DPT vaccination is one of the most difficult vaccines to tolerate due to the likelihood of side effects. Sometimes after immunoprophylaxis with DTP, children experience problems with sleep. Therefore, caring parents need to know why the child sleeps too long after DPT, or, conversely, suffers from insomnia.
Sleep disturbances after DTP
After DPT vaccination, the baby may experience disturbances in his usual routine, regarding the duration and quality of sleep. It is important to understand which conditions are a normal reaction to the vaccine and which will require medical attention.
DPT vaccine
The child does not sleep or sleeps poorly after vaccination
The post-vaccination period with DTP is sometimes accompanied by insomnia, anxiety and anxiety. The baby may completely refuse daytime sleep, and also wake up frequently during the night. A similar condition is observed within several days from the moment of vaccination and is the absolute norm.
Sleep disturbance after vaccination is a response of the body, which is very similar to the reaction to any disease. Usually, a child’s sleep returns to normal naturally after three days.
In some cases, after the administration of DPT, Pentaxim, Infanrix and other similar drugs, difficulty falling asleep and interrupted sleep are associated not so much with the immunoprophylaxis itself, but with the following factors:
- consequences of an unfavorable course of labor (in particular, too long anhydrous period, fast and rapid labor, as well as various birth injuries);
- functional disorders of the digestive organs, provoked by their immaturity - periodic short-term intestinal spasms, accumulation of gases, etc.;
- the process of teething, which can begin at four months of age and end at six months (in this case, the baby experiences painful symptoms caused by mechanical irritation of nerve receptors);
- a feeling of stuffiness and too dry air in the room where the baby sleeps.
Any of these factors, as well as their combination, becomes a cause of anxiety and, consequently, disruption of the usual sleep pattern.
The child sleeps for a long time after vaccination
Long and restful sleep is extremely important for the baby after DTP vaccination. In such situations, you should not specifically wake him up, but, on the contrary, fully satisfy his natural need to sleep.
This has a positive effect on the immune system, so after the injection the child needs to spend as much time sleeping as his body requires.
It is very important not to leave the baby in the room alone, without parental supervision at night. While he is sleeping, it is necessary to constantly monitor his condition, and while he is awake, check his body temperature several times a day.
According to scientific research, lack of sleep before or after the vaccination procedure leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the natural immune response.
Periods of sleep at night in a child under four years of age: normal mode
0-3 months
Babies from 0 to 3 months sleep for 30-50 minutes at night, going through the stages of shallow and deep sleep. At this age, shallow sleep prevails over deep sleep. Your baby will wake up after finishing one sleep cycle and often need help getting back to sleep.
3-6 months
By 3 months, the beginnings of a sleep-wake pattern appear. Children sleep up to 3-4 hours straight at night. This reduces the number of awakenings.
6-12 months
By 6 months, your baby is sleeping through his longest stretches of sleep without waking up during the night. Going to bed for the night is between 18:00 and 20:00. It takes your baby less than 30 minutes to fall asleep. Provided that there are no problems with sleep and the child is not overtired. At night, a child can sleep up to 6 hours. Sometimes more.
Almost two thirds of children wake up only once at night for feeding. But there are also babies who still wake up about 3-4 times.
1-2 years
After one year, children can sleep peacefully all night and do not need additional feedings if their diet is adjusted and there is no food-sleep association.
2-4 years
At this age, night sleep is already stable.
In the first hours after going to bed, children sleep in the deep sleep phase. Therefore, it is difficult to wake them up. In the second half of the night, babies sleep more superficially and shallowly. At this time, it is easier to wake up the child; night awakenings occur more often during this period.
But if the baby has problems sleeping, then even in the first half of the night he may wake up often.
The sleep cycle lengthens as the child gets older. By 3 years it reaches 60 minutes. By age 5, children have the same sleep cycle as adults—90 minutes.
How long does drowsiness last after DPT vaccination?
The duration of daytime sleep in children after vaccination is individual.
Judging by the reviews of parents, children can sleep for about four hours, others for the whole day. As a rule, already on the second or third day, the child’s sleep pattern returns to normal. The state of drowsiness in most children who have undergone the DTP vaccination procedure is observed within three days. It usually occurs against the background of a rise in temperature - a normal reaction to vaccination, signaling the activation of the immune system and the beginning of the process of producing antibodies to dangerous viruses.
During the post-vaccination period, it is necessary to monitor the child's temperature. If it is below the safe threshold, that is, 38.0⁰C, there is no reason to worry. If it exceeds this level, the child should take an antipyretic medicine based on paracetamol.
What should you do if your child is capricious after the DPT vaccination and cries a lot all day?
After vaccination, the child's mood may change. He becomes irritable, constantly capricious, and cries. As a rule, babies cry and cry immediately after the vaccine in question is administered.
Usually they calm down immediately after contact with their mother, but often the crying drags on for several long hours. This may occur in one case in a thousand children. During such a hysteria, the child takes frequent and deep breaths. Because of this, brain hypoxia may develop. This becomes the main cause of unbearable headaches.
Parents should be alerted to the child's incessant crying. Especially if it lasts for three or more hours. In this state, the baby’s body quickly evaporates moisture, which can lead to dehydration. In this situation, it is necessary to do everything possible to ensure that the child calms down as soon as possible.
To stop the baby from crying, you need to give him warm water. Babies may cry little by little, but very often. This is a common reaction following complications and a painful lump at the injection site.
When should you see a doctor?
In some situations, the help of a pediatrician may be required.
You should definitely contact your pediatrician if you have the following symptoms:
- drowsiness lasting longer than three days;
- body temperature above 38.5-39⁰С;
- disruptions in the gastrointestinal tract;
- skin rash of an allergic or any other nature.
Mistakes that parents make when organizing their child's night sleep
- They wait until the baby wants to sleep and put him to bed too late.
- They let the baby play until the last moment and then abruptly begin to move on to putting him to bed.
- They don't always perform a ritual before bed.
- The last hour before bedtime is spent with the baby in active games.
- Allow your child to watch cartoons before bed.
- They do not create suitable conditions for sleep and hope that the child will sleep in light and noise.
Video on the topic
About the DPT vaccination and its consequences at Dr. Komarovsky’s School:
The DPT vaccination provides the child with reliable protection against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Some sleep disturbances, such as difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking up, insomnia, or, conversely, excessive sleepiness, are a normal reaction to the vaccine.
But if they last longer than expected and are accompanied by other side effects, you should definitely consult a pediatrician.
Why does the child not sleep at all at night and cry?
0-3 months
- The baby is going through the so-called “ purple cry ” . The apogee of crying occurs at 6-8 weeks of a child’s life. The crying may be sudden and unpredictable, as if the baby is crying in pain. The tears last for hours, especially in the evening and at night. As a result, the baby does not sleep at night.
- Colic, allergies, dermatitis.
- Excessive fatigue.
4 months-2 years
- New skills. The child is actively trying to practice a new skill. During light sleep, the baby thinks about a new skill and begins to try it: crawling, standing up, etc. As a result, he wakes up. It `s naturally. If your baby cannot fall asleep on his own, you will need to put him down again.
- The child is cold or hot, he slept in an uncomfortable position. The baby experiences physical discomfort (cold/hot, rested his arm/leg while sleeping. He can eliminate it himself if he can move, or the mother can eliminate it if the baby does not yet have motor skills.
- Frequent awakenings at night in the middle of sleep and crying are a sign of accumulated fatigue in the baby. The child may also shake his head and tremble.
- Requesting help if the child cannot fall asleep on his own. Most often, the baby forms an association between feeding/rocking/pacifier/mother nearby—sleep. His brain thinks that it is impossible to fall asleep any other way, and it is impossible. As a result, the tired child cries for help.
- Nightmares. Typically, nightmares may be closer to 2 years of age. Until this age, the child does not know that he needs to be afraid. All fears are formed in children under 2 years of age in response to their mother’s reaction.
When do you need specialist help if your child has trouble sleeping at night?
Symptoms for which you should definitely seek help
The baby does not sleep at all at night and sleeps during the day.
The baby refuses to eat during the day and hangs on his chest all night.
Going to bed at night lasts an hour and a half and is accompanied by tears, protests and hysterics.
The child wakes up too often for his age, cries when he wakes up and wakes up cranky in the morning.
You observe symptoms in your baby such as: hyperactivity, tremors of the limbs, slow growth and development, constant drowsiness, apnea, snoring, nightmares.
The child stopped sleeping after 4 months and the old ways of putting him to sleep do not help.
You notice that the baby does not get out of his hands during the day and has lost interest in games.
A child over 4 months sleeps no more than 20-30 minutes during the day in one nap; you cannot prolong dreams.
