Essentials of baby care: Immunizations

The human body can be amazing. There are some diseases and illnesses that once you get, you will never contract again. This is because the body produces certain antibodies towards these diseases or illnesses and so the body recognizes them and can easily destroy them. This is exactly the way how vaccinations or immunizations work. And most of them are done at the earliest years of a person.

Today, many parents choose to have their babies and children immunized against various diseases, as doing so can truly save lives. Although there are some vaccinations that could pose some minor side effects, they are nothing compared to the protection that your baby or your child would be receiving. Here are some of the more common vaccinations and the side effects which you could expect as you get your baby immunized.

One of the first vaccinations that your baby would probably be getting would be DTaP. This would be the diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine. This vaccine is quite essential as all of these illneses can cause very serious medical conditions and even death. DTap is actually the newer version of the DTP vaccine and has a lot less side effects compared to the old one. Your child basically needs about five DTaP shots: at two months, four months, six months, then fifteen to eighteen months and the last between the ages of four years and six years. Around one third of the children who receive this vaccine have some mild reactions on the area where the shot has been given like swelling, tenderness or redness. There are also some babies who become a bit fussy and some who lose their appetite for a couple of hours. Another common side effect would be fever. Some rare reactions would be persistent crying for three to four hours after the vaccine is given.

A vaccination that is given at birth would be the Hepatitis B immunization. However, this immunization could be delayed for those infants who were born prematurely. The side effects for this vaccination would be slight soreness and fussiness, however these side effects are not common and go away easily.

Another important vaccination would be the Varicella vaccine. Up until recently, Varicella or chickenpox, has been considered as one of the more common diseases that a child gets. However, with just one dose of the Varicella vaccination at around twelve to eighteen months, your baby would be protected for around 70 to 90 percent. This immunization is very safe. There could just be some soreness or redness on injection site. There are also some children who get a mild case of rashes after a couple of weeks from the date of immunization.

The MMR vaccination is another routine immunization that is recommended by pediatricians. Children usually receive two doses of this vaccine. MMR protects against three illnesses: measles, mumps and rubella or German measles. This vaccine is given at twelve to fifteen and then again at four to six years old. Side effects and reactions caused by this immunization are very mild and are usually experienced after a week or so upon receiving the shot. Around 1 of 5 children would get some rashes or low fever that would last for a couple of days. Some less common side effects would be numbness, tingling or aching of the hands and feet, along with some allergic reactions.

Also another immunization would be the Hib or Hemophilus Influenzae b vaccination, which is aimed at preventing the growth of the hemophilus influenza b bacteria. This vaccine has very few or almost no side effects. There is a only a small percentage of children who get this vaccine who experience fever, tenderness or redness. This is administered at two months, four months, six months and the last at twelve to around fifteen months.

Some other vaccinations would be the IPV or the polio vaccine and the flu vaccine. Ultimately, you would still be the one to decide whether or not you want your child to receive vaccinations, especially since some of these are quite expensive. However, keep in mind that these vaccinations can save your child’s life. If you do decide to have your child get them, just make sure that you would be monitoring any side effects that your child experiences so that if something is out of the ordinary, you could report them to your doctor for evaluation.

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September 10, 2008 | Filed Under Baby health