Is It Fine to Get a DPT Vaccine 3 Weeks After a Ttoxoid Was Already Given?

Updated on January 05, 2017
J.T. asks from Pittsburg, CA
13 answers

My lo is 18 month old. She's due for DPT booster shot next week but 2wks ago, she received a tetanus toxoid because she had a pinpoint scratch on her hand from a dog bite. Her pediatrician said it's totally safe to get the DPT shot this month. Should I be worried for overdosing?

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So What Happened?

Her pediatrician adviced us that getting additional shot would do no harm to my baby. She said it will just increase her immunity against tetanus bacteria. I researched about the interval of giving DPt(tetanus diphtheria pertussis) vaccine and my lo finished the first 3 shots for a 1yr old baby and next dose is 15-20months. But my concern is, what if the clinic gave her a tetanus toxoid vaccine only 2weeks ago because of a dog bite (it's also a protocol to give a booster shot of tetanus if you have a punctured wound or animal bite and other reason that you'll be high risk of getting infected by tetanus bacteria), should my lo receive the DPT shot as scheduled or should we wait and delay the said booster shot?

More Answers

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

so you don't trust your pediatrician, but you do trust strangers on the internet?
khairete
S.

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R..

answers from San Antonio on

I trust my pediatrician...that being said...also the P in DPT is for "whooping cough". It is prime whooping cough season and being so little would make catching it worse.

My cousin who works pediatric ICU gears herself up to lose a couple of kids to whopping cough each winter. She lives in a high anti-vax community. It takes her weeks to recover from holding a coughing gasping baby while they die from a preventable disease. And then they haunt her as the next patient comes in with it. She takes foreign medical mission trips to "recover" from the preventable losses here at home. Over seas she feels she is really helping those who didn't have a choice.

I am not a doctor so I can't say yes or no to you on what is considered safe. But like I said earlier if you don't trust your pediatrician who can you trust (find another one if you don't!!)

To the person above me who had a vaccinated child with whooping cough...yes, it happens, usually it is not as bad a case for an vaccinated child and all it takes is one unvaccinated child with a very high viral load to infect those who have been vaccinated. My fully vaccinated child caught the chicken pox...she had like 20 spots barely itched and it was done. Her unvaccinated friend who exposed her had 100s of spots, scars and a very very miserable two weeks. So, yes you can catch it after vaccination but it usually isn't as bad as a full blown case.

9 moms found this helpful

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

Why do you question what your Dr recommended?

If you do not trust what your Dr advises, then find a Dr you do trust.

Do you truly believe a group of strangers on the internet who are not Dr's over your pedi recommendation?

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B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I'd get the DPT shot and not worry about it.

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M.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

The bigger question is this: do you trust your pediatrician? The ped already said it was safe. If you don't trust your doctor, find a new one. If you do trust your doctor, you already have the answer to your question.

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D..

answers from Miami on

Why would you expect a forum of mothers to know the answer to this? We aren't doctors.

If you don't trust your ped, get a second opinion from another doctor.

5 moms found this helpful

R.A.

answers from Boston on

Delay it for a couple more weeks if it bothers you that much..

I would have just made it for the 21st week myself and have been done with it. That way their was a month in between doses. A month feels better then three weeks to me( given that the tetanus toxoid was given two weeks ago and you are scheduled for it next week) but then again I'm one of those moms who listens to the pediatrician and then make a decision that I can be ok with. Just to be on the safe side. Although it probably won't make a difference between the 20th and 21st week.

I am more of a nut-ball when it comes to my son's health, but I never question the judgement of his Dr. I would have asked if it was ok to wait another week just so I can have piece of mind- and knowing my sons pediatrician he would have laughed and said sure..

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R.F.

answers from Harrisburg on

Follow your own gut instinct. Theresc number of weeks. In Canada and other developed countries they follow a much later vaccination schedule that is better centered on the health of the babies. Ours is centered on what's easiest for the doctors. Ours even told us that it is easier for doctors to give the shots earlier so the babies don't remember and become afraid to visit the doctor. In Canada they wait until the child is older so that their immune system is better developed and can more effectively process the vaccine. Again. follow your own gut. You are the one signing the liability release form. No one else. If you want to wait. Wait.

Updated

Follow your own gut instinct. Theresc number of weeks. In Canada and other developed countries they follow a much later vaccination schedule that is better centered on the health of the babies. Ours is centered on what's easiest for the doctors. Ours even told us that it is easier for doctors to give the shots earlier so the babies don't remember and become afraid to visit the doctor. In Canada they wait until the child is older so that their immune system is better developed and can more effectively process the vaccine. Again. follow your own gut. You are the one signing the liability release form. No one else. If you want to wait. Wait.

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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

My daughter had whooping cough despite being vaccinated. The local board of health called me as well as the CDC. Interestingly, the only documented case of pertussis at that time were among vaccinated kids.

I would not feel comfortable at all with double dosing on the tetanus. I also think it is naive to think pediatrician know all there is to know about vaccines. They get their information from the drug companies who make the vaccine. What a complete conflict of interest. (When my mom was a kid she would go to the local shoe store to X-ray her feet for fun. At that time they said X-rays were totally safe and they were not aware that too much radiation was harmful.)

Personally, I delayed many of the vaccines for my kids. I also only did one injection at a time. I have no idea if this is right for your child or not. I just recommend you do your own research. Read the package insert your pediatrician has you sign off on when they administer a vaccine.

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R.B.

answers from San Francisco on

If you don't trust your pediatrician's advice, you should get another pediatrician.

As a mother, trusting your "gut" is often very useful. Maternal instinct is a powerful trait. Except in cases where the answer lies in education, not instinct.

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J.B.

answers from Dallas on

If I were in your shoes, I would hold off getting the DPT. Listening to your mommy gut is quite important. No doctor takes the place of a mother's intuition. And I can assure you doctors don't get much instruction on vaccines while in medical school. Many will look at you like you have three heads if you ask for the manufacturer's insert for a particular vaccine. Not the sheets the doctor's office creates but the actual vaccine inserts that are included with each vial of vaccine (from the manufacturer).

Do your own research and don't blindly follow what your doctor is saying. A good place to start is the National Vaccine Information Center. They have gobs of information on each vaccine, the diseases, etc.
http://www.nvic.org/
Also, look at the CDC's own web info about vaccine ingredients/excipients.
This list alone will cause pause.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appe...

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N.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

The Tetanus shot is not really a problem. You get it throughout your life. If the doc says it's safe to do the vaccine I wouldn't worry. I'd never even think to doubt it. I don't blindly trust docs either.

Retta, I'm so sorry your sister goes through that. I grew up next door to a girl who had polio. I would never not vaccinate. I've seen up close what some of these diseases can do. Vaccines save so many lives.

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T.D.

answers from Springfield on

if you are concerned then wait about a month and then do the next round of vaccinations. it will cause no harm to wait

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