Literally 20 years ago, our parents and grandparents did not even think that they could choose which vaccine for their baby. Modern parents, unlike them, have a choice. A fairly large range of vaccines has appeared on the current pharmaceutical market. You can choose a domestic or imported vaccine for your child, thereby protecting him from certain pathogens.
One of these foreign drugs is the pentaxime vaccine produced by the leading French company Sanofi Pasteur S.A.. In Russia, it was registered in 2008, so the vaccine can be called relatively new. As a result, there is not much information about it, and the pediatrician at the reception often simply does not have enough time to explain the advantages of this vaccine over other drugs. Parents have many questions: from what infections this vaccine is being done, it is better to do with the well-known DPT, or make a new pentaxime, is it possible to develop side effects, is it possible for everyone to be vaccinated with it. We will try to answer these questions.
What diseases does pentaxime vaccine protect against?
Pentaxim is a polyvaccine. During immunization with this drug, the human body develops protection against the five most threatening diseases:
- whooping cough;
- diphtheria;
- tetanus;
- poliomyelitis;
- HIB infections.
HIB or Hib is an infection caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b. This microorganism is dangerous in that it causes diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, epiglottitis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, otitis media, arthritis.
Children with various pathological conditions are most susceptible to HIB infection:
- reduced immunity;
- various kinds of anomaly and malformations;
- oncological and hematological patients;
- diseases associated with long-term therapy with drugs that reduce immunity;
- born to an HIV-infected mother;
- children who have been diagnosed with HIV infection;
- premature;
- poorly gaining weight babies;
- frequently ill children;
- children with severe and long-term chronic diseases;
- children who are bottle-fed.
These conditions and chronic diseases were previously considered absolute contraindications to any kind of vaccination. But science does not stand still, and the new vaccines developed are quality products. As a result, it became possible for this group of children to create a barrier against infections precisely by conducting vaccine prevention. These babies are at risk and, according to the generally accepted immunization schedule, are certainly vaccinated against haemophilus influenza b - type.
It should be pointed out that Haemophilus influenzae type b is not the only causative agent of meningitis. Therefore, after vaccination with pentaxime, there is a risk of developing meningitis caused by other pathogens.
How is pentaxim produced and what does it contain?
We open the cardboard box in which the vaccine is packed.
It contains:
- The syringe is a tube with whitish, cloudy contents. This is a pentaxime suspension. It contains components from four infections: diphtheria (diphtheria toxoid), pertussis (pertussis toxoid), poliomyelitis (inactivated 1,2,3 viruses), tetanus (tetanus toxoid) and felamentous hemagglutinin. It also contains excipients such as aluminum hydroxide, formic aldehyde, phenoxyethanol, sodium hydroxide.
- Transparent bottle with light powder. It contains a component from Hib infection (Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide). And from excipients there is trometamol and sucrose.
In the industrial production of vaccines, antibiotics are used (streptomycin, neomycin and polymyxin B). Although they are not present in the final product, children who are allergic to these substances need to be careful. Since there is a concept of "cross reaction".
At what age is pentaxim vaccinated?
Our country has a National Vaccination Calendar. According to it, the diagram will look like this.
Vaccinations:
- the first - at 3 months;
- the second - at 4.5 months;
- the third - at 6 months from birth.
Revaccination:
- at 18 months.
The suspension is diluted with lyophilisate right before the vaccination.
If, for some reason, the child was not vaccinated earlier than 6 months (more often because of a medical withdrawal), then the intervals between vaccinations remain, and during the third vaccination, pentaxime is injected without preliminary dilution of the leophilisate, that is, without a hemophilic component. But revaccination is carried out with all five components.
If a child is vaccinated older than 1 year, then at the first vaccination the drug is injected in full, and already the second, third and revaccination without the Hib component of the pentaxime vaccine.
There is an age limit for vaccination - it can be used up to 6 years of age.
The procedure nurse injects one dose of pentaxime vaccine deep into the muscle. If the baby is not yet 2 years old, then the injection site will be the middle third of the anterior thigh area, if older - the shoulder (anatomically corresponds to the deltoid muscle).
Preparing for vaccination
As with any vaccine, the baby must be prepared before pentaxim is given.
The most important condition for vaccination with pentaxim is the absence of any acute illness or exacerbation of a chronic one in the baby.
Of course, it's the pediatrician's job to decide whether your baby is healthy or not. For this, the doctor will conduct an examination, the nurse will measure the temperature. If necessary, he will prescribe additional research methods (general analysis of blood, urine), or send for consultation to a narrow specialist. But the role of the most important person for the baby is not excluded - the mother. No matter how subjective this assessment may seem, only the mother will feel that something is wrong with the baby. Therefore, the doctor must be informed of any changes occurring to the child.
An important condition is that all people around the child must be healthy. Mom, dad, brother, sister, grandmother - everyone who lives in the same apartment with a child should not have signs of an infectious disease, such as catarrhal symptoms, loose stools, vomiting. Because they can infect a child.
You should not introduce new foods to your child. If the baby is already injected with complementary foods, then a few days before the vaccination should not be allowed to try new food. Do not overfeed on the day of vaccination, you should drink well.
Help allergy sufferers with medicines. Children who are prone to allergies can be given calcium supplements and antihistamines on the recommendation of a doctor. Allergic diseases should be outside the exacerbation phase.
After vaccination for about 30 minutes, it is necessary to sit with the child next to the vaccination room, as pathological conditions may occur that require immediate medical attention, such as anaphylactic shock, Quincke's edema, urticaria. If you feel unwell, you should immediately contact a specialist.
Also, on this day, it is better to give up long walks, visits, shops, children's entertainment centers. Bathing your baby is also not worth it. Keep track of its general condition. Let's drink a lot. For 3-5 days after vaccination, pay more attention to the child than on normal days.
Side effects of the vaccine
There are 2 types of vaccine reactions: local and general.
Common reactions include:
- Increased body temperature. The phenomenon is not uncommon. It is necessary to carry out thermometry for three days. If the temperature is low, you can limit yourself to drinking plenty of fluids, airing, and wet cleaning the room. If the child's body temperature exceeds 38 degrees, then it is necessary to use antipyretic drugs. They must be in the home medicine cabinet in advance. In the case when the temperature is more than 39 degrees, does not get confused by drugs, the child's condition worsens, then you need to give an antipyretic drug and immediately seek emergency medical help. If a child has ever had febrile seizures that were not associated with the introduction of any vaccinations, then this baby requires more attention. It is necessary to periodically measure the temperature, do not allow it to rise to high numbers. But most often, when using the drug pentaxime, the body temperature usually rises slightly, or does not rise at all.
- The child may be capricious, cry for no reason (you should be alert if crying without stopping for more than two hours). Sometimes lethargy, irritability, drowsiness, or, conversely, sleep disturbances are observed. All this is temporary. You need to give your child more time, calm down, play with him. In case of refusal to eat, do not force to eat, but rather give to drink.
- In rare cases, short-term vomiting or diarrhea may occur. It is necessary to water the baby often and fractionally, not to feed by force. If these symptoms do not stop, but increase, then consult a pediatrician. And be sure to inform him about the fact of immunization, so as not to be misled, since intestinal infections, poisoning and other diseases are suitable for this symptomatology.
- Rash, urticaria may occur. In this case, the baby should be given an antihistamine and consult a doctor to clarify further tactics.
Local reactions are manifested in the form of redness, swelling, induration, soreness at the site where the injection was administered. Light redness, painless, not hot to the touch - it's not scary. No ointments, creams should be applied. You just need to observe this place, do not rub when bathing, make sure that the child does not comb. If a small seal occurs, this point should also be taken into account. But you shouldn't go into panic either. You can apply an iodine mesh. Applying dry heat sometimes helps.
If the redness and swelling are growing, a large seal has appeared, and pain has joined, the baby cries and spares this place, then it is better to consult a doctor.
Side effects may occur after the administration of any vaccine. Parents who vaccinate their children should know this information in order to timely exclude the development of formidable complications. They don't have to appear. Next, we list the advantages of the drug pentaxime, which minimize the likely side effects.
Benefits of the pentaxim vaccine
- Many parents, even if their child is healthy, are afraid to give their child any vaccine containing the pertussis component. This is due to the fact that after them the development of side effects is not uncommon. Take only a temperature of 38-39 ° C, or even under 40 ° C for several days after the administration of the vaccine. This situation does not bring joy to either the baby or the family where he grows up. Pentaxim allows you to get vaccinated against whooping cough with virtually no such troubles. All this is due to the fact that the pertussis component of the vaccine is acellular, or, in our opinion, acellular. If we consider the composition of the DPT vaccination, then there the same element goes whole-cell.
- The above property of pentaxime vaccination almost excludes the development of post-vaccination whooping cough. This is a condition that develops in children with immunodeficiency.
- Everyone remembers the pink droplets that we were given in childhood. It was the polio vaccine (OPV). At first glance, a very easy way to get immunity from disease through the mouth. Except that you could eat only after two hours. But these droplets are a live vaccine containing attenuated live polio viruses. Vaccine-associated poliomyelitis (VAP) is an extremely serious consequence of such immunization. It develops rarely and mainly in children with low immunity. Pentaxim again distinguished itself by the fact that it contains an inactivated, that is, killed polio virus. This feature helps prevent vaccine-associated poliomyelitis (VAP).
- Many parents are familiar with such conditions as perinatal encephalopathy (hypoxic-ischemic lesion of the central nervous system), atopic dermatitis (diathesis, allergic rash, food allergy), dysbiosis (intestinal dysbiosis), immunodeficiency (congenital immunodeficiency, HIV infection) and so on. ... This is still an incomplete list of those conditions in the presence of which doctors put a medical withdrawal from the child from vaccinations, especially from whooping cough and poliomyelitis. Thanks to the special composition of the drug pentaxim, vaccination of such children has become possible.
But do not forget that this does not exclude the need for consultation with a pediatrician and, possibly, with other specialists (neurologist, allergist, gastroenterologist and others), as well as the delivery of certain tests.
Any visit to the vaccination room with a child is crying and screaming, in a word, hysteria. It is rare to see a kid smiling cheerfully who has received a "shot". Fortunately for children and their parents, using pentaxim for vaccination, a trip to an unloved vaccination room can be reduced from 12 visits (that is, 12 injections) to 4.
Pentaxim was developed in 1997. And the study of this drug continues to this day. Scientists from different countries have concluded that pentaxime, at the proper level, promotes the development of immunity against whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria and hemophilic infection.
When shouldn't pentaxim be done?
There is a list of pathological conditions when it is impossible to vaccinate in order to avoid adverse consequences as a result of vaccination. Let's list them.
- Damage to the brain, which is characterized by increasing symptoms, up to seizures.
- Brain damage that occurred within 7 days and pronounced reactions in the form of body temperature up to 40 ° C, convulsions, abnormal prolonged crying of the child for more than 3 hours, arising within 48 hours as a result of the use of any vaccine containing the pertussis component.
- Allergy to the previous administration of vaccines containing diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus components; polio vaccines; vaccines against infections caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b.
- Allergies to the following antibiotics: neomycin, streptomycin, and polymyxin B.
- Allergy to the excipients that make up pentaxim (listed above).
- Any diseases in the acute period and exacerbation of chronic diseases. The pediatrician will appoint a medical recusal, depending on the severity of the disease, for a period of 2 to 4 weeks. After this time, if the baby is in a satisfactory condition, it will be possible to vaccinate.
- It is also necessary to observe precautions for children with diseases with blood clotting disorders in order to avoid the development of bleeding after the vaccination.
Compatibility of the drug pentaxim with other vaccinations
Not only pentaxim, but in general all vaccines used in our country are interchangeable and can be combined with each other without problems. So, if it became necessary to make several vaccinations on the same day, then they are put in different limbs.
An exception is the simultaneous administration of the vaccine pentaxime and BCG.
And if suddenly pentaxime vaccination was not available, then another analog drug can be made instead. Pentaxim can be replaced with the following vaccines (below we list the drugs and diseases against which they are made):
- our domestic DPT (prevention of whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus);
- French tetraxim (prevention of whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus);
- English Infanrix (prevention of tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough);
- Belgian Infanrix Hexa (prevention of diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, hemophilic infection and, in addition, hepatitis B) - the pediatrician will tell you whether you need to be vaccinated in addition to hepatitis B;
- French imovax polio, Belgian polyorix (prevention of poliomyelitis), French act hib, Belgian hiberix (prevention of hemophilic b infection) - these vaccinations will already need to be done separately, how and with what to combine them, your doctor will give information.
An exception is the situation when the child was immunized against poliomyelitis with a live oral vaccine (pink droplets). In this case, further vaccination with Pentaxime is not possible.
Is there a risk of excessive antigenic load on the child's immune system?
There is an opinion that, due to the multicomponent composition, the vaccine gives a load to the child's not yet fully formed immunity. As a result of many studies, it has been estimated that the whole-cell pertussis component contains about 3000 different antigens, which can have a negative effect on the baby's immunity. And in the acellular (acellular) component there are only 2 antigens. They are just engaged in the direct development of immunity against whooping cough and nothing else. Consequently, pentaxim, on the contrary, significantly reduces the overstrain of the immune system. Therefore, excessive immune stress is just a myth.
What should parents choose?
Pentaxim is a foreign vaccine. It appeared in Russia not so long ago, but in this short period of time it has established itself as an effective, high-quality vaccine against five preventable infections: diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis, tetanus and hemophilus influenza type b.
The pentaxim vaccine was developed by scientists in such a way that it contains an acellular, that is, acellular, whooping cough component. It is cleared of excess particles of microbial cells, due to which, basically, all those adverse side effects of the vaccine in the form of an increase in temperature and other undesirable manifestations characteristic of vaccines with a whole cell component occur. It is because of these symptoms that the bulk of mothers did not like this vaccine. Therefore, now, if there is a choice between doses of whole-cell or acellular vaccine, then, obviously, the second option will win. And, of course, such a tempting offer, to carry out the necessary vaccinations for a child in 4 visits instead of 12, will also not be ignored.
The only drawback in vaccination with pentaxim is that for its setting, you will need to make some cash costs, since it is not included in the list of services provided free of charge. In the children's clinic, you will be offered a free analogue of DPT. By the way, the concern Sanofi Pasteur C.A. (Sanofi Pasteur S.A.) recently began to establish the production of the pentaxim vaccine in the Russian Federation at the industrial site of our domestic company NANOLEK. It is a modern biopharmaceutical company located in the Kirov region. This will not affect the characteristics of the drug, since the French company organized training for our specialists, introduced modern quality control methods, all vaccines will be produced in accordance with the modern requirements of GMP and ISO standards.
Numerous positive feedback from mothers about the pentaxim vaccination is also a serious indicator of the quality of the drug. It is the mothers who make the final decision: to do DTP or pentaxim, to vaccinate today or later, whether to vaccinate their baby at all or not. And this article is just a guide for making the right choice.
