Vaccination (Children)
Considering alternatives to vaccinations
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(1) Comment
With more and more childhood vaccinations and boosters being introduced every year, many parents, concerned about possible side effects, are looking for alternatives.
Homeopathy is one of the most commonly considered alternatives to vaccinations. Sadly, no evidence shows that homeopathic alternatives offer protection against any of the diseases mentioned in this blog, and the Faculty of Homeopathy does not recommend homeopathy as an alternative to standard immunisation. However, you can consult a homeopath about using homeopathic remedies in conjunction with routine immunisation.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
Answering commonly asked questions
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(0) Comment
Vaccinations are a hot topic among parents. While everyone wants to protect their baby from serious illnesses, parents naturally want to be absolutely sure that the jabs their baby receives are absolutely safe. Parents quite rightly ask questions about safety, including the following:
Why does my baby need to be vaccinated so early in life?
Doctors like to vaccinate from as young as 8 weeks to ensure that your baby is not left vulnerable in the early months of life. An 8-week-old baby who hasn’t been immunised is open to infection by the germs that cause meningitis C, whooping cough, and HIB, which can be killers in this age group. Many parents worry that their baby’s immune system won’t be able to cope with the vaccine, but most doctors regard these fears are unfounded. Apart from anything else, your baby is exposed to thousands of germs every day – far more than they encounter in any number of immunisations.
Are vaccines safe?
Before a vaccine is licensed, its safety and effectiveness are tested thoroughly. After a vaccine has been licensed, its safety continues to be monitored. Any side effects that are discovered, no matter how rare, can then be assessed further. All medicines cause side effects, but vaccines are believed to be among the safest of drugs.
Is it possible to overload the immune system by giving too many vaccines?
From birth, your baby’s immune system protects her from the germs that surround her. Without this protection, your baby would not be able to cope with the tens of thousands of bacteria and viruses that cover her skin, nose, throat, and intestines. Vaccines are designed to strengthen your baby’s immune system and protect her from extremely serious diseases. Most doctors believe that there is no evidence that any vaccine programme overloads a child’s immune system. In the USA, where more vaccines are given in a single GP visit than in the UK, a study found no difference in hospital admission in children who had had multiple immunisations compared with children who had had only polio vaccine. Immunising against several diseases at once was just as safe as immunising against one.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
Dealing with side effects
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(0) Comment
Minor side effects after immunisations are relatively common, but they’re usually short-lived. Your child may get redness and swelling at the site of the injection, have a fever, feel unwell, or seem generally out of sorts. A slight rash, particularly after the MMR jab, is common. You can usually relieve such side effects by giving your child the recommended dose of infant paracetamol or ibuprofen, before or after the jab.
Serious side effects after vaccination are rare, but seek medical advice if your child has any of the following after immunisation:
- A convulsion (fit)
- Persistent fever over 39.5°C
- Extreme reaction, such as continual and painful swelling, at the site of the injection
- Breathing difficulties, large weals on the skin, or loss of consciousness, which can be symptoms of a relatively rare allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. If you suspect your child is suffering from anaphylaxis, take her to your nearest accident and emergency department immediately.
Serious side effects are rare, but they do happen. But bear in mind that all the immunisations offered in the UK are far less likely to cause complications than getting the disease. For instance, meningitis or encephalitis affects fewer than one in a million infants receiving the MMR vaccine, but 1 in 300–400 children who contract mumps.
Seek advice from your GP or health visitor before immunisation if your child:
- Has an acute illness accompanied by fever. Your GP is likely to advise you to delay vaccination until the illness has settled. (This does not include mild coughs, colds, and earaches.)
- Has had a bad reaction to a previous immunisation. This significantly increases the chance of a bad reaction to later similar immunisations.
- Has an allergy to eggs (the MMR vaccine is prepared in eggs. While the amount of egg contained in the vaccine is so small that it probably won’t cause a problem even if your child has a severe allergy, your GP may recommend that your child has the vaccination carried out under close supervision at the hospital).
- Has ever had a convulsion (fit).
- Has any illness that affects her immune system, for example HIV or AIDS. (A child whose immune system is not working properly should not have live vaccines.)
- Is taking any medicines that affect her immune system, for example immunosuppressants following organ transplant, high-dose steroids, or chemotherapy.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
What to expect on the day
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(0) Comment
You will probably be sent a reminder when your baby’s jabs are due. In the UK, the vaccination programme starts at age 2 months, with further doses at 3, and 4 months of age. Three vaccine doses are given to ensure that your child’s body makes a good immune response to the diseases. The first dose of the vaccine may not provide lasting protection, and a protective immune response may not develop fully until the second or even third dose. Injections are usually given by a general practice nurse or health visitor, often in the thigh or the top of the arm. You’ll be asked to hold your baby close to you on your lap as she has her injections.
Breastfeeding (or bottle feeding) is a powerful painkiller. If you’re worried about the jabs hurting your baby, try feeding her while the nurse vaccinates her. Some doctors suggest giving infant paracetamol before or just after the vaccination, just in case your child’s prone to running a temperature after an immunisation.
Your baby may cry briefly while she’s being vaccinated, but cuddles and reassurance will soon calm her. You may want to take along a favourite toy or blanket or offer her a feed after she’s had the vaccine. The doctor or nurse may ask you to stay in the surgery for 10 minutes or so to check that your baby doesn’t have an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
Explaining how jabs work
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(0) Comment
Immunity from a disease occurs naturally when, for example, your child catches an infectious disease such as chicken pox. Your child’s immune system launches an assault on the virus by forming antibodies against it. After the immune system has destroyed the infection, the symptoms of the disease disappear, leaving the antibodies to guard the body to prevent further invasion by the same enemy.
Immunisation works by introducing a particular virus or bacterium (or part of it) artificially, so that your child’s body develops antibodies against it without actually developing the illness. A vaccine contains a version of the virus or bacterium and tricks the immune system into reacting as though it had met the real thing. White blood cells then make antibodies to the germs and remain in the body, ready to annihilate the real germs should they ever arrive. Your child won’t actually develop the infection when she’s immunised because the virus or bacterium has been pre-treated to make it harmless.
A number of vaccines, such as the pneumococcal vaccine, are made from an inactivated version of the germ. The pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine is made from proteins from the skin of the virus. When the body develops immunity to these proteins it protects it against the whole germ if it comes into contact with it. Still others, such as diphtheria and tetanus vaccines, are made from small doses of the toxins that these germs produce.
Others, known as live vaccines, such as measles, mumps, and rubella, contain a weakened strain of the disease-causing bacterium itself.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
Available vaccines
Posted by
admin 3 August, 2008
(0) Comment
It may seem that your child is offered an awful lot of immunizations in the first year or two of life. However, that’s because an awful lot of nasty germs are out there, and kids need protection! Many of these infections cause far worse complications if they are contracted in the first year of life than they do if they’re caught later on, so delaying immunization carries its own risks. However, before you decide to have your child immunized, discover as much as possible about the issue, so you can decide whether you are doing the best for your child. Hopefully this book answers your queries, but don’t hesitate to ask your health visitor, GP, or practice nurse about any further concerns.
The diseases your child is offered vaccination against are so rare in the UK – and have been for some time, because of the use of vaccines – that you may have never known anyone who’s had the diseases. So here’s a brief refresher course on the nasties that your child can be immunized against:
- Diphtheria: A disease spread by droplets from the nose and mouth. It causes fever, sore throat, and severe difficulty in swallowing. If complications set in, diphtheria can cause breathing difficulties and damage to the heart, respiratory system, and nervous system. Diphtheria can be fatal.
- Tetanus: Sometimes called lockjaw, this disease is transmitted in soil. Germs enter the body through cuts or burns, causing muscular and breathing problems, which can be fatal. The symptoms of tetanus are painful spasms of muscle contraction and it kills about 1 in 30 people who get it. Tetanus can have a incubation period of 4–21 days (which means it can live in the body without showing symptoms). The organism that causes tetanus is found in soil and animal saliva.
- Pertussis: Commonly known as whooping cough, this causes long painful bouts of coughing and can lead to vomiting and choking. This highly infectious disease is transmitted by droplets from the nose or mouth. The incubation period is 7–10 days. Whooping cough starts in the same way as a cold, but as the disease progresses the coughing spasms become more and more severe. The ‘whoop’ occurs as the child draws breath between bouts of coughing. These distressing symptoms can go on for more than 10 weeks. Severe cases may be complicated by pneumonia (which affects about 1 in 5 infants who get pertussis under 6 months of age), vomiting, weight loss and, more rarely, brain damage and death. Young babies are most at risk (it kills about 1 in 40 babies who get it under one month and 1 in 300 infants who get it under 1 year old).
- Polio: The polio virus attacks nerve tissue in the brain and spinal cord and can cause paralysis. Polio is still very common in a few developing countries, but cases are rare in the UK. The disease is spread by contact with the faeces, mucus, or saliva of an infected person. The incubation period varies between 3–21 days.
- Haemophilus influenzae B (HIB): Infection with this organism has ‘flulike symptoms but complications such as meningitis, septicaemia (blood poisoning), and pneumonia can follow, which is why the vaccine was introduced.
- Meningitis C: Meningococcus is a bacterium that causes meningitis and septicaemia. The bacterium has several strains and this vaccination is against one of the most common strains – C. Meningitis is a serious illness that can be fatal or cause long-term damage to the brain and nerves. The illness is spread through droplets from the nose and mouth.
- Measles: This highly infectious disease used to be the most common childhood illness. It was all but eradicated in the UK when the MMR vaccine was introduced, but since immunisation levels have dropped, cases have risen again. It has an incubation period of 10 days. Infection is spread by droplets from the mouth and nose. Measles may start like a bad cold, with catarrh and a high temperature. The rash generally appears two days after the first symptoms. Common complications include diarrhoea, ear infections, and the chest infections pneumonia and bronchitis. One in 1,000 children with measles develops meningitis or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
- Mumps: A viral illness usually causing considerable swelling around the cheeks and neck. The incubation period is 14–21 days. Complications include meningitis or encephalitis, which between them affect 1 in 300–400 children who get mumps; deafness (in up to 1 in 25 cases); and inflammation of the testes in boys, which may permanently damage fertility.
- Rubella (German measles): This is generally a mild illness in children, causing fever, rash, and swollen glands. Complications are rare in children. However, if a pregnant woman contracts rubella in the first 8–10 weeks of pregnancy, the effects on her unborn baby can be serious: Her baby may be born with deafness, blindness, heart problems, and/or brain damage. Rubella has an incubation period of 14–21 days.
If you’ve already had a child, you should have had a blood test in your first pregnancy to check that you’re immune to rubella. If you weren’t immune, you should have been offered a vaccination after your baby was born, with a blood test to check that it worked in boosting your immunity. However, if you’re pregnant and come into contact with a possible case of rubella, you must contact your GP as soon as possible to check you are immune. - Tuberculosis (TB): In areas in the UK that are at high risk for TB, a disease that affects the lungs, your child may be offered the BCG vaccination (Bacillus of Calmette and Guerin) to protect against TB soon after birth. Your baby will probably get a small sore at the injection site after this vaccination, but it heals gradually.
Categories : Vaccination (Children)
