Pneumococcal infection is very common. According to statistics, every minute as a result of its complications, one child's life ends. Pneumococcus is the main cause of bronchitis, otitis media, pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis in children under two years of age. Is it possible to protect your child? Pneumococcal vaccination is the salvation of your baby's he alth and life!
Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely protect a child from contact with pneumococcus, but there are ways to prepare him for this unpleasant meeting. The most effective method of preventing the development of a pathological process in a baby is vaccination against pneumococcal infection. Reviews confirm that this vaccine is indispensable in the fight against many serious diseases. Numerous epidemics of influenza and SARS lead to disruption of the barrier function of the epithelium of the lower and upper respiratory tract, creating a favorable environment forpathogen penetration. That is why pneumococcal vaccination is often given at the same time as influenza vaccination, usually from September to December. This avoids many complications and greatly reduces childhood morbidity.
How does the vaccine work?
Pneumococcal vaccination is carried out for both preventive and therapeutic purposes. In the latter case, the vaccine is used as part of combination therapy for long-term chronic respiratory diseases and bronchial asthma during remission. As a result of vaccinations in children,
who are at risk, there is a decrease in the severity and duration of episodes of bronchial asthma, a decrease in repeated cases of acute respiratory infections and otitis media, and a minimization of the risk of adenoid vegetations.
Medicine knows more than 90 varieties of pneumococci, so an infection provoked by one type of pathogen does not form immunity to others. In connection with these, the child should be given pneumococcal vaccination, regardless of the number of episodes of the development of this infection in the past. To prevent diseases, polysaccharide vaccines are used, which can be administered from the age of two, as well as conjugate drugs, used from two months.
Contraindications for pneumococcal vaccination:
- severe allergic reactions;
- acute diseases;
- chronic pathologies in the stage of relapse.
Pneumococcalvaccination, the complications of which are minimal, in some cases can still lead to unpleasant consequences. Several episodes were recorded when, after vaccination, the child experienced anaphylactic shock, however, with repeated injections of the drug, an increase in the risk of adverse reactions was not observed. As a rule, the pneumococcal vaccine is well tolerated by both children and adults. In some cases, redness and swelling may occur at the injection site. Of the general reactions, one can distinguish an increase in temperature and slight malaise, but they pass on their own after a day. Despite these complications, the pneumococcal vaccine is a great opportunity to keep your baby he althy.
