Each baby, born into the world, is naturally endowed with immunity, in addition, it will inherit part of the antibodies from the mother. However, the protection acquired with birth, the crumbs are short enough - a maximum of the first year of life. In the future, the human body must itself develop individual immunity.
To help the child build a good immune system, mankind has invented a brilliant tool - vaccinations for children up to a year and in subsequent periods of life. A vaccine is a killed or weakened pathogenic virus or its synthetic substitute. Once in the body, a foreign agent provokes the production of antibodies, in other words, the disease is simulated. Due to this, immunological memory is formed. And subsequently, when a real virus enters the body, the immune system can easily cope with the infection without serious consequences and complications.
With the help of vaccination, mankind defeated such serious diseases as smallpox, plague, cholera, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, polio and some others. Since these infectious diseases are very rare today, many consider them to be exclusively medieval misfortunes and think that they are not at all scary to modern man. Moreover, many “caring” mothers refuse to vaccinate their babies, citing various complications and allergic reactions to vaccinations in children. Parents sometimes do not even think that an unprotected baby can get the same medieval disease.
In fact, complications after vaccination arise only in extreme cases, in particular, if the baby’s body is weakened, it has any developmental disorders or minor ailments. Therefore, before vaccination, it is necessary to consult a doctor, telling him in detail about all the diseases of the baby.
Currently, there are many reasons convincing not to vaccinate children under one year old. Some consider vaccination an unnatural intervention, others talk about the terrible substances contained in the injected solution. Still others rely on natural health and God's help ...
One way or another, the vaccine is still a serious intervention in the normal life of the body, so you need to prepare for it with great responsibility.
To date, the following vaccinations exist for children up to a year :
- against hepatitis B (on the first day of life, at 3, then at 6 and 12 months);
- against tuberculosis (in 7 days);
- against poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (at 3 and 4.5 months);
- against mumps, measles, rubella (at 12 months).
Any vaccine can cause various reactions in a child, so you need to know the basic rules for caring for a baby after vaccination.
Firstly, immediately after the procedure, you should not leave the clinic, it is recommended to stay at least 15 minutes, making sure that the baby does not begin to develop an allergy.
Secondly, on the first night after vaccination, the baby may have a fever. This is a completely normal reaction to a hostile agent in the body. If the child’s temperature does not drop for a long time, you can give him an antipyretic, but you should first consult your doctor or call an ambulance.
And finally, the last reaction to the vaccine is a single vomiting, in rare cases, diarrhea, as well as allergic rashes. If these symptoms occur for a long time, you should immediately seek help from a specialist.
The above possible consequences, of course, are far from the most pleasant periods in the baby’s life. But on the other hand, the immunity developed from vaccination is enough for a person for many years of life.
To date, vaccinations for children under one year of age are not mandatory procedures. And each parent has the right to decide whether to vaccinate children.