• Is it safe to give acetaminophen to prevent fevers caused by vaccines?
• Which vaccines are affected by acetaminophen?
• Is it okay to use prophylactic acetaminophen with vaccines?
• Why does Tylenol decrease the effectiveness of vaccines?
• Is it okay to use acetaminophen to treat pain and fever after giving vaccines?
• Is it okay to use ibuprofen or other NSAIDs to prevent fever caused by vaccines?

Childhood vaccines are traumatic for both the child and the parent. To minimize the pain of the injections and temper the fever that often occurs after vaccine administration, many parents give a dose of an antipyretic such as acetaminophen prior to vaccine administration. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in their 2006 General Recommendations for Immunization Practices, reiterate that acetaminophen is used among children to reduce the discomfort and fever associated with diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DTP) vaccination. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that acetaminophen given before administering DTP and thereafter every four hours for 24 hours should be considered for children with a personal or family (siblings or parents) history of seizures. However, more recently, acellular pertussis vaccines have become routine and these vaccines are associated with a lower incidence of fever. Consequently, routine use of acetaminophen may be unnecessary. Some experts have even questioned whether the use of prophylactic acetaminophen is harmful. The following study was undertaken to assess the effect of prophylactic acetaminophen on the rate of febrile reactions and vaccine response in infants receiving routine infant vaccinations.