What is the vaccine in the shoulder for newborns from? This question is of interest to mothers who have a first-born. The shoulder vaccine is called BCG. It protects against various forms of tuberculosis. If mom decided to refuse to get this vaccine, she should understand the consequences. Then the child can get tuberculosis. It is worthwhile to consider in more detail what vaccination in the shoulder with small children.
When is it done?
What vaccine is given on the shoulder in the hospital and when? BCG vaccination is done in the maternity hospital on the 4th-6th day of a child’s life. At this age, it is done to children whose weight is not less than 2500 grams. There is also a BCG-M vaccine - this vaccine contains half the amount of antigen. BCG-M is given to children who have contraindications for BCG vaccination. For example, premature babies with a body weight of more than 2 kg, children with an affected central nervous system, as well as those children who have not been vaccinated in the shoulder in the hospital.
To whom is it contraindicated?
It is strictly forbidden to vaccinate children with congenital or acquired immunodeficiency caused by HIV infection; complications after revaccination in siblings of a child. Also, children who have suffered tuberculosis are not vaccinated.
How do they do it?
Parents who know why the vaccine should be in the shoulder should also be familiar with the technique. Before making an injection, it is diluted with a special saline solution, which is attached to the vaccine. To get vaccinated, use a special tuberculin syringe. The vaccine is administered intradermally in the left shoulder. A month and a half after vaccination, a spot appears on the spot, then the infiltrate, that is, the tissue site increases in volume and becomes dense, with a diameter of not more than 5-10 mm. Then a bubble forms - an abscess, its size should be no more than a centimeter. The contents of the bubble are clear or slightly cloudy, then a crust will appear.
Scar from vaccination on the shoulder
After 5-6 months, a scar 3-10 mm long forms in the child. The scar speaks of the vaccine and the development by the body of a specific protection against mycobacterium tuberculosis. The place where they were vaccinated should not be touched, smeared with antiseptics, bandages. Even if the bubble has opened, it can still not be touched in any case, after a while it will dry out and a crust will form.
TB doctor
If the wound is very large (more than 10 mm), the shoulder hurts after vaccination, or a bubble has not formed at the vaccination site, you should consult a TB doctor. A TB doctor is a doctor who makes a diagnosis, prescribes treatment or prevention of tuberculosis. If the child was not vaccinated for some reason in the maternity hospital in 4-6 days, then it is imperative to vaccinate him after removing the contraindications. If you need to make BCG for a child older than 2 months, first he is given a Mantoux test. If the Mantoux test is negative, then it is possible for the child to do BCG, but not earlier than 2 weeks after Mantoux. Also, parents should not forget that if a child was brought home from the hospital, he should not be in contact with people who have not undergone fluorography.
Booster vaccination
After you know what the vaccine is in the shoulder (left), you should find out what revaccination is. Revaccination is done over the age of 6 years. In order to consolidate the result and to develop a stable immunity to the causative agents of tuberculosis. Before re-vaccination, the child is given a test vaccination with Mantoux. Mantoux test is a test for the development of immunity to tuberculosis. This is the safest diagnostic method, at least safer than lung x-rays. If the test is positive, then swelling, redness and hardening at the site of inoculation with a diameter of 10 mm will appear. This means that the child's body had contact with the causative agent of tuberculosis, but this is not an indicator that the child is sick. If there is such a reaction, then the child should be under the supervision of a pediatric pulmonologist and pediatrician. The time between vaccinations with Mantoux and BCG ranges from 3 to 14 days.
Vaccination at birth in the shoulder is contraindicated in children who were born with some complications, it can be an intrauterine infection, primary immunodeficiency and HIV in the mother and other serious diseases. Mom should decide whether to get the vaccine in the hospital or later, and if there are any contraindications, a neonatologist who examines the child in the first minutes of his life should tell her about it.
BCG revaccination (at 6-7 years) can be tolerated if the child has allergies, immunodeficiency, cancer or other acute diseases. If, at the first vaccination, the Mantoux reaction was positive, then re-vaccination is done with extreme caution. In a healthy child, complications after BCG do not appear. But do not forget that any medication can give an unexpected reaction when exposed to a single organism, that is, it can happen individually. Sometimes it is difficult to diagnose a child with some kind of disease before the vaccine, and then the vaccine given turns into undesirable consequences for the child. And it turns out that the child was vaccinated when the child was sick, but no one knew about it.
Possible complications
In such cases, there may be the following complications:
- Elevated temperature - it can be 38-38.5 ° C, then you need to give the baby an antipyretic, and if on the second day there is a temperature again, you need to call a doctor. Such a reaction can be in a child with a weak body, his immune system is not strong enough.
- Runny nose, cough, or reddening of the throat - this reaction can also occur due to weak immunity. All this is treated, and the hospitalization of the child is not required.
- On the first evening after vaccination, the child may experience fatigue, loss of appetite, and the child may be capricious. If there is such a reaction, you need to calm the child, do not stuff food, provide him with peace and, if possible, put him to bed earlier. Typically, these symptoms disappear after a maximum of 3 days.
- If the vaccination site becomes inflamed or eventually begins to fester, you should immediately consult a doctor.
All these symptoms are not serious and do not threaten the health and life of the baby.
Other vaccination reactions
There can also be very serious reactions to the vaccine, they rarely occur, but still happen:
- Lymphadenitis is called inflammation of the lymph nodes, which is accompanied by an increase in glands, and sometimes suppuration. If the lymph nodes are suppurative, they must be removed only surgically, therefore, with such reactions, the child needs to be hospitalized.
- Severe suppuration has formed in the injection area, which affects the skin around it. Such a reaction is possible in a child with immunodeficiency, and requires the supervision of a surgeon and conservative treatment.
- A cold abscess may also develop. The reason is the wrong vaccination, that is, the injection was done not subcutaneously, but intramuscularly. It is shown 3-4 weeks after vaccination. After such a period of time, the wound begins to erupt. In order to prevent such complications, vaccination should be done in the office where experienced specialists vaccinate.
- Osteomyelitis is a bone disease that develops several months after the manipulation. The cause may be a poor-quality vaccine. Therefore, doctors recommend vaccinations only in medical facilities and do not buy them in the middle of nowhere and with whom.
- If the injection was done incorrectly, that is, not intramuscularly, but subcutaneously, a keloid scar forms twelve months after vaccination.
- An ulcer appears at the puncture site - this indicates the sensitivity of the child's body to the components of the BCG vaccine. An ulcer is dangerous due to infection, therefore, supervision by a surgeon is required. This happens very rarely, but it does happen.
From all this, we can conclude that BCG vaccination has serious consequences for the baby, but only if contraindications were ignored, a poor-quality vaccine was administered, or the manipulation was incorrect. If everything is done correctly, the BCG vaccine is the only real way to protect the child from tuberculosis.