Many parents complain that after DTP, the child’s leg hurts. What is this talking about? You should start by deciphering the abbreviation adsorbed pertussis-diphtheria-tetanus vaccine. DTP is a vaccine for pertussis, tetanus and diphtheria. Often there are different consequences. What to do if the child’s leg hurts after DTP. Is this normal? Let's try to figure it out.
What are these diseases?
Before you know what to do if, after DTP, a child’s leg hurts, one should deal with possible diseases. Tetanus is an acute bacterial disease that is accompanied by damage to the nervous system, muscle tension, and seizures.
Whooping cough is an acute airborne bacterial infection that manifests itself as a paroxysmal spasmodic cough.
Diphtheria is an acute, life-threatening, infectious disease. All components that are part of DTP are able to 100% form the immunity of patients who are vaccinated.
How is vaccination done?
Enter the drug into the leg. If you enter into the buttock in children under two years of age, there is a danger of touching the sciatic nerve, nerve trunks, which is best avoided. In the buttocks there is fat deposits, getting into which, the vaccine is very slowly absorbed, and the immune system does not work properly. Therefore, young children are vaccinated in the upper outer surface of the middle part of the thigh.
Vaccination and revaccination
Vaccines against tetanus and diphtheria can strengthen immunity for 10 years after completion of the initial course. After 10 years have passed, you need to do revaccination. Pertussis vaccines form immunity for 5-7 years. All vaccines against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus are administered intramuscularly.
You need to be very attentive to the child so as not to miss the moment when he needs medical help. This vaccine is given to the baby four times: the first time in three months, the second time, if there is no indication, after 45 days, the third time also after 45 days, and the fourth, it is also called revaccination - in a year and a half, if there are no contraindications.
How to behave further?
After entering DTP, it is necessary to give an antipyretic to prevent a rise in temperature and to exclude cramps in young children that can occur against a background of high temperature. Also, all antipyretic drugs anesthetize and relieve inflammation.
The use of these drugs during vaccination will help relieve the child of pain, which can be very severe at the injection site, and also protect against edema in the same place.
If the child has an allergic reaction, anti-allergic drugs should be used. Neither antipyretic nor anti-allergic drugs affect the production of immunity and the effectiveness of this vaccine.
If a child has an allergy or diathesis, it is necessary to give him a maintenance dose of an antihistamine before vaccination. Some pediatricians advise giving the baby an antipyretic after vaccination, without waiting for any complaints. First aid will relieve him of the swelling of the injection site, relieve pain in the child’s leg after vaccination with DTP. What if the temperature rises during the day? It is necessary to put another candle or give some antipyretic. Be sure to put a candle at night, otherwise the fever may begin again. Also at night several times you need to measure the temperature.
If it is high, it is necessary to put a candle again and, without ceasing, give antihistamines (in the prescribed dosage). The next day, if there is again a fever, you need to put a candle and continue to give an anti-allergic drug. Preparations for removing heat should be given only at elevated temperatures, if it has risen slightly, then you can abstain. After all, the vaccine acts in the body, and there may be a temperature of 38.3, this is normal. It can rise the first 2-3 days after vaccination, and if it lasts longer, then we need to look for another source of its appearance.
How does the body react?
When there is a not very severe pain in the child’s leg after DTP vaccination, what to do is, in principle, an inevitable reaction (although it may not be). Frivolous side effects are a good sign that the child’s immune system is working properly and immunity is effectively formed. Vaccine reactions may vary, for example, redness or swelling. According to statistics, redness is observed in 1-2% of vaccinated children, swelling is also in 1-2%, pain at the injection site in 16% is manifested when the child moves his leg - all this is a consequence of the inflammatory process.
There may also be fever or pain at the injection site, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite or lethargy. Like all other vaccines, there is an adverse reaction to DTP - this is a possible rash, urticaria, edema, which covers a significant area at the injection site.
Seal
After vaccination, a seal may form at the injection site, it must not be rubbed and heated. This seal can last for a month and then pass by itself; it does not constitute anything serious. If touching this place brings pain to the child, then you should definitely consult a doctor. You also need to go to the doctor if this seal increases and exceeds the size of a small pea. This vaccine is heavy enough for a child’s body. Vaccination is considered one of the most difficult, and not all babies tolerate it painlessly. But it should be borne in mind that it protects against dangerous diseases and is necessary for the child. So to refuse without good reason is not worth it.
What is appearing?
In addition to common side effects, such as malaise, fever, moods and low appetite, more serious reactions may occur at the injection site:
- the injection site swells and reddens;
- the injection site is very painful;
- swelling of the legs.
Sealing and redness of the injection site is normal if the temperature is not higher than 38 ° C. It is also considered normal if the child has a reddened and slightly swollen injection site, but it does not hurt, and it can become a leg. Redness should not be more than 5 cm in diameter. But if the child cannot stand on his feet, cries, and redness exceeds the norm, this means that the child has a serious enough complication and you need to see a doctor. You can’t do anything on your own, you must definitely contact the clinic for help.
Leg hurts
If a child’s leg hurts after DTP vaccination, the reason is most likely that the immune system has detected cells that are harmful to the body. There can be pathological side effects - an attack of epilepsy, convulsions, increased nervousness, constant crying lasting several hours, an increase in body temperature above 40 ° C, redness of the skin, urticaria and intolerable itching. If the mother noticed such adverse reactions in her child, then she should immediately contact a doctor for medical help. If the parents noticed a swelling of the handle or legs in their baby, you can apply a cold compress to this place, this will help the child get rid of severe pain.
How long can the pain last?
A child’s leg can hurt up to 7-8 days after vaccination, the pain goes away gradually. But if the baby’s leg is swollen and the tumor site is hot, you need to urgently consult a surgeon, he will prescribe an effective ointment or compress that will help relieve symptoms. The leg may hurt due to the fact that the nurse entered the drug incorrectly, instead of injecting the muscle into the subcutaneous layer. In the subcutaneous layer there are a lot of fats, but few vessels, because of this, the infiltrate is absorbed very slowly.
The child’s leg hurts after vaccination, how to help?
Until the vaccine resolves, the child will feel pain in the leg. First of all, you need to talk with the pediatrician, after which you can use the Aescusan ointment. This ointment increases blood circulation, and the cone that occurs at the injection site will resolve faster. Also, due to a violation of sanitary standards, dirt can be introduced into the wound from vaccination. If this happens, the wound will fester and bleed. In such cases, the child urgently needs to be shown to the surgeon. With pain, you can give your child painkillers, because he should not tolerate pain. And be sure to remember that if something is in doubt, you do not need to expect that everything will go away by itself: you should contact your pediatrician or come to an appointment at the clinic.
Every mom’s first-aid kit should always have an antipyretic, antiallergic and analgesic. Many parents wonder if this vaccine should be given, if it is required. All over the world, this vaccine is given to babies; this indicator already indicates that it is needed and important. Do not forget that this vaccine forms immunity and protects against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. Therefore, even if after it a child’s leg hurts or there is a temperature, you still need to do the following vaccinations on schedule. Serious complications or severe side effects usually occur in the first hour after vaccination, so doctors recommend: after they have been vaccinated, stay for about half an hour - about forty minutes in a medical facility. After arriving home, you need to be very attentive to the child so as not to miss the moment when he will need help.
Important: doctors forbid at elevated temperatures, and also if the child’s leg hurts after DTP, give him “Analgin”!
If the temperature has risen, it is best to give drugs with nurofen or paracetamol, if these drugs do not help, you need to call a doctor. When asked by parents about the consequences and why a child’s leg hurts after DTP, Komarovsky advises giving children antipyretics when the temperature rises above 37.3 ° C.
Vaccination is a big and serious burden on the child's body, so you need to make life easier for the child. This means that there is no need to overfeed the baby, make him eat, if he does not want to, he does not need to overheat him. But to ensure the correct drinking regime is very important. If the child feels normal, you need to go for a walk with him to fresh air, but it is better to protect him from strangers and public places. You can not bathe the baby on the day of vaccination, rub the vaccination site, introduce new products into the child’s diet. And mother should not eat anything new if the baby is breast-fed. Dressing is necessary so as not to put pressure on the injection site, and not to let the child touch it.
Parent reviews
Those who ask questions like: "After vaccination with DTP, the child’s leg hurts. What should I do?" - We recommend that you study the feedback from experienced parents. They will be useful to those who doubt whether to make this vaccine or not.
Judging by the reviews on the parent forums, there are cases of serious consequences after vaccination, but these are only a few. Some mummies write that children undergo DTP vaccination always hard, up to the onset of disability. But doctors do not confirm that such complications can give the vaccine.
There are such reviews that after the vaccination, the child had convulsions, and subsequently had to resort to anticonvulsant drugs for a long time. There are absolutely frightening reviews, for example, that after the DTP vaccination, the child stopped talking and spoke only after 3 years. Another child lost hearing after vaccination. In another case, after vaccination, the child was taken to a hospital with acute pyelonephritis, and the doctor informally recognized that this is a complication after DTP.
Do it or not?
In a word, reviews are extremely controversial, often frightening with consequences, up to leukemia. It is known that children should be tested for drug compatibility before vaccination, but this is usually not practiced in medical facilities. Therefore, it is worth studying the opinions of real people and the opinions of doctors. And be sure to consult a pediatrician observing the baby. But it should be remembered that reviews about vaccinations, which went absolutely normal, are left very rarely, while one case of complications "diverges in a huge circulation." In any case, the decision about whether to do this or that vaccination and when, for the parents.