Vaccination is the only reliable way to protect your baby from serious ailments. In the first year of life, the child receives the maximum number of vaccinations. For the formation of specific immunity against tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria and polio, the imported Tetraxim vaccine can be used. The drug has a high degree of purification and can be used to vaccinate babies from three months of age.
Vaccine description
In children, some diseases are especially difficult. To avoid infection and protect the baby from serious consequences, experts recommend a routine vaccination. Currently, such a procedure is considered generally accepted. However, with the advent of a newborn baby in the family, an increasing number of parents think about the need for vaccination. Studying various sources of information, one can come across opposing opinions.
"Tetraxim" is a highly effective vaccine, which, according to the instructions, is able to develop immunity in the body against such serious infectious pathologies as whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and polio (3 types). The drug is manufactured by the French company Sanofi Pasteur, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines for humans.
The composition of the vaccine
The drug is available in the form of a suspension intended for intramuscular administration. One dose of vaccine (0.5 ml) is in the dosing syringe. This form of drug release is quite convenient to use and eliminates a possible overdose.
The combined tool contains the following components:
- tetanus toxoid - at least 40 IU;
- acellular pertussis toxoid - at least 25 IU;
- diphtheria toxoid - not less than 30 IU;
- filamentous hemagglutinin - 25 mcg;
- polio virus of the first type - 40 D;
- polio virus of the second type - 8 D;
- poliomyelitis virus of the third type - 32 D.
Such auxiliary substances as Hanks’s medium, water for injection, acetic acid (or sodium hydroxide), formaldehyde, aluminum hydroxide, and phenoxyethanol are used as auxiliary components.
Mechanism of action
The vaccine is designed to produce antibodies to pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus and polio pathogens. The drug contains only acellular (acellular) antigens of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid, an inactivated virus of three types of poliomyelitis and components of the cell walls of the pertussis pathogen.
"Tetraxim" helps to form the body's immune response to an attack of pathogenic agents for a short period. A complete vaccination course is recommended. During the second year of life, babies should receive 3 doses of the Tetraxim vaccine.
Inoculate with a French drug is allowed for children older than 3 months. The vaccine is also suitable for revaccination in the second year of a child's life. It can be used to continue vaccination after the use of other drugs in the event that they caused side effects.
When to vaccinate?
Immunization against pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria is carried out according to the generally accepted scheme. All analogues of the domestic vaccine (DTP) against these infections are used in the same way. The Tetraxim vaccination is administered to the child three times during the first year of life, starting from 3 months.
The interval between vaccinations should be at least 45 days. This means that if the primary vaccination was carried out when the child was three months old, then the second dose of the drug can be administered only at 4.5 months, and the third at six months. If necessary, the immunologist can choose a different vaccination schedule. The first revaccination is carried out one year after the last injection of the drug.
Do I need to be vaccinated up to a year?
During the first 12 months of life, the baby is shown to take several vaccinations against dangerous ailments. The child receives the very first dose of hepatitis B vaccine on the first day after birth. However, in recent years, more and more parents have refused from early vaccination of children. Reasons for this really exist.
Many doctors who feel responsible for the lives of children recommend abstaining from immunization during the first year of life. The fragile body of the child is not yet ready to meet with such a huge number of pathogenic pathogens, even if weakened.
Having decided to nevertheless give the child vaccinations up to a year, it is necessary to carefully choose the drug. Many parents refuse domestic free vaccines, which are available in children's clinics, and prefer to purchase better imported drugs. The replacement of DTP vaccination is precisely the French Tetraxim vaccine, which additionally contains an inactivated polio virus.
How to prepare a child?
Before vaccination, you should carefully monitor the baby. If there is anxiety, loss of appetite, skin rash, vaccination should be discarded. A few days before immunization, you need to take a general blood test, urine test. Laboratory studies are necessary in order to make sure that there are no hidden pathological processes in the body and to avoid further complications provoked by the vaccine.
Do you need a consultation with a neurologist?
Multi-shot vaccines always scare parents. The Tetraxim drug containing pertussis toxoid is not an exception. It is this component that most often causes negative reactions of the body from the nervous system. To avoid complications, it is recommended that you first consult a doctor. He will evaluate the condition of the baby by reflexes and the presence of such abnormalities as chin trembling, cramps.
In some cases, the child is prescribed an ultrasound scan of the brain, neuronoscopy. Diagnosis allows to exclude high intracranial pressure and other neurological disorders. For children prone to seizures when the temperature rises to 38-39 ° C, immunologists recommend the introduction of vaccines in which there is no pertussis toxoid.
When can not be vaccinated?
Each drug used to vaccinate children and adults has its own contraindications. Vaccinations with the combined Tetraxim drug are not carried out in the presence of the following deviations:
- an allergic reaction to a previous vaccine;
- hypersensitivity to the components in the composition of the drug;
- encephalopathy;
- birth injuries of the head;
- bronchial asthma;
- convulsive seizures;
- the child has symptoms of SARS.
In the latter case, vaccination is delayed for a while. It should be borne in mind that Tetraxim, like the domestic DTP vaccine, is considered quite strong and can cause a different reaction of the immune system. At the same time, the Tetraxim vaccine is more purified, which significantly reduces the risk of complications. The vaccine is used with caution in children with thrombocytopenia.
How is vaccination done?
The child should be vaccinated in the vaccination room by specially trained medical personnel. Before making an injection, the nurse should shake the syringe with the drug until a uniform white suspension forms. Do the injection only intramuscularly.
Babies up to two years of age are shown to inject the drug into the anterior lateral (anterolateral) thigh muscle. Older children are vaccinated with Tetraxim in the shoulder muscle.
Before administering the drug, make sure that the needle does not enter the blood vessel. Intravenous and subcutaneous administration of the drug is prohibited.
Interaction with other vaccines
The manufacturer claims that the Tetraxim vaccine can be used simultaneously with other medicines. An exception is only immunosuppressive therapy. The medicine can be administered together with the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine in different parts of the body. Simultaneous immunization with the Act-HIB drug and the Tetraxim drug is well tolerated by children.
Side effects
A highly purified preparation extremely rarely causes a negative effect on the body, in contrast to the domestic analogue, the DTP vaccine. Complications of vaccination are most often manifested in the form of a slight reddening of the skin at the injection site. This reaction of the body occurs in almost every child. Less common are seals and pain. Similar symptoms usually develop in the first 48 hours after vaccine administration.
It is also possible to increase body temperature to 38 ° C. Parents of 10% of children vaccinated with the Tetraxim vaccine experience this side effect. Reviews say that after vaccination, children may lack appetite, sometimes sleep disturbance, irritability appears. If necessary, the child should be given an antipyretic medicine.
The reaction to primary immunization may manifest as the appearance of pain in the leg. This symptom usually disappears completely after 24 hours. If the pain does not go away, you need to seek help from a doctor.
If the child is prone to allergic reactions after administration of the drug, urticaria, itching of the skin may appear. Doctors recommend such children a few days before vaccination to start giving antihistamines in an appropriate dosage.
Pentaxim or Tetraxim? Reviews
Another popular vaccine of the French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur is Pentaxim. The tool is also intended for the prevention of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Additionally, the combined vaccine allows the body to develop immunity against hemophilic infection and three types of hepatitis. Tetanus toxoid is connected to the hemophilic component in a separate syringe.
"Pentaxim" is one of the few vaccines that allows you to get protection immediately from 5 diseases dangerous for the baby. If there is no need for vaccination against hemophilic infection, the drug “Tetraxim” may be suitable for the child. The cost of the tool is about 300 rubles.
Both vaccines deserved a lot of positive recommendations. Many parents buy these drugs for the safe immunization of children. Vaccines are interchangeable. However, it should be remembered that Pentaxim contains an inactivated component of the polio pathogen. This means that further vaccination is continued with the help of "live" drops. An individual vaccination scheme for a child is developed by an immunologist.