Hubby and DAN! doc forcing DTAP....HELP!

[BeantownBaby9]

We had a followup with my son's DAN! yesterday. She had really urged us to get the DTAP when we were there last December and now, with "him in school and playing like a big boy" she is adamant that we get it. This is a major concern of my husband's, as every time he falls or gets a cut, he worries terribly that he will get tetanus. I worry too, but there were 10 tetanus deaths in the US in 2009. The DAN! says 10 is too many, and that the DTAP isn't the vax of major concern, nor do I have to worry as much because my son is unvaxed at this point. Chase is NT except for a touch of SPD. He's not ASD, but food allergies, MTHFR hetero, low tone, gut issues, etc. Anyone have any good links to show hubby that tetanus is not a worry and the vax hasn't impacted contraction or death rates?

[Devaskyla]

Tetanus is not a concern for a person with healthy circulation. Tetanus can only thrive in conditions of no oxygen, so long as blood is getting to the wound, there is oxygen & tetanus can't survive.

And in the MINISCULE chance that your child actually got tetanus, he can get the TIG, which is given after an injury that is likely to cause tetanus to prevent it. There are also treatments for tetanus.

And the doctor is completely wrong about DTaP. It is the MOST reactive vaccine on the market. It has some major issues.

Anyway, maybe this video will help? I'm pretty sure she covers tetanus, it's been a couple years since I saw it, though. http://www.livevideo.com/video/52AE5...benefits-.aspx

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=947792
http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/...tanus/#more-32
http://www.vaclib.org/links/tetanusindex.htm

[Emmeline II]

If a provider claiming to be a DAN doctor says that DTaP isn't a vaccine of concern, I'd start doctor shopping. Also, 0-2 children per year contract Tetanus. Where did the "10" deaths number come from? The WHO chart doesn't list any? Though even if there were deaths in the US, what were the circumstances? Were the persons over 40yo? Elderly, fell through a throned rose bush and didn't clean the wounds? Middle-aged, walked around on an open wound for a week before receiving care? An infant, whose parents used clay as a natural way to care for the cord stump?DTaP In the United States, tetanus is primarily a disease of older adults. Persons greater than or equal to 40 years of age now account for over 70% of reported cases. Tetanus Surveillance 1998-2000 , Power of 10. An average of 43 people per year contract Tetanus and there are 0-2 deaths out of a population of 301,139,947 (over 300 MILLION) in the US. (In comparison (FEMA) estimates that "300 people are injured and 80 people are killed each year by lightning" each year in the U.S.).

“From 1992 through 2000 (9 years), 15 cases of tetanus in children <15 years of age were reported from 11 states. Two cases were in neonates <10 days of age; the other 13 cases were in children who ranged in age from 3to 14 years. The median length of hospitalization was 28 days; 8 children required mechanical ventilation.” (Pedatrics). There were no deaths. (I don't have info on their state of health or wound care).

[SuburbanHippie]

It's time to find a new doctor my dear. That one is clearly not on your side of the fence as far as vaxes go. I think it will only continue to escalate if you don't get out now. Good luck, mama.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by Devaskyla

Tetanus is not a concern for a person with healthy circulation.

While those prone to necrosing wounds, such as diabetics, are at higher risk to contract tetanus, the reverse inference that normal circulation negates the matter is plainly false. Only part of the C. tetani life cycle is strictly anaerobic, the germination phase. It's mildly oxygen-tolerant otherwise. An additional problem is that tetanus-prone injuries very well may come along with other bacteria that are more than happy to deplete the local oxygen supply, as well as mechanical, focal necrosis. Proper wound debridement is of course the first matter of business, with TiG when called for. There's no point dismissing simple practicalities with hand-waving over such vagaries as "healthy circulation."