As a prophylaxis against various viruses and diseases, vaccines are given to babies from a very young age. After vaccination, many parents try to refrain from water procedures with the child, as there is an opinion that it is impossible to bathe the baby after the procedure for at least 48 hours. Some doctors confirm this opinion, believing that the child really should not bathe for 2 days. But more and more pediatricians deny this point of view, arguing that there is no connection between vaccination and the child’s contact with water.
Why do children get vaccinated?
Vaccination is an injection to increase the immunity and ability of the child's body to resist various infections. Together with the vaccine, a very small amount of weakly active bacteria and viruses enter the bloodstream, from which the body must defend itself. The child’s immunity is activated, causing a response to vaccination, which prevents the development of the disease in the body.
Vaccination calendar for children under 1 year old (in Russia) - what moms need to know
Why you can’t bathe after vaccinating children
There are recommendations of experts that it is better to bathe the baby the day before the proposed vaccination, and then for 2-3 days to refrain from water procedures. With these actions, they want to protect the child from even the smallest possibility of infection with any infection.
First of all, you need to be guided by the state of the baby, in order to understand whether you can bathe him or not. If the baby has a fever or he just doesn’t feel well after vaccination, then it’s better not to bathe him. If the child is cheerful, active and cheerful, then there are no special restrictions for bathing after vaccination.
It is believed that immediately after vaccination, children should not be bathed, because the body is weakened and it is believed that there is a risk of infection due to water, since running water is a source of pathogenic microorganisms and is not cleaned enough (in fact, water does not pose any risks for the crumbs). It is also believed that you can cool off and catch a cold. Therefore, many parents do not bathe their children within 1.5-2 days after the injection.
At first, the body's defenses are really a little weakened. The amount of antibodies produced is still not enough to actively combat infections that enter the body. In the first 24 hours in children temperature may rise after vaccination, sore throat, coughing. Bathing can provoke all these negative consequences due to the temperature drop.
Due to the fact that the body is weakened, doctors also recommend restricting your stay in the fresh air.Immediately after the injection, the likelihood of contracting viruses transmitted by airborne droplets, or accidentally catch a cold, increases.
Bathing a child is contraindicated if there are signs of flu or a cold:
- lethargy;
- runny nose
- cough;
- fever;
- general deterioration of well-being.
After vaccination, some children become ill due to the fact that the immune system so far cannot fully fight diseases and needs support. Therefore, if a child falls ill, limit the baby’s communication with other children, reduce or completely exclude water procedures (except for hand washing) and limit your stay on the street.
Is it possible to bathe a baby after vaccination
Studies have been conducted on this subject. They showed that contact with water after vaccination does not pose any threat to the child’s health. Moreover - it is necessary to carry out hygiene procedures. Therefore, you should not completely protect the baby from the usual water procedures - just monitor his health and periodically measure the temperature. If the baby is feeling fine, you can bathe him absolutely calmly.
If the child has a fever, give him a quarter of a tablet of dipyrone or another drug prescribed by your pediatrician. The same thing is sometimes done even in the absence of temperature for prevention. But only on the recommendation of a doctor.
Remember - children should not be given aspirin. In its composition - acetylsalicylic acid, in addition to anti-inflammatory effects, this substance reduces the viscosity of the blood, which is harmful to a fragile child's body.
After what vaccinations a child can bathe
There are injections, after the injection of which there are no prohibitions on bathing the child. These are vaccinations against the following diseases:
- polio;
- rabies;
- flu;
- BCG;
- Pneumococcus;
- yellow fever;
- rubella;
- tetanus;
- whooping cough;
- measles;
- DTP
- viral hepatitis B;
- hemophilic bacillus;
- mumps;
- diphtheria;
- cholera.
Do not wet Mantoux - Everyone knows this from school. This does not mean that you can not wash your hands - just do not wet the injection site. Sweat is also a liquid, so try to avoid the baby sweating a lot. If the Mantoux test gets wet - it can increase too much, exceeding the permissible norm (read about the mantoux test).
After BCG vaccination, a purulent pimple may appear. This is the normal response of the body to this vaccine, so if you notice such a pimple - do not worry. You can bathe a child after such a vaccination.
A small swelling, swelling, or redness of the skin may appear after an injection against DTP. There is nothing wrong with that either - a similar reaction is quite common. You can apply a warm water compress to this area so that swelling disappears faster.
From the forums:
When can I bathe a child after getting used to DTP, if there is no temperature?
- Yes, even right away
- only on the day of vaccination is not possible, the next day you can
- The next day you can definitely
Is it possible to bathe a child after vaccination against poliomyelitis?
– Only on the day of vaccination is not possible, if an injection was done if droplets are possible
- It’s just important not to steam the injection site, that's why they say that you can’t bathe. But! if the child tolerates vaccinations normally, then on the trail.
- On the first day you definitely don’t bathe, but you can briefly under a HOT SHOWER. if there is no temperature, it feels normal, then it tolerates well. even if a small temperature rises briefly, it’s not scary. but for your own peace of mind you can limit yourself to rinsing on the second day)
Is it possible to bathe a child after vaccination against measles, rubella, mumps
- if there is no temperature, then you can
Opinions of mothers about bathing after vaccinations
Most mothers advocate water procedures after vaccinations on the same day or, as a last resort, on the next (for safety reasons, so to speak), considering them safe for the baby’s health.In the reviews on the Internet you can read that many of them do not see any danger in the usual rules of personal hygiene and consider normal even a slight increase in temperature after an injection. Moreover, some mothers claim that this is an indicator of the correct response of the immune system to the vaccine, which means that the baby's body is developing correctly.
The opinion of doctors
Many therapists and pediatricians advise to refrain from water procedures after vaccinations. But now such advice is being given less and less by doctors, as there are no negative consequences for a child’s body from contact with water. If you don’t bathe the children for too long, avoid hypothermia and immediately wrap it in a towel after the bath procedures - the risk of catching a cold is very small. Do not recommend bathing the child after vaccination in order to further prevent and avoid fever, cough and runny nose.
Dr. Komarovsky believes that if the baby feels well after vaccination, then there is no need to introduce restrictions. You can continue to live according to the usual regimen, go for walks and swim.
Output: bathing after vaccination does not pose any threat to the baby’s health and you can swim. The main thing is the normal body temperature of the baby, just monitor his health and do not allow hypothermia. Following simple safety precautions, you can continue to carry out water procedures in the usual way.
Indeed, more and more pediatricians have recently abandoned this dogma. And in the literature there is more and more information that you can bathe. But personally, my opinion is universal. Those who fear may not bathe; for a day or two they won’t do weather without water procedures.
I was told from childhood that after vaccination you can’t swim ... I somehow did not think about what would happen if I bathe, what consequences it would lead to, what could happen to me. I just complied with the orders of my parents and doctors) Well, this article helped to figure out what’s the matter, when and after what vaccinations my child can still bathe ...