Our son was sent to his pediatricians office for a routine wellness check up and to receive his first DTaP immunization shots on 1/12/04. We were given paperwork on the effects, and serious ones to watch for. Later that night he cried tremendously, broke out with a fever of 100.5 and had beet red cheeks. He was covered with hives and raised red patches by his ears. We gave him infants Tylenol and he fell asleep. He woke up the next morning obviously still sore--so we thought. He still had a fever and seemed a little lethargic. He still had hives, red cheeks, and raised red bums by each ear that were very red. His daycare provider commented later that evening about his labored breathing. We called his doctor and were told to continue with the Tylenol. We did. The next few days, he got worse. He still had hives on belly/arms/legs, a rash on face, fever, and now he was coughing a dry cough. He seemed to be having more trouble breathing. We brought him to the emergency department. He was not eating or wetting diaper 3x/day. He had pink-eye, and his pediatrician had called in a prescription for it earlier that day. Emergency department diagnosed him w/an upper respiratory viral infection. The doctor said it had to run its course-probably another week or so. As for the hives and raised red spots on cheeks, we were told that this is part of the virus. My husband and I mentioned that he just had his first DTaP shot 1 week ago, and this all started. They said that's just coincidental; it is not from the shot. As for the spots on his cheeks, the attending doctor was not sure what they were. He said it almost looks like ringworm, but it is not. It has the texture, but not the shape. He said it was probably part of the virus. We left that night with the assurance that he has a viral infection that needs to run its course. He will be fine in a few days. The next weeks to follow, he grew tremendously worse. The coughing spells left him breathless, gasping for air in-between. He would cough for 10 minutes straight. His full head of hair was drenched with sweat, and we could do nothing to stop the coughing. We could not keep the fever down with Tylenol, nor could we get him to eat. We brought him to his Pediatrician, and he was put on amoxiclllin. His temperature rose to 101.5 while taking regular doses of infant Tylenol. We took him to the Emergency Department. They took x-rays of his chest and stomach, took blood and swabs. His lungs showed 3 large cloudy spots on his right lung, and his liver was enlarged. They stated that his liver was probably enlarged because of the position in which they had to x-ray him. He was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis/Pneumonia. He was sent home. We were told to keep up with the Amoxicillin. He cried, coughed uncontrollably, and threw up constantly. No changes-we brought him into his pediatrician. He was switched over to Erythromycin. We were given a loaner nebulizer and Albuterol to help him breathe. Coughing fits uncontrollable. Breathing difficulties tremendous. Diarrhea 10-12 times a day even though he could not eat or drink. He had what looked like yellow bile coming out of his rear end. He still had hives, and was still throwing up. We made another trip into emergency department. They did more x-rays of his lungs and found them getting worse. They found another spot on his right lung. He had a coughing attack in the hospital. The whole floor heard it for at least 10 minutes. Two doctors that were not even attending to him came running in, one of them yelling "He has pertussis...test him for it. Meanwhile three other doctors were helping him. They put him on oxygen to help him breathe. When he was finally exhausted from the fit, he fell asleep, and they continued to prick and draw blood for more tests. Once again, instead of helping and observing, and testing...he was sent home. What is wrong with these doctors? He was 3 months old and clearly needed oxygen and observation. Pediatrician sent him to a more experienced doctor for advice. This new doctor confirmed the wheezing and uncontrollable cough. Possible asthma and allergies along with his pneumonia. No kidding. Back to regular pediatrician. She prescribed more albuterol along with Pulmicort-a steriod for his lungs. She says it could take months for his lungs to clear sinc3e they were immature at 3 months when he got pneumonia. Back to pediatrician for wellness. My husband took him. I told him absolutely no shots. Well, he called me and the doctor assured him that all of these problems were not from the shot--so he allowed her to give him his second set. I was livid. Sure enough, he still has bad breathing episodes and has not once been off that nebulizer since his first shot. Now, since the second, he still has hives, he still gasps for air, pause ten seconds, then catches his breath with another high pitched gasp...pause ten seconds...then breathe again. I have to run to the nebulizer to get him going again. Now since the other shot, he wakes up in the night probably about 3-4 times/hour unable to breathe. He screams one high pitched scream, and that is how he tells us he cannot breathe. Then we hear him gasping for breath after that. To this day, he no longer can sleep through the night. He did at 1 month--slept 7 hours straight--up until he got his first shot at 2.5 months. Now he does not sleep well at all...and neither do we. It's hard to fall back asleep at night knowing your baby cannot breathe. He still gets that one beet red swollen right cheek, he still has hives. He is still on a nebulizer regularly. He gazes off into space and nothing gets his attention broken. He ignores you by deliberately not looking at you now, and I am fearful that he may have other underlying problems from all of this. I have done extensive research on the various side effects: asthma, allergies, respiratory problems, even autism. This has to stop somewhere. My baby now has a life threatening allergy to milk-based formula. He swells up on his face, his right cheek gets beet red and swollen, he gets hives all over his face, eyelids, and tummy. He cannot breathe. I am afraid to try new foods with him because of this, and his doctor says he is too small for an allergist. He was in perfect health for the first 2.5 months of his life. He ate milk based formula and never had any problems with it. At 3 months we switched to soy. The hives lessened from about 30 to about 5 and he still has breathing difficulties. He swells up with milk now. We know he had a reaction to these shots, and he is still suffering. We do not need any doctor to tell us different. No wonder the statistics show an increase in asthma, allergies, and autism since these shots.We are reporting this first and foremost in the hopes of getting an immunization waiver from the state, and maybe even save one child's life-my sons. I want to know what exactly was in that particular shot, specifically that batch and we would greatly appreciate reimbursement for his medical expenses. We would like to know how long these effects last, and if and when those affected grow out of them. We have over 300 pages of adverse effects reported by others at several different web sites and they all come down to the same symptoms and one conclusion...The doctors are in denial that the shots can actually deathly harm some children. They need to be made aware. Please help us by taking this report into consideration. There really are life threatening side effects of the DTP and DTaP shot.  Nurse follow up on 05/25/04 states: "Complete."