❖ Amongst all vaccines, BCG is the least efficacious. It does, however, protect against the severity of the disease. The formation of the BCG scar may take 8-12 weeks.
❖ Polio: More doses than recommended can be safely given. Therefore, children can receive polio doses as a part of Pulse Polio immunisation, even if recently vaccinated.
Continue reading Child Care: Key Points to Know About Immunization for Children
1. Child is thin
Check whether the child’s weight is really below the expected for his age (e.g. is a 1-year-old child weighing only 6 kilos?). Don’t be carried away by your subjective impressions or what others say. Don’t compare your child with other children’s built and weight. Parents, who harbour anxiety regarding the thinness of their child, invariably find some child amongst relatives or in the neighbourhood who is stouter than their child. Every child including yours is unique and comparisons are superfluous.
Continue reading Child Care: How to Tackle Feeding Problems in Children?
Other vaccines that are recommended but have to be purchased, i.e. they are not supplied free of cost, are described below.
1. Hepatitis-B vaccine: It is a killed viral vaccine having excellent protection against Hepatitis-B virus. There are 5 common hepatitis viruses; A to E. Out of these, at present, vaccines are only available against Hepatitis A & B. Hepatitis-A causes only acute (lasting for a brief time say 1-2 weeks) liver disease while Hepatitis-B may cause a chronic liver disease which may ultimately lead to liver failure. It has also been known to cause liver cancer. That’s why one should get oneself immunised against it.
Vaccines are made of dead/live attenuated viral or bacterial products called “antigens.” They stimulate the defence mechanisms of the body and lead to the formation of certain protective proteins called “antibodies” in the body. For example when your child receives Polio drops (containing attenuated live Polio viral antigen); the body produces antibodies against it. Later on in life, supposing your child comes into contact with the Polio virus, because of the wise step taken by you in getting your child immunised, the child has the capacity to resist this infection because of the protective antibodies formed in his body earlier due to the vaccination. Hence the child doesn’t suffer from Polio. This holds true for all diseases against which vaccines are available. What are the different types of vaccines?
Continue reading Child Care: BCG, Polio, DTP and Measles Vaccines for Children
Before immunizing, always ask for:
• Any previous hypersensitive reaction to a vaccine DTP,
• Any side effects of previous particularly CNS?
• H/O T.B. (before giving measles)?
Only if the answers to them are negative, vaccinate. If in doubt, seek expert opinion.
Continue reading Child Care: Caution Taken Before Immunization
1. Live vaccines (BCG, Polio, MMR, Measles, and Oral Typhoid) are contraindicated in malignancies, immunosuppressed patients, patients on chronic steroid therapy or on chemotherapeutic agents. In AIDS, BCG & Measles are recommended, as the benefits outweigh the risk, but not oral polio drops. Instead dead polio vaccine (i.m.) can be given.
Hepatitis-B
A viral infection of the liver, it is transmitted by close sexual contact, contaminated needles and blood transfusions. It can also be transmitted from the pregnant mother to her baby. AIDS is also transmitted by the same modes of transmission. The chief complaints are jaundice and fever with vomiting. Urine becomes dark yellow. The infection may become chronic and lead to liver failure and sometimes to liver cancer. As treatment of it is disappointing, prevention by vaccination is the best course.
Continue reading Child Care: Hepatitis-B,Typhoid, Chicken Pox and Rabies in Children
Tetanus
It is an infection caused by the bacteria found in dirt, gravy and rusty metals. It usually enters the body through a cut. It is characterised chiefly by spasms, which may be precipitated by even a mild stimulus like light or sound. Another distinctive feature is “lock- jaw” where the jaws are tightly clenched together due to the spasm of the muscles of the cheeks, causing a peculiar grin on the face called as “risus sardonicus.” (Try smiling in front of a mirror with your cheeks tightly clenched and you will know what risus sardonicus looks like).
Continue reading Child Care: Tetanus, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Hepatitis-A in Children
1. Tuberculosis (T.B.)
The child may present with fever, cough, weight loss, decreased appetite and a general feeling of ill being, listlessness and apathy. The most important fact to determine is whether the child had a close contact with an adult T.B. patient, as it is an infectious disease that spreads through airborne bacteria. T.B. usually does not spread from a child to another child, as the child does not release many T.B. bacteria in the air due to lack of a forceful cough and absence of a cavity in the lungs (which adults have).
Continue reading Child Care: Tuberculosis, Polio, Diphtheria and Pertussis in Children
Vomiting
Most of the vomiting is due to irritation of the stomach (called gastritis), and so at the most, some antacids and antiemetics may be of benefit. Vomiting quite commonly presents itself along with diarrhoea; a condition called “gastro-enteritis”. By and large, vomiting is self-limiting. Vomiting doesn’t always mean a stomach upset.
Continue reading Child Care: How to Treat Vomiting, Constipation and Stomach-Aches in Children?