There's no "just tetnus" shot anymore? Help me feel better about my decision...

[babygirlie]

I got bit by a cat (100% disease free) but it had pus so I went to urgent care who gave me strong antibiotics for 10 days. They also wanted to give me a tetanus shot as it's been over 10 years.

I have a daughter who is 28 months old with autism. I don't know how badly but she has about 1% communication skills (no pointing or anything fancy like that). She is not vaccinated (san Vitamin K). I have several autoimmune conditions which were coincidentally brought forth after a series of many many vaccines as I was going abroad 14 years ago. I would also take into consideration she will start school at 3 and goes to rehab where she has gotten sick twice. So she's really never been sick except a cold once or twice a year.

I'm not left nor right. I just want what is best for my daughter and at this point I do not think vaccines would be wise until at the very least she shows a higher capacity than a 3 month old (stated on her last eval but she is probably up to a 5 month old now).

I asked if the tetanus was a live vaccine. I was told it's a tetanus dyptheria shot with pertussis and that it was a killed vaccine and they only offered just tetanus to young or old people. She had to look it up on her computer if it was killed. She also stated people do not need dyptheria boosters so it wasn't something I needed anyway since I had a booster. They also said it wasn't really a dyptheria vaccine they just say that because it's the same medium. Um.. ok? I thought about my future children and my current and thought well if it's killed maybe it would be in my best interest.

The nurse entered and informed me that it indeed had dyptheria afterall. So I asked if it was alive or dead and he said because it was refrigerated it was alive. I said I didn't want to risk shedding it to my daughter. My daughter is my first priority and I don't want to intentionally put her at risk. But I would take just the tetanus shot considering I was bit and all. He was pretty mad and told me there was no chance of it shedding and went and asked the doctor. He came back and said there was no tetanus shot only tetanus + live dyptheria. I told him thank you anyway and I would do more research on it and left.

Honestly I have no idea what dyptheria is. I just know I don't want to shed onto my challenged daughter anything. I want to at least see her start developing before I start dillydallying with her immune system. She's allergic to everything. I see glimmers, like she saw herself in the mirror once a few weeks ago or she sorta kinda drew a line with help once and saw it. Maybe it was just once but there's glimmers in there and I would hate to screw it up or get her sick.

What do you think?

Edited by babygirlie - 8/19/11 at 10:45pm

[ma2two]

Any vaccine that contains tetanus is NOT live. 

But consider the health of your future children, if you think you may have more. You should not make yourself any more unhealthy than you already are. So if I were in your situation, I would not get the vaccine.

There is a tetanus-only vaccine licensed in the United States, made by Sanofi Pasteur, but it contains the full amount of mercury -- 25 mcg.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/ApprovedProducts/UCM166873.pdf

Edited by ma2two - 8/20/11 at 10:11pm

[LisaSedai]

Wow. That nurse and doctor don't inspire alot of confidence. They don't really know what they are injecting into people? Like PP said, it is NOT a live vaccine so you don't shed it. They don't manufacture a tetanus shot without the diphtheria part in it and just recently they are recommending adults get the Tdap shot (tetanus,diphtheria,whopping cough) instead of the Td if it is time for your tetanus booster. HTH

Diphtheria is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheriae..The bacteria most commonly infects the nose and throat. The throat infection causes a gray to black, tough, fiber-like covering, which can block the airways. In some cases, diphtheria may first infect the skin, producing skin lesions.Once infected, dangerous substances called toxins, produced by the bacteria, can spread through your bloodstream to other organs, such as the heart, and cause significant damage..

Prevalance A confirmed case has not been reported in the U.S. since 2003. Approximately 0.001 cases per 100,000 population in the U.S. since 1980; before the introduction of vaccine in the 1920s incidence was 100-200 cases per 100,000 population. Diphtheria remains endemic in developing countries with low vaccination coverage. During the 1990s, the countries of the former Soviet Union reported >150,000 cases in a large epidemic. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/diptheria_t.htm

Diphtheria toxoid is not manufactured as a monovalent vaccine but is available in pediatric (D) and adult formulations (d) that are combined with other vaccines such as tetanus toxoid (DT, Td), or tetanus toxoid and acellular or whole-cell pertussis antigens (DTaP, DTwP, Tdap), or as a DTwP/DTaP combination with other antigens (e.g., hepatitis B, inactivated poliovirus vaccines, or Hib vaccine).

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2010/chapter-2/diphtheria.aspx