Currently, many parents are concerned about the quality of vaccines used in clinics for vaccinating children of different age groups. Increasingly, there are cases when preference is given to paid injections. The substitute for the usual DTP is the Belgian Infanrix Hexa. Vaccinations of this level practically do not cause side effects and are well tolerated by the child's body.
What is a vaccine?
"Infanrix Hexa" refers to modern multicomponent vaccines and allows you to simultaneously vaccinate a child from several serious ailments. The advantage of such funds is their safety, even for weakened children. Unlike free vaccines, they practically do not cause side effects. To achieve this result, modern manufacturing technologies have helped, thanks to which it was possible to reduce the number of protein molecules that have a negative effect on the nervous system.
In recent years, acellular vaccines, which include Infanrix and Infanrix Hexa, have gained increasing popularity in medicine. Vaccinations contain acellular pertussis antigen, which means they are the safest for the child's body. Such vaccines are allowed to vaccinate children over 4 years old. The presence of several components in the drug can reduce the number of injections.
Composition and form of release
The only vaccine that can immediately protect against six diseases is Infanrix Hexa. The composition of the drug has the following:
- Diphtheria toxoid (30 ME).
- Tetanus toxoid (40 ME).
- Pertussis toxoid (25 ME).
- Filamentous hemagglutinin (not less than 25 ME).
- Pertactin (at least 8 ME) is the cell membrane of the bacterium that causes hemophilic infection.
- Inactivated polio virus type 1 (40 DU).
- Inactivated polio virus type 2 (8 DU).
- Inactivated polio virus type 3 (32 DU).
- Adsorbed hepatitis B virus antigen (10 ME).
The vaccine is released in the form of a suspension, which is administered intramuscularly. The package contains a syringe with a single dose of the drug (0.5 ml), prepared in an isotonic solution (sodium chloride). As a preservative in the production process of Infanrix Hexa (the instruction contains such information), 2-phenoxyethanol is used. According to numerous reviews, the vaccine, despite its complex composition, is much less likely to cause negative reactions of the body than with the introduction of monocomponent drugs.
How does the vaccine work?
The combined vaccine allows you to develop immunity from pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, three types of poliomyelitis, hepatitis B and hemophilic infection. All of these diseases pose a serious danger to the health of children and can lead to serious consequences or even death. The vaccine does not provide complete protection against ailments, but in case of infection, the disease will proceed in a mild form.
Infanrix Hexa vaccine can be used both for primary immunization and for revaccination after using other drugs (DTP, Pentaxim). Vaccination of a child, carried out according to a certain scheme, will allow you to develop specific immunity from terrible ailments.
When is it necessary to vaccinate a baby?
According to the vaccination calendar, primary immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio is carried out at 3 months. If the child was not vaccinated against hepatitis B in the maternity hospital, Infanrix Hexa can be used. The price of a multicomponent preparation of Belgian production ranges from 1700 to 2100 rubles. in one dose.
The second immunization can be carried out no earlier than 45 days, that is, in 4.5 months. When the baby is six months old, it is necessary to take the third vaccine with a six-component vaccine. Revaccination is carried out at 18 months. If for any reason the child has not received the proper number of vaccinations, the immunologist should calculate the individual regimen of the drug and determine which is better, Infanrix or Infanrix Hexa, for a particular case.
In fact, the Belgian drug is a modernized DTP vaccine, which uses safe purified antigens of three types of ailments: pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria.
Compatibility with other vaccines
If necessary, vaccines can be replaced, but experts advise not to do this if the child's body has well tolerated immunization. After the usual DTP vaccination, according to the schedule, you can choose an import analog with a large number of components, but it is safer. The doctor should help parents and explain which is better - “Infanrix” or “Infanrix Hexa”. If the baby has recently been vaccinated against hepatitis B, it means that the complex vaccine should not contain this component, that is, for immunization you should use Infanrix with toxoids of 3 serious illnesses or Infanrix IPV with additional inactivated poliovirus.
It has been clinically proven that modern multicomponent immunization agents are better tolerated by the child's body and can be combined with some monocomponent vaccines. But in this case, the child will have to experience stress and withstand more than one injection that protects against 4-6 diseases (Infanrix, Infanrix Penta, Infanrix Hexa), but several (a combination of Infanrix and Hiberix, Angerix B, Imovax Polio).
Is revaccination possible?
The Infanrix Hexa vaccine can also be used to complete immunization (revaccination) after administering three free DTPs according to the vaccination schedule. If the child was constantly vaccinated with an imported drug, the last revaccination should be carried out with the same vaccine. Replacing the purified pertussis antigen with a “killed” component can cause a negative reaction of the immune system and lead to complications.
Infanrix Hexa: instructions for use
Before immunization, the doctor must verify the integrity of the package, the absence of foreign matter in the suspension and dry suspension, check the expiration date of the medicine. It is recommended to take the drug from the refrigerator a few minutes before the injection. The hemophilic vaccine bottle is opened immediately before the procedure and diluted with a suspension that is previously shaken. Then, using the same syringe, an injection is made.
An injection is injected deep into the muscle located on the middle third of the thigh. At the next immunization, an injection is made in the other leg. After the procedure, the baby must remain in the medical institution for at least 30 minutes so that the doctor can observe the body's reaction to the Infanrix Hexa drug. Vaccinations with acellular pertussis antigen are often well tolerated by children.
Contraindications to immunization
If the previous vaccination caused a severe allergic reaction in the child, re-vaccination against pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and hepatitis B is not recommended. If you are hypersensitive to any component in the injection, you should abandon the procedure or replace the Infanrix Hexa drug. The price of analogues can differ both in a smaller and a larger way, and depends primarily on the manufacturer and composition of the product.
It is forbidden to vaccinate if, after the previous administration of the drug, which included the pertussis antigen, encephalopathy of unknown etiology was diagnosed within a week. Such children are allowed to be vaccinated only with drugs in which there is no pertussis toxoid.
It is strictly forbidden to be vaccinated if the child has signs of a respiratory disease, fever, and thrombocytopenia. Vaccination is delayed and with exacerbation of a chronic ailment. Only after full recovery is it allowed to carry out immunization with Infanrix Hexa. Vaccinations of any kind should be done only after passing a laboratory examination of blood serum (general analysis) and a thorough examination by a pediatrician.
Side effects
Before the procedure, you need to familiarize yourself with the possible side effects that the vaccine can cause. Most often, these are local reactions, which manifest as slight redness or swelling at the injection site. Itching and rash appear much less frequently.
Also, parents sometimes experience a fever up to 38-39 ° C, the appearance of drowsiness and lethargy in a child after the introduction of the drug "Infanrix Hexa". Reviews indicate that within a few days the condition of the child is completely normal. In general, such a reaction is considered quite normal and should not bother parents.
Instructions for Infanrix Hexa (manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium) warns of a possible fainting or loss of consciousness after administration of the drug. Quite often there are problems in the gastrointestinal tract: loss of appetite, constipation or diarrhea. From neurology, cramps are possible. In young children, abnormal crying, moods can be observed.
How to reduce side effects?
To make the child’s body easier to tolerate a “meeting” with the components of the vaccine, you should first prepare. Some doctors advise giving your baby anti-allergic drugs in order to reduce the risk of an inadequate reaction to the components of the Infanrix Hexa vaccine. Parents' reviews confirm that it really helps if the child is prone to allergies. Some mothers use Viburkol candles before vaccination and within a few days after the manipulation. They have anti-inflammatory, analgesic and sedative effects and are homeopathic medicines.
For children with problems in the field of neurology, immunization is permissible only after some preparation. Depending on the diagnosis, medications with a diuretic, sedative, anticonvulsant effect can be prescribed.
Infanrix Hexa - where to do it?
In Moscow and other large cities, vaccination can be done in special medical centers or in a district clinic. In the first case, the drug is purchased directly at the institution, the doctor conducts a thorough examination of the child and monitors the reaction after the vaccination. There is a practice of calling an immunologist at home.
In state children's clinics, such a vaccine is not available. Therefore, it should be purchased in advance and stored in appropriate conditions. After the procedure, the specialist is obliged to make an appropriate entry in the child’s medical record and note that the vaccination was carried out with Infanrix Hexa.
Where to get vaccinated in Moscow and which vaccine is best used for this, parents should decide mutually with an immunologist. If there is the slightest suspicion of a baby developing an ailment, immunization should be postponed for several days until the situation clears up.