topic Re: Tetanus shot question in Community Chat

Tetanus shot question

dulwich — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:30:34 GMT

My daughter expecting baby in June - just got text from her after her baby check appointment - that anyone who is going to be around the newborn must have had Tetanus shot within last 10 years.

I have never heard of this before I guess it is a new preventative method - my other daughter who delivered in the same area/hospital was never told this. Just wondered if this is regular occurrence now.

Re: Tetanus shot question

cherry — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:34:55 GMT

@dulwich i am not sure if you can get just a tetanus shot? I got a DPT shot a year or so ago, and I will tell you I was sick enough to die from it

I told my Dr I would never get another. It protects you from tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria

Re: Tetanus shot question

KentuckyWoman — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:38:17 GMT

We had to get a DPT shot three months before or last grandchild was born. (diphtheria, pertussis aka whooping cough, and tetanus) In our area, it is a standard operating procedure. Mostly they are concerned about pertussis or whooping cough which can be fatal to infants and small children. I've never heard of requiring just a tetanus shot though. Usually you get all three in one shot.

Re: Tetanus shot question

dulwich — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:47:02 GMT

@KentuckyWoman @cherry Will check re DPT but daughter only spoke about Tetanus (maybe she means DPT?) I did have a Tetanus booster last Sept. not sure what we are supposed to do now but will check with Dr. and daughter.

Thank you for you information Ladies very helpful.

Re: Tetanus shot question

Drythe — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 20:10:50 GMT

Because of out of country travel, I get them.

The last time I had one it was possible to have just the tetanus.

Don’t know if that is still done.

I have had no problem post injection, and I’m usually the ‘canary in the mine’.

*** Edited to add, have also had just tetanus inj. per Doc. orders x2 post TKN 12 years apart.

Re: Tetanus shot question

dulwich — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:48:34 GMT

@cherry How did this DPT shot affect you? must have been just awful for you.

Re: Tetanus shot question

Shelbelle — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:49:42 GMT

I have 2 small grandkids, and I would never get a tetanus shot unless something happened to me to need one like a brush with a metal or something. Last time i got one I was sick from it and did not sleep for 5 nights in a row, never again!!

Re: Tetanus shot question

K9buddy — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:50:10 GMT

It’s a Tdap shot and is recommended that anyone who is going to be close to/handling the baby should have one. Nobody I know ever got sick from it.

Re: Tetanus shot question

Shelbelle — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:50:28 GMT

Re: Tetanus shot question

cherry — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:54:12 GMT

@dulwich I have never had any vaccine do this to me. I don't know if it is because I am old, or if they change the formula? I had them when I was a kid

I started feeling really sick in the night and I got up and went into the bathroom. I started shaking ,and was covered in an ice cold sweat. I mean really drenched. I was so weak I couldn't even stand. I thought I was going to faint

I don't know how long it was before I felt strong enough to stagger back to bed. It took everything I had to walk the short distance. I held onto the wall

The next morning I was better, but still felt ghastly. The Dr said it was a bad reaction to the shot, and not to worry. I would never need another, unless sometime I was in a bad accident or something like that

Re: Tetanus shot question

dulwich — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:56:35 GMT

@Shelbelle I understand where you are coming from.

I worked and bred horses in U.K. so always kept my Tetanus updated - hence my question today as I have never heard of needing it specifically around newborns and have not heard of DPT shot either but I am learning.

Re: Tetanus shot question

RetRN — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:57:16 GMT

Everyone should get a tetanus shot every 10 years. That is standard, never heard of anyone getting sick from it.

Re: Tetanus shot question

cherry — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:59:34 GMT

My sister was paralyzed from a tetanus shot , when she was a child. Luckily it didn't last. The Dr told my parents never to allow her to get another one

Re: Tetanus shot question

dulwich — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 20:00:44 GMT

@cherry @What a nasty experience for you. I have never experienced bad reactions to vaccines yet! Always kept my Tetanus updated so hopefully I will not need anything else. Thank you for information. Have a good day

Re: Tetanus shot question

mimomof4 — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 20:05:02 GMT

My first thought is "New Parents are very overcautious these days" In reality I'm sure her OB recommended that everyone be vaccinated but likely didn't say it was mandatory. Especially with the Measles issue right now it's best to be careful. At my Physical in January my PC went over the vaccines I have had in the past 10 years to make sure everything was up to date. Once we become adults we put those on the backburner and don't think about getting them again.

When I had my daughter (9 years ago), we were exposed to whooping cough in the hospital - ugh. My daughter didn't get sick thankfully. So I would prefer that everyone stay up to date with their vaccines.

Re: Tetanus shot question

Jasmine19 — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 20:05:09 GMT

Tetanus is not the disease your daughter’s physician is worried about. Pertussis (whooping cough) is making a comeback and can be very dangerous to infants. The pertussis vaccine is offered as part of the Tdap (or Dtap) vaccine which includes tetanus protection. Infants don’t start to receive this vaccine until they are 2 months old so newborns are not protected. It is recommended that family members and other visitors receive booster shots against pertussis before having contact with infants.

Re: Tetanus shot question

aroc3435 — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 20:29:53 GMT

@dulwich As some others have posted it's not about a plain tetanus shot. It's the combo one that protects against pertussis and whooping cough for folks that will be around newborns. (Went through this when first grandson was born in the fall of 2013.)

Re: Tetanus shot question

RedTop — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:12:39 GMT

I was first aware of this 13 years ago when two of my coworkers became first time grandmothers.

My dad’s infant sister passed at the age of six months from whooping cough.

Re: Tetanus shot question

faeriemoon — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:23:20 GMT

It's the TDap. Pertussis plus tetanus. You can only get the pertussis vaccine with the tetanus combined. Pertussis is the concern for newborns. I had to have one too when before my GD was born.

Re: Tetanus shot question

KentuckyWoman — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:25:14 GMT

@Jasmine19 wrote:
Tetanus is not the disease your daughter’s physician is worried about. Pertussis (whooping cough) is making a comeback and can be very dangerous to infants. The pertussis vaccine is offered as part of the Tdap (or Dtap) vaccine which includes tetanus protection. Infants don’t start to receive this vaccine until they are 2 months old so newborns are not protected. It is recommended that family members and other visitors receive booster shots against pertussis before having contact with infants.

Yes, this is so dangerous for anyone but especially infants and small children. There were 25 cases of pertussis in our area last year. Very, very nasty infection.