Before Receiving This Vaccine

In deciding to use a vaccine, the risks of using the vaccine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For rabies vaccine, the following should be considered:

Allergies—Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to rabies vaccine, or to cow (bovine) serum, human albumin, kanamycin, monkey proteins, neomycin, polymyxin B, or thimerosal, since some of these may also be present in the vaccine. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy—Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals. However, the use of rabies vaccine in pregnant women has not been reported to cause problems.

Breast-feeding—Rabies vaccine has not been reported to cause problems in nursing babies.

Children—This vaccine is not expected to cause different side effects or problems in children than it does in adults.

Older adults—Many vaccines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of rabies vaccine in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines—Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. While you are receiving rabies vaccine, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Cancer medicines or
• Corticosteroids (i.e., cortisone-like medicines) or
• Medicine to prevent malaria, such as chloroquine (Aralen), hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), or mefloquine (Lariam), or
• Radiation therapy—These treatments may reduce the useful effect of the vaccine

Other medical problems—The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of rabies vaccine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:

• Illness, severe, with fever—The symptoms of the condition may be confused with the possible side effects of the vaccine

• Immune deficiency condition (or family history of)—May decrease the useful effects of the vaccine