Image Source: Baby Center
This article was contributed by GetDoc.
Vaccination is an important part of infancy and childhood, and a major source of stress and strain for parents, especially mums. Is it not a terrible thing to see your baby cry out in pain? Not to forget the fever that can occur after the jab, more tension mummies! Here are some tips that you can use to ease your baby’s pain as well as free yourself from unwanted stress.
Is your baby fussy after a jab?
After vaccination, children can become grumpy and fussy due to the pain or even fever. In order to relieve them from the discomfort, you can try hot water or cold water fomentation. Also enquire with your child’s paediatrician if you can give the baby any medicine such as paracetamol or ibuprofen. If your child is fussy for a rather longer period of time, (>1 day) it is advisable to meet the paediatrician.
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Image Source: Baby Center
What if there is a fever after a vaccine shot?
Find out if your child is running a temperature. Ask your child’s paediatrician beforehand if you can give any medicine to ease the condition. There are a few things that, as a parent, you can do to help reduce fever:
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- Ensure your child takes in plenty of fluids, breastfeed as much as possible.
- Dress your child lightly. Avoid covering or wrapping the child tightly.
- Ask your child’s paediatrician about analgesics and antipyretics (paracetamol or ibuprofen), and administer as advised by doctor.
- If the fever persists, call the doctor.
What if the area of the jab is swollen or red? What should you do?
You can try hot water or cool water fomentation over the sore area to relieve the discomfort. Ask your child’s paediatrician if you can give ibuprofen or paracetamol for pain relief. If pain or redness persists, rush to the doctor.
Does your child look really sick? What should you do then?
If you are worried about how your child looks or feels, rush to your health care provider immediately! Until the age of 2, babies are given jabs quite a few times. While these vaccines are important because they protect the children in the long run, side effects have to be (unfortunately) endured.
What else can you do to calm your baby?
- Hold Your Baby
Image Source: Baby Center
According to research published in the journal Pediatrics, if possible hold your baby when he/she is given the injection. Try to distract or calm the baby while injecting. Hold the baby such that the thigh/upper arm is exposed properly, so the health care provider can give the injection appropriately. Doctors recommend that you keep the baby fully clothed so that you can leave immediately once the injection is done.
- Feed Your Baby
A recent study found that babies that were breast-fed during the vaccination cried less. It is a known fact that babies and younger kids and babies sort of live in the present moment. So they can be easily distracted, especially when it comes to moving their attention from pain to food. It is recommended that children are fed after the vaccination because it is likely that infants can throw up during the injection if they have just had something to eat.
What about Combination Shots?
Nowadays vaccinations for several diseases can be combined in a single shot to reduce the number of injections your baby requires, thereby reducing vaccination pain. Some examples include diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, MMR vaccine for Mumps, Measles and Rubella. Talk to your child’s paediatrician to know more.
Last but not the least, Stay Calm Mamma & Papa 🙂
Research says that parents’ behaviour accounts for about 50 % distress that the baby feels during a vaccination. New parents are usually anxious about their baby’s vaccination pain, Haller says. Comfort yourself with the fact that the pain your baby feels lasts only a moment or two, the protection from diseases will last, years.
Looking for a paediatrician? Just head to GetDoc, the smartest and easiest way to find your doctor.
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