Tripedia Warnings and Precautions

If your child has a bleeding disorder, an immune-suppressing condition, or any allergies, let the healthcare provider know before your child is vaccinated with Tripedia. Warnings and precautions also include looking out for febrile seizures in your child, postponing this vaccination if your child is moderately or severely ill, and watching for potential drug interactions.

What Should I Tell My Child's Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your child's healthcare provider before your child receives Tripedia® (DTaP) if he or she has:
 
  • Had any sort of a reaction to any vaccine in the past
  • An immune-suppressing condition such as HIV or AIDS, diabetes, or cancer
  • A moderate or severe illness
  • A brain or nervous system disorder
  • A bleeding disorder
  • Any allergies, including to foods, dyes, or preservatives.
     
Make sure to tell the healthcare provider about any medications your child is taking, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
 

Specific Tripedia Warnings and Precautions

Warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to giving the Tripedia vaccine to your child include the following:
 
  • Tripedia does not contain preservatives, but it does contain a trace amount of thimerosal (a mercury-containing preservative) as a result of the manufacturing process.
Although for all practical purposes, parents should consider this vaccine to be thimerosal-free, there may be situations in which parents who are particularly concerned about thimerosal exposure may want to use a DTaP vaccine with absolutely no thimerosal, such as Daptacel® or Infanrix®.
  • Some parents are concerned about the aluminum content of vaccines; Tripedia does contain aluminum, but not more than 0.170 mg per dose.
     
  • This vaccine is not made from human fetal components, unlike some vaccines. However, Tripedia is made using bovine (cow) components, which may be a concern for some parents.
     
  • Febrile seizures (seizures associated with high fevers in young children) have been associated with vaccines, including Tripedia, probably because vaccines can cause fevers.
If your child has a tendency to get febrile seizures, ask your healthcare provider if you should give an anti-fever medication such as acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®) to help avoid this complication. You may be advised to give your child an anti-fever medication just before the immunization and for 24 hours afterwards.
  • Your child can receive Tripedia if he or she has a mild illness (such as the common cold). However, it is usually best to postpone the vaccine in the case of a moderate or severe illness.
     
  • Make sure your child's healthcare provider knows if your child has ever had any serious reaction to any vaccines.
     
  • Care must be taken when giving any intramuscular injection (including Tripedia) to individuals with bleeding disorders or who are taking anticoagulant medications ("blood thinners"). In some cases, your child's healthcare provider may decide that the risk of the injection is not worth the benefit (see Tripedia Drug Interactions).
     
  • If your child has an immune-suppressing condition, Tripedia may not be as effective as usual.
     
  • The vial stoppers from Tripedia single-use vials are made of natural latex rubber. This could be a concern for individuals with latex allergies.
     
  • Tripedia is considered a pregnancy Category C medication. This means it is unknown if it is safe for use during pregnancy. However, this is a childhood vaccine and should not be given to pregnant women.
     
  • At this time, it is unknown if Tripedia passes through breast milk. However, this is a childhood vaccine and should not be given to breastfeeding women.

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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;
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