In today's world, diphtheria vaccination is a must for children. This disease affects several human organs and poses a great threat to he alth. Therefore, doctors recommend that every child be vaccinated against diphtheria in order not to suffer from the disease in the future.
What is the danger of diphtheria
A disease like diphtheria is contagious. In the process of its development, the upper respiratory tract, nose, pharynx, eyes and even genitals become inflamed. The main threat is not in the inflammation itself, but in poisoning with a toxin produced by the pathogen (diphtheria bacillus). It is this harmful element that creates problems for the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
The disease is accompanied by general weakness, localization of palpable pain in the throat, as well as high body temperature. You can get infected with it at absolutely any age, and this is done quite easily, since it is transmitted by airborne droplets.
Treatment and prevention of diphtheria in children
Young children and adolescents with diphtheria must be hospitalized. For the next two weeks, they will have to observe strict bed rest.
The main remedy for the treatment of the disease is antitoxic serum. It can be administered both intramuscularly and intravenously. Along with this, the doctor prescribes antibiotics, among which the most effective is penicillin.
Treatment can be symptomatic. For this, certain drugs are taken that correspond to various symptoms (for example, antipyretics are taken at high temperatures). It is also necessary to carefully monitor the doctor for the appearance and progression of complications.
The most effective method of preventing the disease is vaccination against diphtheria. Side effects in children after it, of course, occur, but quite rarely, since it all depends on age. To date, there are several vaccines, which will be discussed in detail below.
Do I need a vaccine
To understand why a diphtheria vaccine is needed for children, it is necessary to understand the exact medical indicators. Every year in hospitals of any country, counts of patients who fell ill and died from this disease are kept. Although there is another component, which is not so easy to calculate - saving parents time and money, which they do not spend just like that, because children practically do not get this disease.
Over the past few decades, vaccination has indicated that:
- in states where almost 100% of the population is vaccinated, only visitors or patients who could not be vaccinated in a timely manner suffered from the disease;
- already having diphtheria does not give a full guarantee that a person will not become infected with it again;
- death is 4%;
- at the time of the appearance of vaccinations, about 20% of diseases in children were precisely diphtheria, while the number of deaths reached 50% of patients.
Varieties of Vaccines
In order to prevent the disease in Russia, combined vaccines are used. In their composition, they all contain diphtheria toxoid. It is a drug that produces antibodies to the main pathogen. To date, there are three types of vaccines:
- DTP vaccination. The consequences in children after it are not so serious. It has a triple action - not only against diphtheria, but also against whooping cough, as well as tetanus.
- ADS. In the circle of specialists, it is called the diphtheria-tetanus vaccine. It is the most common, as it is actively used for the prevention of both diphtheria and tetanus. In addition, the timing of vaccination of these two vaccinations is the same.
- ADS-M. It is an ATP vaccine, but in smaller doses.
- AD-M. It has existed for a long time, but is rarely used. Modern specialists do not always agree to work with it, since it is a monovaccine, but as a good preventionyou must use the complex option.
Other drugs
In addition to the already known vaccines described above, other injections are actively used in some hospitals. They have also existed for quite a long time, but they have not lost their popularity over all this time. These include:
- Pentaxim is a drug that helps the body develop protection against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Haemophilus influenzae, and polio.
- "Infanrix Hexa" - a six-component vaccine, is used as a prophylaxis not only against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, but also against Haemophilus influenzae and hepatitis B.
- "Infanrix" is an imported analogue of DTP containing protective cells against whooping cough, tetanus and, of course, diphtheria.
Vaccination schedule
For young parents who care about their own child, it is always interesting when children are vaccinated against diphtheria. The Russian vaccination calendar claims that it must be done until the child is one year old. The vaccine is given only three times: at 4, 5 and 6 months. Thanks to these vaccines, the body will develop resistance to the pathogen.
The next diphtheria vaccination for children will be done in order to maintain immunity. The first step is to do it at 18 months. Further vaccination against diphtheria is recommended for children 7 years of age. The last vaccination will be at age 14.
All these vaccinations becomea guarantee that the body will be resistant to the effects of infection. Subsequent vaccinations will need to be done much less frequently - only once every ten years.
It is also worth noting that a diphtheria vaccination for children aged 14 years or 4 months is a must. The doctors themselves strongly recommend that parents do not save on the he alth of their child and still visit a clinic where you can get vaccinated. It doesn't hurt at all and won't take long, so there's no reason not to.
Introduction method
In addition to the vaccination schedule, parents are also interested in where their children are vaccinated against diphtheria. This question remains the most important for them.
Diphtheria vaccines are administered intramuscularly only. Vaccinations intravenously or subcutaneously, unlike antitoxic serum, cannot be done.
The most common graft sites are:
- hips;
- shoulder delta.
For small children (up to three years old), the injection is injected into the middle third of the anterolateral part of the thigh. And for slightly older patients (up to 14 years old and above) - in the upper third of the shoulder protrusion.
Immediately after an injection into the muscle, the area around it may hurt. As a rule, these are not strong pain sensations, so even the smallest patient can endure them. Plus, they don't last long.
Indications
Indication for vaccination against diphtheria in children is only the necessary prevention of severe forms of the disease, as well as its consequences. There are no other items that require vaccination.
Contraindications
Unlike the indications, there are much more contraindications for vaccination. Any vaccination is a cause for an imbalance in the functioning of the systems of the human body. It is for this reason that most contraindications are associated with a temporary state of the immune system.
Both the DTP vaccination in children, the consequences of which are practically not serious, and other types of vaccination are not recommended in such cases:
- Presence of bacterial, viral and other diseases. In such a situation, the specialist only recommends waiting until the child is completely he althy.
- Development of allergic reactions to any pathogens.
- Any post-vaccination complications from a recent vaccination.
- Diseases associated with neurology. If they are present and in the active phase, it is strictly forbidden to inject toxoid. In this case, you will need to wait for the onset of remission or a period without any exacerbations.
- Mild forms of diseases - redness of the throat, rhinitis and the like. Of course, they do not pose a danger and do not prohibit vaccination, but it is still worth waiting for the vaccination until the symptoms go away.
Compared to other vaccinations, the list of contraindications for the diphtheria vaccine does not include diseases such as cancer, immunodeficiency states, powerful chemotherapy.
Vaccination reaction
All parents should be prepared for the fact that there will be at least some reaction to the diphtheria vaccine in children. Normal consequences include:
- apathy;
- slight lethargy;
- reddening of the treated area;
- increased body temperature;
- slight pain the first week after vaccination;
- slight malaise;
- formation of a small bump at the injection site, which will resolve within three to four weeks.
All these reactions cannot be called complications, since they will not last so long, and nothing will have to be done to eliminate them. In addition, they may not appear in all children. Therefore, do not worry if there are no consequences after vaccination - this is also the norm.
Side effects
Most often, side effects are manifested in the form of allergic reactions to various components of the drug used. Along with this, they can be provoked by a refusal to comply with contraindications.
Complications
In addition to the usual reaction to the vaccine and the classic side effects, complications after the procedure should also be considered. They require special attention, as it is precisely such consequences that can worsen the condition of the child, and it may not be so easy to cure them.
Despite the fact that complications are extremely rare, you still need to know about them. The list is not too big:
- runny nose;
- cough;
- profuse sweating;
- dermatitis;
- otitis media;
- diarrhea;
- bronchitis;
- scabies;
- pharyngitis;
- itch.
It is these diseases that are considered complications that occur immediately after the injection. But it is worth considering that they are only weak adverse effects. In addition to them, more serious complications can also arise if parents refuse to comply with contraindications.
Often there are problems with the cardiovascular system. In this case, myocarditis may begin to develop, and the heart rhythm will also be disturbed. They are considered the most serious complications that are quite difficult for a small child to survive.
At the same time, there is a chance to get adverse effects of a neurological nature. They are caused by damage to the peripheral and cranial nerves. There are such complications in the form of paralysis of accommodation, paresis of the limbs, strabismus. There are more severe cases, which include paralysis of the muscles of the diaphragm, as well as respiratory muscles.
Medical practice shows that so far not a single case of death after the ADS vaccine has been recorded. In addition, there were no children who would go into anaphylactic shock. Thanks to these facts, you can be sure of the benefits and complete harmlessness of the injection.
Parents' concerns about the need for vaccinations are understandable, because they all care about their children and want only the best for them. But even despite certain concerns, you should not immediately refuse vaccination. In any case, the best solution to the problem is to seek the advice of a specialist. He will explain in detail whatan injection, why it is needed and whether it is worth administering it to a small child. Whether or not to be vaccinated is ultimately up to the parents to decide.
Advice to parents
Complications are rather difficult moments after an injection into a child's body. Of course, you can avoid them, because they are usually caused by non-compliance with elementary contraindications.
After visiting the doctor, you must carefully monitor the child. Be sure to catch the moment when there is only a hint of side effects. As soon as they occur, you should immediately go to the pediatrician to make sure that such a reaction is quite normal.
Specialists and experienced parents who have already seen many cases of diphtheria in children can give good advice to beginners. By adhering to them, you can be sure that the child will not have any problems. The main tips are:
- Consultation with a specialist. As mentioned above, you should consult your doctor about the specifics of the vaccination, vaccination schedule, side effects, advantages and disadvantages of the injection. Based on the information received, it will be much easier to understand whether a vaccine is needed.
- Careful choice of clinic. If the parents definitely decided to send their child to the doctor, then it is necessary to take the choice of the clinic where the procedure will be carried out with particular seriousness. It is best to give preference to public clinics or trusted specialists with whom you have worked before.
- The state of the child beforevaccinations. Before agreeing to a vaccination, you need to make sure that the child is not sick with anything. Otherwise, adverse consequences cannot be avoided.
Often people wonder if it is possible to wet the area where the needle was inserted. In fact, it is allowed to do this on the very first day, but only with cool or lukewarm water. At the same time, it is worth abandoning the baths, and washing the child only in the shower. However, in the near future you do not need to use all kinds of shower gels, since ordinary baby soap is best for this period. Also, for seven days after vaccination, you should not wash with a washcloth, as it can be the main cause of redness or inflammation at the injection site.
In the first days after the procedure, experts recommend making sure that the child does not overheat or overcool. If this is allowed, then the patient's immunity may deteriorate significantly.
Many parents believe that the vaccine is mandatory, although in fact it is safe to refuse it. You just need to remember that it protects the baby from infection, and even if the disease does appear, it will be much easier to transfer it after vaccination.
Reviews about the diphtheria vaccination for children are always positive. Parents like the fact that their child is reliably protected from the onset and progression of this hated disease.
