Alternative vax schedule

[Samie10]

My husband and i saw a dr today regarding our daughters vaxs. She has not had any since 8weeks and a reaction(severe ecxzema which has since cleared, plus a week of being very unhappy), she is now almost 8 months. I am leaning towards none but husband thinks differently. The dr is pro vax but understands parents concerns and will listen to history etc without trying to push anything. He has suggested imovax diptheria and tetnus starting ASAP and then every 2 weeks for 2 or 3 times then again at 18months...he advised polio and measles aswell but not immediately. We are not in the UK but the recommended vax schedule where I am is more or less in line with the uk.

He said that if were to have any, these were the ones we should have plus the vaccine is a 2-1. The others, which he would give his child, whilst are not 100%effective, do potentially protect against some nasty but treatable diesases. Tetanus he said is a must. This is exactly what dr halves an told us when we has a phone consultation, however, he also recommended many of the others too.

pertussis? I would not want to go without... I would do:

DTaP now and 6 months later - will last until school entry
hib 4 weeks later and one after first birthday

Where do you live?

Middle East. DtaP is what I think caused the problems first time round, she had infrarix hexa at 8weeks.

ok, shame, my son did so well with that shot (while his older sister had a harder time with the DTP/hib) - but Infanrix hexa has D, T, aP, hib, hepB and IPV (polio) in one shot. You cannot get the pertussis separately, so I would really try a DTaP (maybe a different company, not the Infanrix DTaP), or start with hib to see how she does with that? In any case, due to the spacing, she should be good with 2 more of each antigen.

Samie, I think if your doctor has suggested the 2-1 vaccine rather than the pertussus containing one then he must be convinced enough that the pertussis component contributed to your child's reaction.

Catherina, why do you think you are in a position to overrule the doctor's suggestion?

Bumbley, i am just making suggestions - clearly, vaccines are not over the counter medications and Samie will have to go back to her doctor to discuss anyway (and there is the disclaimer at the top of the board too, so don't get overly excited).

He didn't actually know what exactly had caused the reaction, this is the problem, the drs have no idea. He suggested the DT because he thinks it's imperative to have tetanus if nothing else and the tetanus comes with the diphtheria. Regarding pertussis, he said it can be treated if caught so if we were going to eliminated vaccinations, eliminate the ones which if the diesese were to be caught, there is a possibility of treatment. This dr is pro vac and ideally would want her to have everything.

Regarding pertussis, he said it can be treated if caught

That is a big "if" though - sorry, not trying to make things more difficult for you. Again, i would get a DTaP now, see how your daughter does with it and if she takes it well follow up with the next DTaP in 6 or 7 months. That should "hold" until she is about 4.

Catherina, are you a doctor? Why are you pushing Pertussis if the patient's own doctor (who is pro-vax) is not?

We did an alternative vaccination schedule and took advice from a doctor with expertise in vaccinations.

The first one he advised doing was the Prevenar 13. The form of meningitis this protects against is one of the biggest preventable risks. The second vaccine he recommended was the measles vaccine (we did single vaccines where possible). We delayed dTaP until she was old enough for that jab, pertussis is more prevalent in the winter months so you need to look at the actual risk in your country. Likewise with diptheria - though if you are breastfeeding you will be passing on immunity to this.

The doctor advised at least 6 weeks in between vaccinations to get the best immune response.

We haven't done polio as there has not been a case of polio in Western Europe for quite a few years, even with the high number of people from Afghanistan arriving in the UK. We do keep an eye on the situation and if polio were to return to the UK we would consider vaccination, or if DD decides to travel to the two remaining high-risk areas when she's older. You will need to assess the risk in the country you are in though.

Our vaccine schedule, based on breastfed baby born in January:
4 months - Prevenar 13
6 months - Prevenar 13
8 months - dTaP
10 months - dTaP
12 months - HibMenC
13 months - Prevenar 13 final booster
15 months - measles
17 months - dTaP
24 months - Pneumovax
3 years - measles booster

After one year old the "memory cells" of the immune system start fully functioning, so any vaccines given before the age of one have to be redone as the immune system won't have a long-lasting response.

It is a big 'if' but it's also a gamble with the vaccination, the reaction could be worse this time around. I believe in the most gentle approach possible after last time, having said that she could be fine, we just don't know what could happen.
I believe from a previous thread, Catherina is a teacher but studied science, is that correct?

Thanks Worldgonecrazy. We had a schedule advised to us, not too dissimilar by Dr Halverson at Babyjabs.

I am a biologist and I had pertussis (at age 15, my DTwP had waned and I babysat an unvaccinated toddler) - ruined my summer, took ages to diagnose (which is the rule) and by the time my doctor clued in, it was too late to administer antibiotics. I very strongly feel that children should not suffer through pertussis (of course my anecdote is not my only reasoning, I could go ahead and post papers about pertussis complications etch, but it is a strong motivator to be pro-pertussis). I feel pertussis and hib are the two vaccines an under one year old should have (assuming low risk for hepB). As I understand it, Samie is not keen on getting her daughter all caught up for everything, but to try and get tetanus covered (at the recommendation of her doctor who is local and we must assume knows what he is talking about in terms of local risk). I would NOT start tetanus without pertussis, since there is no single pertussis vaccine and you can "over-vaccinate" tetanus, meaning that if Samie did DT first and her daughter took it very well, she would not have the option of then getting the pertussis only and would risk a strong local reaction to a fifth tetanus as part of the DTaP. The skin issue may very well have been a "one off". If Samie is ready to try one vaccine, the DTaP (or hib single) is the one I would start with to see how the little one takes it and then proceed from there.