not. I knew I'd had a multiple vaccination, but that was whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus.

Thinking my records at home may not be complete I popped into my GP to ask if they could check my records to see if I'd ever caught measles or had the vaccination.. Apparently they can't. The best they could come up with is for me to fill out a travel vaccination request form asking for a measles jab as I may be travelling to a country that requires it. The surgery nurse will then check my records to see if I need anything done.

Whilst I'm not too worried about catching measles, I'm concerned I may catch it and then transfer it without realizing to a child who has not been inoculated.

Now, my question, what should I do to get the answer? Insist the surgery check my records, or just complete the travel form. Once I know what I have had, I can then decide what to do.

bouicca21

MMR wasn’t around when you were a child. It’s just possible that you had the measles stand alone vaccination, probably not mumps, possibly not rubella.

My baby had measles. I have never seen a child so sick. Entirely agree you should not risk passing it on. When it came time for DD to have the MMR I queried whether it was necessary or whether she should have the stand alone mumps and rubella jabs, doctor said she was probably immune to measles but she might as well have the vaccine.

I see no reason why you should not just get the MMR.

uknick

It was when I was looking at the history of the MMR vaccine I learnt the measles vaccine wasn't actually available until about 1963, a year after my birth. That's what made me look at my vaccination record.

Whilst I vaguely recall I might have had Rubella when I was at primary school, I agree MMR is the one to go for, but my GP surgery is of the view they won't inoculate unless there is an epidemic in my area. Go figure!

I have no issue with paying for an MMR jab, but before I do that I just want to make sure it's necessary. I think I'll write to the surgery practice manager and officially ask them to check my records.

Toothsmith

The easiest way all round would be to have a blood test to check your immunity.

The way medical records would have been written up in the 60s and early 70s - when you would either have had the immunisations or the diseases - it would be very easy to miss unless really carefully read (And do you really want someone to have to do that, when the NHS is so stretched anyway?)

Also - if you just had a very mild case of either disease, then it's easily possible that a Mum at the time that we were kids wouldn't want to bother the Dr with anything less than death's door!! So it is easily possible it might not be on your medical records.

The very easiest thing would be just to have the MMR anyway, if you cannot remember having those diseases, and no-one in your family remembers it either.

If you want to know if you are immune before you have the jab (Which might not be the case even if you have had the jab or the disease) - then a blood test is the way to tell for certain.

Asking someone to wade through your medical notes is a bit of a fool's errand - as I said, if you had the inoculation, or the disease, there is still a chance you might not be immune.

Ms_Mop_123

I agree with what Toothsmith said, have a blood test done. I had to have screening to start a drug and I found out I've got immunity to chicken pox, but as far as I know I've never had it. It must of been a one spot wonder.

While we're talking about measles I really want to stress how serious the illness can be. I had measles when I was six and ended up with encephalitis, my mum found the spots one night when I was getting ready for bed, the next morning she couldn't wake me, I was in a coma. I was admitted to an isolation hospital, I nearly died. Thankfully I recovered well from it. People think it's a childhood illness and it's not serious, but it can be fatal.

donnac2558

I never had the measles jab I was born before it came into being. I remember having measles, well I actually remember the medicine which was cherry flavoured. No idea why I actually this but hey.:p


I have never had mumps I do know. I missed the Rubella jab in upper school as I always had a cold or chest infection when they went to give it. They just gave up in the end.



My mum as a child had measles more than once and nearly died.

Debran

"2018 marks 50 years since the introduction of the first measles containing vaccine into the UK childhood immunisation programme."

See https://publichealthengland.exposure.co/50-years-of-measles-vaccination-in-the-uk

which means the vaccine was used for children in 1968.

Toothsmith

I too remember having measles. It wasn't as 'serious' as it could have been, but I still remember my Dad coming into my room to see how I was, and I saw regiments of spiders crawling down the wall behind him. I must have been about 4 or 5.

I realise now I was hallucinating due to a sky-high temperature - but I can still remember all those spiders!

MoneySeeker1

On this theme I'm wondering whether anyone knows what it was that there was either an epidemic of (or fears of an epidemic of) in this country back at around 1960. The reason being that my mother remembers me having an injection against it, but she doesn't remember what the particular illness concerned was.

Loanranger

MoneySeeker1 wrote: »

On this theme I'm wondering whether anyone knows what it was that there was either an epidemic of (or fears of an epidemic of) in this country back at around 1960. The reason being that my mother remembers me having an injection against it, but she doesn't remember what the particular illness concerned was.

Possibly poliomylitis.

General_Grant

MoneySeeker1 wrote: »

On this theme I'm wondering whether anyone knows what it was that there was either an epidemic of (or fears of an epidemic of) in this country back at around 1960. The reason being that my mother remembers me having an injection against it, but she doesn't remember what the particular illness concerned was.

Possibly smallpox? (I remember there were some cases around 1961. I was in Warwickshire at the time and we were somewhat concerned. Though vaccination had been compulsory I had not had it - mother had to go through some legal process for this).