Vaccinations are designed to protect you from preventable illness and disease. Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease should receive vaccinations on the same schedule as other children. This is particularly important because many of the IBD medication can suppress or slow down the immune system. Infections can be more serious for patients that are taking these medications.
If you are taking medications that affect your immune system like Imuran, Azathioprine, 6-MP, Mercaptopurine, Methotrexate, Remicade, or Humira you should not receive live virus vaccines, such as the nasal flu-mist, chickenpox vaccine, measles-mumps-rubella, oral polio (most offices give inactivated form), or smallpox (not part of routine vaccination schedule in US).
Medications like Asacol, Sulfasalazine, Azulfidine, Lialda, Apriso, and Pentasa do not influence your ability to receive live-virus vaccines. If you are unsure whether your medication impacts your immune system and is not listed above, please contact our office.
Here is a list of vaccinations you SHOULD receive:
- Diphtheria (via DTaP)
- Hib
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza injection (every year)
- Pertussis (via DTaP)
- Polio (inactivated)
- Pneumococcal
- Rotavirus
- Tetanus (via DTaP)
Other helpful information
If you are taking a medication that affects your immune system, people who live with you can safely get the flu-mist nasal spray, MMR, and chickenpox vaccines.
If you are taking a medication that affects your immune system, people who live with you SHOULD NOT get the smallpox vaccine or live polio virus (inactivated is recommended).
