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Meet the
Pediatrician - in a conversational mood - PERIODIC UPDATES :
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VACCINES - 3
Meet the Pediatrician - in a
conversational mood - PERIODIC UPDATES :
VACCINES - CONTINUED
The last update bulletin touched some issues. There are many more that
spring to my mind and I shall try to squeeze in as many as possible in
as short reading as I may manage.
Vaccine failure :
It may be not too uncommon for you to see Typhoid developing in a
child who has duly been vaccinated for it. Similarly for Measles
,Polio and the rest.
This naturally raises the question " why then vaccinate at all ".
The broad fundamentals are :
- No vaccine claims 100 % protection
- Generally speaking , the breakthrough illness
( i.e. disease despite vaccination) shall be less severe than the
situation in which the child was not vaccinated at all - some solace
..!
- A variety of factors influence the efficacy
of the vaccine:
- Properly stored and administered vaccine
- If the child is in the incubation period of
a disease ( this is a window period when the child has already
contacted the germ from some other person but is not yet
manifesting the disease outwardly ) - the vaccine is very likely
to be ineffective. And there is no way either you or the
Pediatrician can make out a clue to the illnesses in this
incubation period.
- Anytime the child's immunity gets grossly
suppressed
( mostly during viral infections ) - the body gets unduly
susceptible to
infections in general - this period is one of risk of acquiring
infection in
prior vaccinated child.
On the whole , there are a variety of unknowns
that my produce vaccine failure.It is almost a duty at your part to
follow the vaccine schedule - and then keep your fingers crossed.
The happy thing is that vaccine failure is rather uncommon - please do
not
lose sleep over it !
What if I have missed a dose or delayed a vaccine ?
The golden rule is simple - take the first opportunity to take the
shot.
Also , whatever may be the length of delay - it does NOT call for a
repetition of the course all over again ( this applies to those
vaccines which are taken as multiple injections i.e. DPT & Hepatitis
B).
Rubella ( German Measles ) vaccine Booster for adolescent girls :
This is one important vaccine that gets usually ( almost always , I
daresay) missed since by that age the family has got over the vaccine
business.
Rubella is a subtle infection that comes and goes un-noticed ( usually
as a day or two of fever with or without a rash and tends to get
ignored as a " viral" ). What it leaves behind in the girl's
circulation is a lurking Rubella infection.This infection, if passed
on to the developing fetus, can
produce devastating consequences to the fetus and real bad
malformations may result.
This vaccine is usually taken at some 15 months of age as MMR vaccine
( M=Measles ; M=Mumps; R=Rubella ( German Measles) but the immunity to
Rubella generally wanes off by teenage. Hence the need for this
additional dose. It may be taken as a monovalent Rubella (Pure
Rubella) vaccine. On occasions, the availability of this is difficult
- you may then take MMR in its place.
My child is unwell - should I take the scheduled vaccine or not ?
A fairly common situation.
A very simple answer - minor coughs,colds,fevers do not entitle you to
delay the vaccine.
In any case, your Pediatrician shall first examine the baby and only
then give him the shot.In case he feels that the child is really sick
, he shall anyway defer the scheduled vaccine.
BUT DO NOT DECIDE FOR YOURSELF THAT YOUR CHILD IS UNWELL - HENCE I AM
NOT
GOING TO MY PEDIATRICIAN.
Tetanus shots at every injury :
It is a common practice for you as a parent to rush to your nearby
Doctor or your Pediatrician and ask for a Tetanus shot since your
child has had an injury.
The simple rule is that if you have followed the proper schedule of 3
initial DPTs ( T = Tetanus) starting at some 1.5 months and have
followed by a Booster ( this also contains Tetanus) at 1.5 years of
age and then you have taken the 5 year Second Booster ( this again
contains Tetanus) your child is fully immune to tetanus disease.
Do remember to take the final Booster ( this shall also contain
Tetanus ) at 10 years of age.
If you are in doubt about the schedule followed by you , then go about
it in a proper FRESH schedule :
Take one shot within 24 hours of injury
Take a repeat shot after 6 weeks
Take a repeat shot 6 months
Now your child is immune for the next 5 years - NO NEED FOR TETANUS
SHOTS FOR ANY INJURY FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS.
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