Vaccination always raises many questions, disputes and worries in parents. A vaccine against polio, the side effects of which can sometimes cause problems in a child, tops the list of the most necessary vaccines in childhood. After all, this most serious disease affects motor neurons, causing paralysis and other dangerous changes in the body.
What is poliomyelitis?
Polio is spinal paralysis in a child. After the virus enters the body and multiplies, the gray matter of the spinal cord occurs, resulting in muscle paralysis, the neurons of which are more affected by the virus. Only a vaccine against polio can prevent this disease. When vaccination is given, the child should not have any respiratory diseases and exacerbations of chronic diseases.
The disease can occur in an erased or latent form (without symptoms), so it is sometimes difficult to identify it. The most common polio is among children aged 6 months to 5 years. At this age, the baby is very difficult to keep track of, so the risk of getting sick greatly increases. And given that poliomyelitis is transmitted by airborne droplets, we conclude that they can be infected in the most unexpected place.
That is why the polio vaccine is so necessary. For and against vaccination, many parents have always advocated. You can find out the positive and negative points of vaccination from this article.
The polio virus is volatile and resistant to external influences. It can be stored in dairy products, water and feces for up to six months. That is why in the twentieth century, this disease took the form of an epidemic.
Causative agent of the virus
The causative agent of poliomyelitis belongs to the viruses of the picornavirus family and the group of enteroviruses (viruses that multiply in the intestine). There are three independent strains. All these strains usually contain a polio vaccine. Side effects on the body will not harm the health of the child.
The virus is a single-stranded RNA enclosed in a protein coat with the inclusion of lipids. It is not affected by environmental factors, it is resistant to freezing, but it quickly dies when boiled. After entering the body, it multiplies in the tonsils, intestines and then affects the gray matter of the spinal cord, causing the destruction of motor neurons and atrophy of muscle tissue.
Symptoms of polio
In time, the presence of a disease in a child can be determined by the symptoms of the initial stage. Typically, these are:
- increase in body temperature;
- intestinal disorders;
- severe headaches;
- fatigue of the body;
- the appearance of convulsive seizures.
If the child was not vaccinated, the first stage quickly enough passes into the second, and paralysis and paresis occur, localized in the muscles of the limbs and the deltoid muscle. Less commonly, paralysis of the muscles of the face, neck and trunk can occur. Avoid possible infection will vaccine against polio. Reviews of the drugs used can be studied in detail on the Internet.
To protect your child from such a dangerous disease, it is best to vaccinate all three polio viruses well in advance. Otherwise, with paralysis of the diaphragm muscles, a fatal outcome is possible.
What is a polio vaccine?
A vaccine implies the introduction of a highly weakened or killed virus into the body, as a result of which an immunity to the disease will be developed. The multiplying virus will provoke the production of antibodies in the blood, and after a while it will completely be eliminated from the body, while the child will have the so-called “passive” immunization.
The effect of vaccination against polio depends directly on the place of its introduction. Distinguish between oral and inactivated form of the vaccine. An oral vaccine is dripped directly into the child's mouth, therefore it is more effective, but it can also cause complications.
Since the natural virus multiplies in the digestive tract, an oral vaccine will help develop stronger immunity against polio.
An inactivated vaccine is given by injection and is less dangerous for the child's body. Both drugs contain three known strains of the virus, so vaccination completely protects the child from the possibility of contracting polio.
When is the vaccination given?
In medical institutions, there is a specific vaccination system for children:
- at 3 months, the first administration of an inactivated vaccine (IPV) is carried out;
- at 4.5 months - the second IPV is introduced;
- at 6 months - the third IPV;
- at 18 months, a booster vaccine is administered with an oral vaccine (OPV) ;
- in 20 months - the second revaccination of OPV;
- at the age of 14, the last polio vaccine is given.
When all vaccines are made according to the schedule, the child develops a stable lifelong immunity to the disease. In cases where the vaccination schedule was violated, it is necessary to take care of individual control and timely administration of the drug in order to protect your child from dangerous diseases. Conducting the correct vaccination will form a child’s lifelong immunity.
How many vaccinations from polio need to be done can be obtained directly from the doctor, or by studying this issue with the help of specialized literature.
Where is the polio vaccine administered?
The introduction of the polio vaccine has its own characteristics. A live vaccine is administered orally - a pinkish liquid is necessary for instillation in infants on the lymphoid tissue of the pharynx, for older children, the vaccine is dripped on the tonsils. This is necessary to prevent increased salivation, since getting the vaccine into the stomach will neutralize its effect (it will break down under the influence of gastric juice).
Note! If the baby regurgitate, the procedure for administering the vaccine will need to be repeated.
Inactivated vaccine is administered intramuscularly to infants in the thigh area or subcutaneously in the scapular region. Older children are given the vaccine intramuscularly in the shoulder area.
Polio Vaccination: Pros and Cons of Combination with DTP Vaccine
DTP vaccine is used to protect your baby from whooping cough, diphtheria, and tetanus. In our medical institutions, most often DTP and IPV are done together. The vaccine can be administered by two different drugs or in a complex, such drugs as Infarix Gesta and Pentaxim.
Do not worry that the combination of IPV with DTP will cause more complications than a single polio vaccine. Side effects from this combination of drugs are not amplified and often completely absent.
Immunologists have shown that the joint administration of vaccines contributes to the development of a child's stable immunity to all diseases at once. However, it is better to consult with your doctor individually on this issue, since DTP is difficult for the body, and in some cases it is better not to combine these vaccines. When vaccinating a healthy child, there are no complications.
What drugs are used for vaccination?
Complex or monovalent drugs can be used to immunize a child. Among monovalent inactivated vaccines in our country are popular:
- Polyorix - produced in France. It contains all three strains of the virus, gently affects the child's body, causing the production of antibodies and the formation of stable immunity. It can be used for debilitated infants, premature, underweight, as well as combined with other vaccines.
- "Imovax polio" - made in Belgium. The drug is completely analogous to Polioriks both in composition and in the mechanism of action on the body.
For a small child, the only guarantee of protection against the disease is polio vaccination. Most of the reviews of parents and doctors about her are only positive. What can I say, it can generally be called a vital procedure. And subject to the recommendations of the pediatrician, side effects will be minimal and safe for the baby’s health.
For complex vaccines are used:
- "Pentaxim" - made in France. It is considered the best of the vaccines, as it is produced with a high degree of purification and protects against five diseases (CDS, hemophilic infection, polio).
- "Tetracock" - made in France. It is a comprehensive DTP vaccine with killed pertussis virus. The drug is safe for the child's body, as it does not contain a preservative - merthiolate.
- "Infanrix Gesta" - made in Belgium. It is an analogue of Pentaxim, the only difference is that in this vaccine pertussis is represented by only two viruses (there are three of them in Pentaxim), therefore the effect of the vaccine on the body is more severe.
Live vaccine, administered orally, is not used, and therefore not produced in Europe. A live vaccine is produced in Russia, it includes a stabilizer (magnesium chloride) and three known strains of the virus. Vaccination against polio, the side effects of which can lead to the development of vaccine-associated polio, requires responsibility on the part of the doctor and parents when vaccinating the baby.
How to prepare a child for vaccination
Before the introduction of the live virus, the child must undergo a checkup at the pediatrician, which will decide if he can be vaccinated specifically at the moment. It is forbidden to vaccinate a child who lives in the same house with a pregnant woman, if she is not vaccinated.
Important! Vaccination against poliomyelitis in children taking immunosuppressive drugs or having congenital malformations of the gastrointestinal tract is strictly prohibited.
It is also worth paying attention to the result of previous vaccinations - whether there were side effects and how the post-vaccination period proceeded.
After the oral vaccine is administered, the child should not be given to drink or eat for an hour, in which case the vaccine will be destroyed and will not affect the formation of the child's immunity against polio.
Polio vaccine: side effects and health hazards
When conducting timely and proper vaccination, side effects occur in rare cases and are insignificant. It can be:
- general weakness of the body;
- a slight increase in body temperature;
- redness and slight swelling at the site of vaccination.
Symptoms after polio vaccination appear, as a rule, after 1-2 days, and after a few days pass without any intervention.
In very rare cases, when a live vaccine is administered, a child may develop vaccine-associated polio. It is important to note that such consequences from vaccination occur only if the child has congenital immunodeficiency, gastrointestinal malformations, or AIDS in the person. In all other cases, polio vaccination is safe.
Contraindications for vaccination against polio
The introduction of a live oral vaccine is strictly prohibited with:
- the presence of malignant tumors;
- neurological disorders (in particular caused by previous vaccination);
- exacerbation of chronic diseases or the presence of acute diseases;
- immunodeficiencies (AIDS, HIV).
Every child needs to be vaccinated, but taking into account his individual characteristics. During breastfeeding or pregnancy, a woman can be vaccinated against polio, if there is such a need. Whether to vaccinate against polio for your child, each parent decides for himself. But still, it is better to overcome your fears and protect your baby from such a dangerous disease through timely vaccination.