The injection site hurts after a tetanus shot: reaction to vaccination

Tetanus vaccination for children: why vaccination is necessary

Tetanus is an acute infectious disease caused by the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani, which is usually found in soil, dust, and manure.
The pathogen spores usually enter the body through a wound. Tetanus produces toxins that interfere with muscle contractions, leading to the characteristic symptoms of the disease. The main symptoms of tetanus in humans are muscle cramps. They usually start in the jaw (trismus) and then move to the rest of the body. Spasms last several minutes and can be so severe that they cause bone fractures.

Other symptoms of tetanus:

• fever;
• sweating;
• headache;
• problems with swallowing;
• high blood pressure;
• cardiopalmus.

Symptoms usually appear 3-21 days after infection. Recovery may take several months. The patient is not contagious to others. About 10% of those infected die.

Effect of tetanus vaccine

The only way to avoid infection is immunization with the tetanus vaccine. When and where do you get a tetanus shot? Four doses are recommended during childhood, followed by additional doses every 10 years. The tetanus vaccine for children under one year of age is given to the quadriceps muscle of the thigh, and less often to the deltoid muscle.

Vaccination is usually carried out according to the schedule:

• the first – at the age of two months;
• the second – four months;
• third – six months;
• the fourth - from fifteen to eighteen months.

Subsequent vaccinations should be carried out every ten years. For older children, adolescents and adults, the drug is injected into the deltoid muscle.

Effect of tetanus vaccine: The type of vaccination for this disease is called artificial active immunity. This type of immunity occurs when a dead or weakened pathogen in the body triggers an immune response—the production of antibodies. This means that if tetanus bacillus ever enters the body, the immune system will “recognize” it and respond quickly. After three doses of the vaccine, almost every person develops immunity.

Emergency prophylaxis of tetanus in adults is necessary when a person does not remember the date of his last immunization. In these cases, the vaccine should be given as soon as possible, preferably within 48 hours after the injury. If you stepped on a rusty nail, in the emergency room, in addition to treating the wound, they will definitely give you a tetanus injection.

What does Prevenar protect against?

Many parents do not see the point in vaccinating their child “against pneumonia.” However, this is not the only indication for the drug. What else does Prevenar protect against? This vaccine activates immunity against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection.

Pneumococci are bacteria of the streptococcus genus that cause a lot of dangerous diseases. Among them:

• pneumonia - inflammation of the lung tissue with damage to the alveoli;
• acute otitis media;
• purulent meningitis;
• endocarditis (damage to the inner lining of the heart);
• pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura - the surface layer of the lungs);
• arthritis.

In children, pneumococcal infection is usually a complication of some disease. Sometimes pneumococcal pneumonia is diagnosed when a child has suffered from acute respiratory viral infection or influenza. These bacteria often cause exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. Otolaryngologists also note the occurrence of otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae against the background of rhinitis.

The injection site hurts after a tetanus shot

Side effects after tetanus vaccination:

• redness, swelling, and soreness around the injection site are observed in 25–85 percent of vaccinated people;
• fever, fatigue and muscle pain occur in less than 1% of people;
• Severe allergic reactions occur in one in 100,000 vaccinated people.

Like all medications, tetanus vaccines have side effects. The injection site hurts after a tetanus shot, there is a reaction around the injection area (redness, swelling), swelling of the entire shoulder - this means that the body “responds” to the injection of the vaccine.

More serious reactions to tetanus vaccines have been reported in Denmark: severe local edema, urticaria, arthralgia, kidney damage, anaphylactic shock. None of the cases of severe side effects resulted in death.

Patients who have had tetanus do not develop immunity to re-infection, which is usually characteristic of other infectious diseases. Therefore, everyone, without exception, should be vaccinated with tetanus toxoid.

The child is allergic. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate. 6 misconceptions of parents.

Vaccination is the creation of artificial immunity to certain diseases. Currently, this is one of the leading methods of preventing infectious diseases.

Infections against which vaccines exist are called manageable or controllable, and their incidence rate largely depends on the number of vaccinated people in the entire population. It is known that to achieve epidemic prosperity in the country, at least 95% of the population must be vaccinated. This means that not only healthy people are subject to vaccination, but also people suffering from various diseases, including allergies. At the same time, every year there is a significant increase in allergic diseases throughout the world. International statistics show that over the past two decades the incidence of allergic pathology has increased 3-4 times. Every fifth person on our planet suffers from allergies. Allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis occurs in 4-20% of the population. Bronchial asthma affects 5-15% of the entire world population. Atopic dermatitis accounts for 20-30% of all allergic diseases in children. Every second person in the world has suffered an episode of urticaria at least once in their life.

Conversations about the necessity and dangers of vaccinations flare up and then die out among parents of allergy sufferers. There are voices calling for a complete abandonment of broad immunoprophylaxis in order to “preserve the health of children.” To dispel the doubts and misconceptions of parents of children suffering from allergies, this article has been prepared.

Misconception #1

Preventive vaccinations are contraindicated for persons suffering from allergic diseases. Children and adults with allergic diseases should receive preventive vaccinations against all infections included in the National Schedule of Preventive Vaccinations. However, vaccination of these patients is carried out in compliance with certain rules. Vaccination of persons with allergic diseases is carried out upon achieving complete or partial remission, upon achieving control of the course of allergic pathology, including against the background of basic therapy. Such patients should be more carefully examined and examined before vaccination, and observed after vaccination. Very often, preventive vaccinations for patients with allergic diseases are carried out under the “cover” of antihistamines, which minimizes the risk of adverse reactions in such patients. Management tactics are based on an individual approach to each patient. Patients with a burdened allergic anamnesis, together with the local pediatrician, must be consulted by an allergist-immunologist; if necessary, correction of the basic and symptomatic therapy of the allergic disease is carried out; a decision is made on the timing of vaccination, the volume of medication preparation and the choice of vaccine drug. For example, patients with hay fever (seasonal allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis) are vaccinated outside the dusting season of trees and grasses, patients suffering from drug allergies are prescribed preventive vaccinations after a short course of antihistamines, patients with manifestations of food allergies are vaccinated against the background of a strict hypoallergenic diet .

Misconception #2

Vaccines used for immunoprophylaxis “allergize” the human body. Modern vaccines, both live and inactivated, promote the body's production of protective anti-infective antibodies - immunoglobulins of classes G and M; at the same time, they practically do not increase the level of total immunoglobulin E and the production of specific IgE antibodies involved in the formation of allergopathology.

Misconception #3

Adverse reactions that develop after preventive vaccination are a contraindication to further vaccination. Post-vaccination reactions and post-vaccination complications should be distinguished. Post-vaccination reactions include increased body temperature and the appearance of lumps of various sizes at the injection site. Such phenomena are not contraindications for further vaccination, but should be taken into account by the doctor to determine further immunoprophylaxis tactics. So, for example, if post-injection thickening of the gluteal region occurs, the next vaccination should be performed in the area of ​​the outer surface of the thigh or the upper third of the shoulder.

Post-vaccination allergic complications in the form of a generalized allergic reaction or anaphylactic shock are absolute contraindications for vaccination with the same vaccine or a vaccine containing a causative component. So, for example, if edema and urticaria develop after administration of AS toxoid, the use of DPT vaccine and ADSM toxoid is contraindicated. Carrying out preventive vaccinations against hepatitis B and influenza in this case has no contraindications. It should be remembered that patients who are allergic to chicken egg whites are a contraindication for vaccination with influenza, measles, and mumps vaccines, since these vaccines are prepared on a chicken substrate. These vaccines also contain traces of aminoglycoside antibiotics, which is important to consider as a contraindication for patients who have systemic allergic reactions to antibiotics.

Misconception #4

For patients suffering from allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma, flu vaccinations are contraindicated, as they aggravate the course of the underlying disease.

Patients with chronic diseases of the respiratory system are at risk of adverse consequences from acute respiratory viral infections and influenza. In children and adults with allergic diseases of the respiratory system, it is advisable to expand the schedule of preventive vaccinations by vaccination against pneumococcal infection and annual vaccination against influenza. Vaccination against these infections reduces the incidence of influenza and pneumonia, the frequency and severity of exacerbations of the underlying disease, which makes it possible to lengthen the period of remission of chronic bronchopulmonary pathology and achieve a reduction in the volume of basic therapy.

Misconception #5

The use of combined vaccines for people suffering from allergic diseases is not advisable, since multicomponent vaccines are more likely to cause unwanted reactions.

Most inactivated vaccines contain additional substances - adsorbents (adjuvants) and preservatives (stabilizers). They are often the cause of local reactions in the form of swelling and hyperemia of the skin. Therefore, the use of combined vaccines makes it possible to reduce the total volume of administered preservatives, which reduces the number of post-vaccination reactions. For example, the use of the Pentaxim vaccine allows for vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio and hemophilus influenzae and replaces the administration of several injections of vaccine preparations.

Misconception #6

If a child has allergies, the Mantoux test should not be done, because... it will not be informative.

First of all, it is worth saying that the Mantoux test is not a vaccination, i.e. it does not protect the body from tuberculosis, but tests for its presence. The thing is that tuberculosis is often asymptomatic, affecting not only the lungs, but also other organs and systems, and even some parts of the brain; more often this happens when the body’s defenses are reduced.

What will be a decrease in immunity for atopic children? Of course, any exacerbation of the disease weakens the body, which is the reason for the start of the infectious process. That is why experts recommend performing all Mantoux tests in a timely manner, the results of which allow timely diagnosis of possible risks of a serious disease.

The substance “Tuberculin” itself is an allergen for the human body, therefore, an allergic reaction in the form of redness is often observed at the injection site, so it is often regarded as a false-positive test result, so additional examination may be required.

To avoid this, it is necessary to properly prepare for this event:

1. after the last exacerbation of an allergic disease, at least 2-3 weeks should pass;
2. 4-7 days before and after the Mantoux test, it is recommended to maintain a hypoallergenic diet;
3. 5 days before and 2 days after the Mantoux test, it may be necessary to prescribe antihistamines in order to prevent an allergic reaction to tuberculin (then the result will be considered more adequate);
4. It is necessary to maintain a drinking regime during the week “before” and “after” the Mantoux test so that the body is promptly cleansed of the decay products of its own vital activity and accumulated toxins.

If all these rules and recommendations of the supervising doctor are followed, the Mantoux test will be performed with the minimum possible complications, and the result will be as reliable as possible.

Modern achievements of medical science make it possible to create and introduce new high-quality vaccine preparations that are devoid of the shortcomings that were noted in vaccines of previous generations. In the creation of new vaccines, all the accumulated experience in vaccination is used, all unwanted side effects, including allergic ones, are taken into account. And I would like to believe that the myths of vaccine prevention will become a thing of the past, and their place will be taken by a real approach to vaccination - a generally recognized effective way to prevent infections.

Tetanus vaccination: pros and cons

Children under seven years of age are vaccinated with a combined vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. For adults and children over seven years of age, a combined tetanus and diphtheria vaccine is usually used.

The World Health Organization certifies that maternal and/or neonatal tetanus has been eliminated. A country requires at least two years with less than one infection per 1,000 births to be certified. The scale of a possible “tetanus epidemic” can be judged by the following figures: in 1998, 3,433 cases of tetanus in newborns were reported in Uganda, of which 2,403 died. Following a massive vaccination campaign, Uganda was certified as tetanus-free in 2011. Therefore, anyone who advocates refusing vaccination should be reminded of these numbers. Read about the main contraindications to vaccination on our website Dobrobut.com.

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