Importance of Vaccinating your baby!

First, you should know what vaccination is and how it protects your baby. Vaccination is an injection biologically prepared from assassinated or weakened organism that produces active immunity in the body against that organism and immunization is a process through which person, animal or any other living species are protected from the particular harmful diseases. This will prepare your baby to fight against future infection and make your baby live a healthier life. You know, vaccines not only protect your baby but also the people around them such that it prevents spreading of diseases. One of the important reason for vaccination is it clears the harmful germs that are confronted by immune system immediately, so your baby is 100% protected from illness or some particular diseases.

Now, Let us know about the importance of vaccination to your baby. It may shock you that your baby needs 24 vaccinations for protecting them against 14 different diseases, but the truth is since the immune system of every baby is not mature like an adult, they are most vulnerable to the effects of the harmful viruses.

Follow the pediatrician’s immunization schedule for your baby, which indicates the vaccines that are mandatory for your baby.

Vaccines those are essential for your baby

Does your baby get any side effects because of vaccine?

Probably yes, but the side effects are milder that does not last longer in your baby’s body and it may extent to hours or two days.

• Moreover every child will have some signs of allergies, redness, tenderness, swelling at the place of injection, high fever, unusual behavior like struggles to sleep, and nod, shows disinterest in eating and playing, etc. and feeling difficulty in breathing.
• Little older child will feel weaker and tired.
• These effects may start immediately after vaccination or few hours later.

Do not worry about the effect, they are not serious and will fade away on their own within a day or 2 days.

Severe effects of Vaccination

So far we have seen the milder vaccination effects, but the other side is the vaccinations may cause serious effects but are rare i.e. one in a million.

• One of the bigger effects is after 10minutes from vaccination the baby will have rashes, swelling of the skin, lips or face, vomiting, or breathing problems.
• The serious effects may also include non-stop crying for three hours, very high fever, swelling of entire arm or leg for more than two days, tiredness, reduced consciousness, fussiness, and drowsiness and these effects will occur rarely after the DTaP vaccine and Pneumococcal Vaccine.

Whatever may be the effect immediate consultation of your doctor cures your baby as soon as possible.

Children do not get vaccine

• Children, who are prone to any allergies or any harmful effect after specific vaccination, consult your doctor on pursuing the vaccination in further.
• If your child is allergic to any substance in the vaccination, avoid preferring for the other vaccination that contains that substance.
• A child who has moderate or severe fever on the vaccination must be intimated to come later for the vaccination

Do’s before and during vaccination

• You can also do some activities like playing with a toy that he loves, showing a toy rides or manual actions he/she likes, etc. in front of your baby to prepare hem/her before and during vaccination shot. It is your responsibility to stay near the baby to divert and calm him/her during injection.
• A supreme choice is to hold your baby around your hand, such that your baby’s upper arm and thighs are exposed to the care provider who is ready to give the shot.
• You can also feed your baby during vaccination, which will make the baby cry lesser.
• Sugar is also an excellent pain reliever for baby, which does not reduce the effect of vaccination. It is better to feed some water with sugar to your baby before and during vaccination.
• Trying Tylenol is not a good idea since it will reduce the effect of vaccine.
• You can ask for some combined shots i.e. vaccination for different diseases at one time, this will reduce the number of vaccinations and also the pain incurred by the baby.
• You can opt for numbing medicine or any alternative for injection i.e. a device that injects the medicine by compressed air.

Do’s after vaccination

• Doctors after research  found a way named “5 S” to make the baby feel comfortable after vaccination. The meaning of 5 S is swaddling (tightly wrapping the baby in a blanket), side/stomach position, shushing sounds, swinging and sucking.
• Do a gentle rub on the baby skin at the area where the shot is given, which makes your baby feel cool.
• And breast feeding your baby makes him/her forget the pain little, diverts him/her from pain and makes him/her sleep well, and the mother’s milk too have some sugar that acts as pain reliever and fades away the pain.
• Sponge your child with lukewarm water and make him wear lighter clothes and keeping cool cloth or ice pack over the injected area gives him some comfort from pain
• Feed him paracetamol drops and provide more attention to them than regular days.
• Do not force/compel your baby to play or do regular activities atleast for two days from vaccination.

Vaccine and immunize your baby, reduce the death rate of child below five years!!!