Confused at the ped office about a shot

[BRmama]

I have a question about the tetanus shot so here it goes:

The tetanus shot is to be given every ten years as far as I understand right? (This isn't the question so keep reading )

So yesterday when I was at my son's new ped he brought up my sons immunization and I mentioned that we don't vax. (I said we do delayed just because I'm still researching them). After asking why and I answered, he nicely told me that he wasn't going to twist my head or anything but he was a big pushover for vaccines (still fine). Then he said that I should've had the flu shot and the DTaP (hope I spelled it right) to protect my son. So my question is that isn't the tetanus shot that you get every ten years the same as the DTaP that has the tetanus in it? Am I missing something?

Sidenote:

Fo a dr. who said he wasn't going to twist my head then saying I should've been vaxed is very contradicting IMO. I had the tetanus shot about five years ago as I didn't know any better then so was that the DTaP I had? I got out of there as fast as I could because I first didn't like the atmosphere and second did not want to argue with the dr. about this since I was there for my son's constipation issues and not wbv or immunizations. TIA

[mysticmomma]

tetanus is one component of the dtap

[Gitti]

[QUOTE=BRmama;14640541]...

he said that I should've had the flu shot and the DTaP (hope I spelled it right) to protect my son.

Nonsense! Neither would protect your son unless "he" and every single person your son comes in contact with had it also. That includes every person at every store...well, you get the point.

So my question is that isn't the tetanus shot that you get every ten years the same as the DTaP that has the tetanus in it?

NO. DTaP = diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

Sidenote:

Fo a dr. who said he wasn't going to twist my head then saying I should've been vaxed is very contradicting IMO.

I agree!

I got out of there as fast as I could because I first didn't like the atmosphere

That is gut instinct. Go with it. Don't go back either. who needs a doc who can't treat the issue at hand without selling you a bunch of injections.

[***edgar]

Adults don't get DTaP, they get TDaP or DT. Without knowing which one your were given, it is hard to tell what the provider meant.

[BRmama]

Thank you guys for the responses.

tetanus is one component of the dtap

You mean like the tig shot with just the antibodies? Is that what they use every ten years?

Nonsense! Neither would protect your son unless "he" and every single person your son comes in contact with had it also. That includes every person at every store...well, you get the point.

I know right?! And the funny thing is my son has never had a cold or the flu (even when we had it). And dh and I are not planning on getting any of the flu shots or any kind for that matter

NO. DTaP = diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

Then is there a separate tetanus shot that is given every ten years? Sorry for sounding dumb , I shouldn't care since we're not vaxxing but it's always good to know I guess. Yeah I did follow my gut instinct and it felt good .

[***edgar]

[QUOTE=Gitti;14640628][QUOTE=BRmama;14640541]...
Nonsense! Neither would protect your son unless "he" and every single person your son comes in contact with had it also. That includes every person at every store...well, you get the point.





This is not exactly true, household contacts are known to be higher risk than casual contacts, especially for Diptheria and Pertussis

[BRmama]

Originally Posted by ***edgar

Adults don't get DTaP, they get TDaP or DT. Without knowing which one your were given, it is hard to tell what the provider meant.

Oh I guess I'll be researching this specific one. So since they don't get DTaP but TDaP or DT, is the DTaP different from the TDaP? Thanks for posting

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

It is different but not sure exactly how. Other than the DT only have the diptheria tetinus component and not the pertussis.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by BRmama

Then is there a separate tetanus shot that is given every ten years?

Yes. Well, it's the DT shot (diptheria and tetanus.) Adults tend to have higher rates of complications from the pertussis shot, so they're not given the same vax that children get, usually.

[Gitti]

dp

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by ***edgar

...household contacts are known to be higher risk than casual contacts, especially for Diptheria and Pertussis

Perhaps if the circumstances are right?
But, do you realize that the pertussis vaccine does not prevent transmission?

Diphtheria is a disease of war time, starvation, concentration camps... certainly not one found in the US or European household. It also very much depends on the constitution of each individual at the time of exposure.




http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/?s=pertussis

[***edgar]

Actually it does. It makes one less likely to get Pertussis, thus less likely to pass it on. Of those that get it, it also lessons the severity and I believe duration. Thus less transmission.

[Gitti]

Originally Posted by ***edgar

Actually it does. It makes one less likely to get Pertussis, thus less likely to pass it on. Of those that get it, it also lessons the severity and I believe duration. Thus less transmission.

LOL

Fact: the pertussis vaccine does not prevent transmission.

Actually all the vaccine does is render the body more tolerant to the bacteria, thus not produce the severe cough which in turn lowers the chances of a doctor diagnosing the infection correctly which increases the chances of spreading the bacteria around.

Duration is not reduced by the vaccine. How would that be possible?

The only thing that will reduce the severety and duration is high dose of Vitamin C.

http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/...s-yo-yo-stats/

[LAWoman]

To the OP - The Tdap vax is relatively new so the chances are you have not had it. We delayed vaccinating my son so I got the Tdap to protect him. The strategy is called "cocooning". Since 1/3 of pertussis cases in young babies are transmitted from the mother to the baby and adult boosters have been shown to at least lower the risk of transmission to babies, the idea is that babies are protected by vaxing the caregivers during the very vulnerable infant stage. The idea works less and less the older the child gets and the more outside people and places they are introduced to. I think in that disease an adult and caretaker vaccine campaign makes more sense than relying on the 2 month shots for protecting babies since they are most vulnerable in the first 6-8 weeks of life anyway, before the vax is even offered. It doesn't seem out of line to me at all that a pediatrician would recommend that a vax delaying family consider caretaker vaccination as a means of protection. If you are 100% anti-vax that's different, then I don't think anything would convince you otherwise. But if you are delaying and are open to the idea that vaccinations work then it seems like a very reasonable recommendation. It may not have been an ideal time to bring it up, but it's a reasonable strategy.

[Sileree]

Actually it does. It makes one less likely to get Pertussis, thus less likely to pass it on. Of those that get it, it also lessons the severity and I believe duration. Thus less transmission.

No, it doesn't. We've been over this several times in this forum, and you're new here so you may have missed it. Plenty of studies show there is no real herd immunity effect for the pertussis vaccine.

Check out the following threads if you're interested:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=998940
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=900456
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=806782

[bbrandonsmom]

Thanks for posting those links Here's another one that goes over dtap as well and percentage rates of success etc
http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/...nes-work/dtap/

[BRmama]

Thank you all for posting

To the OP - The Tdap vax is relatively new so the chances are you have not had it. We delayed vaccinating my son so I got the Tdap to protect him. The strategy is called "cocooning". Since 1/3 of pertussis cases in young babies are transmitted from the mother to the baby and adult boosters have been shown to at least lower the risk of transmission to babies, the idea is that babies are protected by vaxing the caregivers during the very vulnerable infant stage. The idea works less and less the older the child gets and the more outside people and places they are introduced to. I think in that disease an adult and caretaker vaccine campaign makes more sense than relying on the 2 month shots for protecting babies since they are most vulnerable in the first 6-8 weeks of life anyway, before the vax is even offered. It doesn't seem out of line to me at all that a pediatrician would recommend that a vax delaying family consider caretaker vaccination as a means of protection. If you are 100% anti-vax that's different, then I don't think anything would convince you otherwise. But if you are delaying and are open to the idea that vaccinations work then it seems like a very reasonable recommendation. It may not have been an ideal time to bring it up, but it's a reasonable strategy.

I didn't know the TDaP was relatively new, looking back I'm not sure which one I had but now I'm curious to know. Anyway I also didn't know that this strategy is called cocooning. I consider myself anti-vax at the moment only because I'm still researching them but that could change in the future. I mean if they come out with greener vaccines or realize that as with any drugs vaccines can also have side effects etc etc. I understand the dr's concern and recommending the vaxes and all but yeah the timing wasn't that great. I wasn't there to discuss vaxes with him as I had a crying baby to deal with and his staff were very rude.

Thank you all for posting the links, it really helps my research.

[nicolebeth]

I just wanted to add that before Tdap, adults generally would be given Td. So, less diptheria, more tetanus. Every tetanus booster I've had has been Td--possibly one Tt (tetanus only). I would turn down Tdap, especially since it doesn't do what it's meant to do--protect against transmission to vulnerable populations.

[caned & able]

Tetanus is not contagious.

[ZoeyZoo]

I'm thinking your ped said DTaP because of the P; not the T. There is a pertussis campaign out there telling parents to vax themselves to prevent transmission of pertussis to their newborns. The problem is that medical studies have said that the vax does not prevent transmission so it is really just a silly campaign. The actual studies have been posted many times here on MDC.