Starting vaccination- some questions...

So, we have decided that now that DD is one we are more comfortable with getting her some vaccinations. It has been a really hard decision! I didn't feel right about it when she was so young and I still don't feel great about it but I am also scared of her getting some of the diseases such as WC now that we are getting out more and she is in contact with more people.

So... I want to get her the Pertussis vaccine, so that means I also have to get her Diptheria, Tetanus, and Polio bc that's the smallest vaccine combo I can get apparently :angry: But then we also want to get HIB. Pc I'm not sure about. I have read the Vaccine book by Dr Sears and it has a lot of good info to help decide but I can't make my mind up on this one. Does anyone know how recently this vaccine was introduced? I also want to get the meningococcal one but reading the book it says that when it was written it still hadn't been approved for use in children so it must have only been approved recently which is a little scary.

So anyway, there's a few I want to get but looks like I will have to get more than I want anyway because you can't separate them :( Then I think, well what's the point!! Maybe I should just get them all, less jabs and I'm not really limiting how much she's getting much anyway. Will it make a difference?

I also wanted to know what brand of vaccines are used? Was wanting to get ones with the lowest aluminum in them as suggested in the vaccine book.

And what should I do to prepare DD for getting vaccinated? I have started her on Pentavite to make sure she's getting enough Vit C. What else?

Sorry, that seems like a jumbled mess doesn't it!! Hope someone has some answers for me. TIA!

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anyone have any advice with anything??

I'm at work and will try to find some info later at home.

The hard thing is getting info. Overseas eg American info should be read in context, as broad advice some of it is very useful however you need to compare our vaccines to theirs. We do the same with healthcare textbooks always having to remove the Americanisms and specifics that aren't relevant here.

Thanks SB, that would be great! It's very confusing.

I'm getting there but it's a bit hectic in Ambulance land!

If don't reply soon enough give me a pm kick up the bum!

No worries SB! Whenever you have time.

Anyone else?

I am in the same boat with Harmony... she goes to FDC now, at my girlfriends for one morning a week, and Kane is the only other one there, so no other contact yet....... :p

But I still think it may be time for some of them....... but I'm still not sure..... well, I'm sure that was a great help!!!! :doh:

Sorry, I'd like to help but I'm confused by your preferred schedule. I'm not sure that whooping cough is much of an issue after one is it? Personally I was glad to have my son vaxed against tetanus, polio and hep b by this age so I think we're on a different page :lol:

I do think less things in a needle and more jabs is better and does make a difference. They are getting less different things for their body to deal with in one go then. We had all our son's needles done one at a time and at least a month apart. But he had Infranix Hexa which is 6 in 1 anyway!! Gah!!!

No vaccines for children on the prescribed Australian schedule have aluminium in them. The flu vax is the only one that is offered to children that DOES have aluminum but it's on the optional list.

I hope that helps! All the best working out what you're happy with for your child :)

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I am in the same boat with Harmony... she goes to FDC now, at my girlfriends for one morning a week, and Kane is the only other one there, so no other contact yet....... :p

But I still think it may be time for some of them....... but I'm still not sure..... well, I'm sure that was a great help!!!! :doh:

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LOL. It's so hard isn't it!! And so confusing!!

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Sorry, I'd like to help but I'm confused by your preferred schedule. I'm not sure that whooping cough is much of an issue after one is it? Personally I was glad to have my son vaxed against tetanus, polio and hep b by this age so I think we're on a different page :lol:

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Well yeah it's less likely to be fatal (WC I mean) now that she's bigger but it's still a pretty nasty thing to get and I wouldn't like her to catch it. I want her to have tetanus too now she's walking around. I'm not concerned about polio bc it's not present in australia or hep b bc she isn't at risk of getting that.

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I do think less things in a needle and more jabs is better and does make a difference. They are getting less different things for their body to deal with in one go then. We had all our son's needles done one at a time and at least a month apart. But he had Infranix Hexa which is 6 in 1 anyway!! Gah!!!

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It's so annoying isn't it!! I would like the choice to seperate them!!

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No vaccines for children on the prescribed Australian schedule have aluminium in them. The flu vax is the only one that is offered to children that DOES have aluminum but it's on the optional list.

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Really? I didn't know this. That's great, thanks. You do mean aluminium, not mercury, right? The vaccine book says there are a few with aluminium still but it's an american book so I didn't know.

Oh bollocks. I mean mercury. Not sure about aluminium actually!

I'm all for everyone having a choice and you can not vax for anything so I don't like to fearmonger but I just wanted to add that mobile children who play in public places are at risk of hep b. Such as blood on cut glass or a needle in a playground. We live in a good area, quiet suburbs yet even still 2 needles were found in the grassy area outside my playgroup a fortnight ago.

I would spread them out as far as you can hun, one at a time, at least 6 months between shots.

The only thing that still plagues me is WC - but tetanus plays on my mind too, now that she is walking everywhere! I guess though, that we are so close to medical centres etc that if there was a need we could easily go and have a shot.

I am pretty certain that a few of the vaccs DO have aluminium in them. Thimerosol (mercury) NO, but aluminium yes.....

I had the whooping cough one done at 12 months for my twins (along with all the other vaccinations combined in the one needle) but have so far shied away from any of the others. I did speak to our GP yesterday though because I want them to have more vaccinations before starting daycare next year so he is drawing up a draft schedule and is happy for me to amend it to what I am happy with to minimise the effect on their immune system. I am still not sure which vaccinations I will go ahead with though.

Thanks guys. I guess I just have to go talk to the Dr and see what ones I can get seperately. I'm scared though! They'll try to convince me to get them all! And everything goes out of my head and I can't explain why I don't want to, lol. I should write it down.

What about pneumococcal?? I have read that it's really common and that we WILL come into contact with it. Hmm...

Hun why don't you ask the doctor for a listing of the brands of vaccs that they will administer, and for a fact sheet (if they don't have the fact sheet you can check it out on the web). Then you can read and investigate the ingredients for yourself :)

I wouldn't bother with pneumococcal. When it was first released I wanted to get it for DD1 but even the doc said not to bother, it only protects against one strand (and it wasn't the strand that had been going round at the time). Statistically you are more likely to be injured as a pedestrian crassing the road, KWIM?

Apparently ones with aluminium are:

HIB
Pc
DTaP
Hep B
and the combo vaccines.

Different brands have different levels so I need to find out which ones have less. Anyone know the brands used in Australia?

At least now she's older I don't need to get as many boosters. If I wait until 18 months for Pc you only need 1 shot.

Sorry Kitten, posted at the same time. Thanks for that info about Pc. It seems like it's really common and usually not serious but it just freaks me out a bit that it's on the little magnet calendar thing you get with the vaccine schedule and a big warning saying Pc can cause meningitis, these are the symptoms, ring 000!!! lol. And in Dr Sears book he lists it and HIB as important ones to get.

Thanks, I will ask the Dr about the brands! I also don't know much about meningococcal except that you hear it on the news every now and then and everyone panics. I'm not sure if it's important this early.