Where is the hepatitis vaccine given to a baby? Vaccination of children against hepatitis B: complications and negative consequences. Is Hepatitis B Vaccine Required for Newborns?

Hepatitis prophylaxis for newborns is included in the vaccination schedule. Even before discharge from the hospital, the baby receives the first protection with the help of vaccinations: against hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Parents have the right to refuse the procedure upon written application. But is it worth it? Let's try to figure out whether or not a hepatitis vaccine is needed for infants.

Hepatitis B is a viral disease with severe liver-damaging properties. The greatest importance in pathology is given to the death of hepatocytes - functional liver cells. As a result, the functions of the organ are lost to a greater or lesser extent.

Symptoms of the disease are due to intoxication of the body due to a decrease in the corresponding ability of the liver to filter out toxins and poisons, as well as a pronounced violation of bile excretion through the ducts. Massive necrosis of hepatocytes leads to and.

In parallel, bleeding of the mucous membranes, portal hypertension syndrome (high blood pressure with impaired blood flow in the hepatic veins) develops. As a concomitant disease, polyarthritis may develop.

Why do babies need to be vaccinated?

Vaccinating a newborn is a way to protect him from a dangerous viral infection. The introduced vaccine forms the body's immune response to a specific virus. Why is the vaccine dangerous? The reaction to it may be yellowness of the skin. The condition is similar to physiological jaundice, the child recovers quickly.

Some parents are considering whether to vaccinate, oppose vaccination, guided by their own considerations, unwillingness to artificially influence the baby's immunity. But the risk of accidental infection exists.

In this case, the vaccine becomes a reliable shield for the penetration of the virus and its destructive effect on the internal organs.

Reasons to get vaccinated:

• High epidemiological danger (a simple transmission mechanism is typical - contact-household, sexual, from mother to child);
• Complications of hepatitis B lead to disability, end in death;
• If infection occurs in infants, then in the absence of treatment, the process quickly develops into a chronic stage;
• Vaccination cannot guarantee 100% protection against infection with the virus, but the disease is much easier, without complications.

When is a newborn at risk of contracting hepatitis B?

Infant vaccinations are justified by very specific risks:

The main route of transmission is through the blood and body fluids, and the child has to be in close contact with them at birth. A long incubation period is also considered a kind of risk.

In order to protect, to prevent dangerous consequences, the vaccine is given on the first day of life. In Russia, it is included in the mandatory vaccination schedule.

Scheduled vaccinations

The schedule includes 3 hepatitis B shots:

1. In the maternity hospital, on the first day after birth.
2. The second is placed 1 month after the first.
3. At 6 months, six months later, counting from the first.

If it is impossible to make the next vaccination (there is no vaccine, the baby is sick), you can shift the schedule. As a result, up to a year the child should be given 3 vaccinations. Babies of infected mothers get 1 more shot.

The first vaccination cannot create immunity to the virus. To obtain a long-term immune response, 3 vaccinations are required according to a pre-arranged schedule and within acceptable intervals. In rare cases, according to vital indications, doctors apply an emergency vaccination regimen on the 1st, 7th, 21st day of a child's life.

Why not vaccinate against other types of hepatitis

Indeed, there are several varieties of hepatitis - A, B, C, D. And the vaccine is used only against the hepatitis B virus. Why? Today, this disease is the most common, having the greatest epidemiological danger.

The number of infected and sick people is constantly increasing. A carrier infects another person undetected. The incubation period can last up to six months. Even the first symptoms are not always assessed correctly.

Until the moment of treatment, irreversible changes may occur in the child's body. Vaccination is done to protect the life of the younger generation.

Vaccine options

There may be 2 options: a monovaccine and containing additional components to protect against other types of infections.

Newborns are offered the following types of vaccines:

Where is the vaccine given?

All vaccines are intended for intramuscular administration. This method creates the best conditions for antigens to enter the bloodstream and form the necessary immune response of the body. It is recommended to avoid rubbing, scratching, getting wet at the injection site for 3 days after the vaccination.

Reaction to vaccination

How do children tolerate the vaccine in general? Vaccination usually does not cause complications and is well tolerated. The norm is considered a local reaction to irritation, an injection.

Possible side effects:

A local reaction to the injection can give aluminum hydroxide, which is part of the vaccine. The same effect can be with accidental ingress of moisture. The reaction does not pose a health hazard. An elevated temperature is brought down by the usual antipyretic for a child.

Manifestations are considered a variant of the norm for children up to a year. Unpleasant symptoms usually appear on the first day after vaccination and may persist for up to 3 days. Then they pass without a trace. The first vaccination is carried out under the supervision of specialists from the maternity hospital.

Complications

In extremely rare cases, negative side effects and complications are recorded.

They may appear as:

• Urticaria in the form of a rash;
• severe redness (erythema);
• Anaphylactic shock.

Modern vaccines help to minimize the risk of complications. In most cases, the cause is an inattentive attitude to contraindications. According to the WHO, the hepatitis vaccine cannot cause autoimmune reactions, nervous system disorders, or pose a direct danger to the baby's life.

Is it possible to get hepatitis directly through vaccination? This is a big misconception. The vaccine does not contain whole viruses, but only part of their outer shell. The shell is not capable of causing the development of infection, but is suitable for the formation of the immune response of the human body.

Contraindications for vaccination

Before vaccination, doctors conduct a visual examination of the child, if necessary, prescribe general tests to determine the health status. Parents are obliged to warn the pediatrician about all deviations in the behavior and condition of the child.

Contraindications to vaccination are:

Complications during childbirth are not contraindications for routine vaccination.

Parents themselves decide whether to vaccinate their child against hepatitis. Fear is often based on poor awareness, the availability of negative reviews on the Internet. But from a health point of view, vaccination is a good way to protect a child's body from a serious illness, to prepare the immune system for a possible fight against the virus.

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Judging by the fact that you are now reading these lines, victory in the fight against liver diseases is not on your side yet ...

Have you thought about surgery yet? It is understandable, because the liver is a very important organ, and its proper functioning is the key to health and well-being. Nausea and vomiting, yellowish skin tone, bitterness in the mouth and bad smell, dark urine and diarrhea... All these symptoms are familiar to you firsthand.

But perhaps it is more correct to treat not the consequence, but the cause? We recommend reading the story of Olga Krichevskaya, how she cured her liver...

Despite the fact that we live in the 21st century, humanity has not yet invented a vaccine against many terrible diseases. And hepatitis B is one of such problems, it is the leader among especially dangerous diseases. It is caused by a specific virus, when it enters the body, inflammatory changes in the liver are provoked.

The course and forms of the disease can also be asymptomatic - a kind of silent killer lurking inside you. The extreme stages of the disease are cirrhosis, liver cancer, acute liver failure. It is terrible that hepatitis B is widespread and vaccination is used to reduce the scale of the disease.1. When to vaccinate
2. How the infection is transmitted
3. Scheme of vaccination of children
4. Types of vaccine
5. Combination with other vaccinations
6. Place of injection
7. After vaccination
8. Contraindications
9. Is vaccination required?

When to vaccinate

In addition, any, even the most modern test can make a mistake...

Today there are options: you can get vaccinated against hepatitis B and hepatitis A. And if infection with hepatitis A can occur through unwashed hands, then hepatitis B will enter the body through the blood. And they do not necessarily get infected by drug addicts. Just a drop of blood that has fallen on an abrasion or mucous membrane - and the disease lottery begins its game, the main prize in which will be getting rid of liver cancer or cirrhosis. Chances to win 50/50.
In the maternity hospital, it is optimal to organize the first vaccination. Because following discharge, a variety of obstacles arise in the form of quarantines, SARS, liquid stools and horror stories from a neighbor (well, where without them) ... You can delay the solution of the issue for a long time. Up to the point where the vaccine is no longer useful

How the infection is transmitted

• A baby can get the disease from a mother who is already infected.
• If there are circumstances requiring a blood transfusion, the risk increases.
• A dentist also carries certain risks, although one must be fair - small ones.
• Among the close relatives of the child, there may be people infected with hepatitis B who are not even aware of it. And through the banal cutting of nails, you can also become infected.

Children of different ages can get the disease in different ways. A newborn baby most often passes the "vertical" path from the mother during childbirth. Of course, you can minimize the risks, but this is if experts are sure that the expectant mother has the virus. And if he just got into the body, but still in the incubation period? This is how it is passed to the baby ...

Perhaps, if there is an Rhesus conflict or anemia or any other issues related to blood - and a transfusion is required. There is also an opinion that in 3-5 years the child will definitely get the disease from an infected family member, BUT! Only if he hasn't been vaccinated.

For children who are over a year old, the risks associated with various medical manipulations or on the basis of domestic relationships increase. Adolescents 13-18 years of age additionally add the risk of getting the disease through sexual contact or through a needle.

But remember - hepatitis B is not transmitted by airborne droplets, through water or food. And having vaccinated a newborn, you will feel much calmer.

Children's vaccination schedule

Such a schedule is precisely aimed at ensuring that the baby's body can create the amount of antibodies against hepatitis so that they can protect him from the disease for a long time. Especially if the mother is a carrier of hepatitis B, vaccination is required. And here they are already giving not three, but four injections - a special scheme for vaccinating children at risk.
In Russian maternity hospitals, as soon as the baby is born, you will be asked to sign a consent to the introduction of a vaccine, including hepatitis B. And if the answer is positive, they will do it in the next few hours.

The first scheme (regular children) "0-3-6"

• #2 at three months
• #3 when baby is 6 months old

The second scheme (children at risk) "0-1-2-12"

• No. 1 immediately after birth on the first day of life.
• No. 2, 3, 4 - at 1, 2, 12 months.

Then the barrier from the disease will be fully formed. But exceeding the deadlines due to illnesses and periods of weakness of the child is also not fatal. Vaccinations already made are taken into account, and subsequent ones are made at the intervals recommended by the vaccination calendar, despite the missed one. Perhaps it would be better to do an analysis for the presence and amount of formed antibodies. Children will no longer need revaccination after a course of vaccinations.

Types of vaccine

The following drugs are used in the country:

• Hepatitis B vaccine, recombinant, yeast (Russia)
• Regevak V (Russia)
• Eberbiovak (Cuba)
• Euwax V (South Korea)
• Engerix V (Belgium)
• H-V-Vah Iinbsp (USA)? Shanvak (India)
• Biovac (India)
• Serum Institute (India)

In our country, the most famous type of hepatitis B -ayw-type against which the drug was created Regevak B. Of course, all of the above medicines are effective, but it is he who is directed specifically against the most common strain.

Combination with other vaccinations

injection site

After vaccination

Perhaps the child is feverish, nauseous, there may be a single vomiting or neurological manifestations - it is not at all a fact that these are the consequences of vaccination. Weakened after the introduction of the vaccine, the body needs a little to catch the virus. But see a doctor immediately!

Contraindications

Often the vaccine is not given because neonatal jaundice is seen as a limitation. Not exactly the right approach. Jaundice is formed due to the breakdown of hemoglobin, in this process bilirubin is obtained, which gives the skin a special color. Vaccinating a newborn against hepatitis B will not be a burdensome job for the baby's liver.

It is also important to understand the difference between an immune-boosting vaccine and a birth injury. These are different things and an injection of a vaccine, or rather its absence, will not help the baby to quickly overcome the consequences of childbirth.

Be sure to monitor the response to the vaccine and before making a decision, you can brush up on the recommendations by re-reading the article about on our website.

Is vaccination required?

It is your right not to do them, and remember that this right and your peace of mind when using it is given precisely by the fact that vaccinations were given to everyone and the disease was thus defeated.

Of course, everything must be approached carefully and without fanaticism. Make the decision for you. And we really wish you to be sure to the end and never reproach yourself for having once refused a chance for protection.

May all children be healthy and loved!!!

How many times in a lifetime to get vaccinated against hepatitis B depends on the type of human activity. All employees of medical institutions, persons who are constantly in contact with someone else's blood, employees of law enforcement agencies undergo routine vaccination every 5 years. Such revaccination is recommended for an adult if he has close contact with a carrier of hepatitis B in everyday life.

People whose life is not connected with someone else's blood have a slight risk of contracting this infection. In the Russian Federation, it was decided to vaccinate newborns, because up to 6 years of age, hepatitis B becomes chronic in every 3rd infected child, which leads to early death.

In adults, the transition from acute to chronic disease occurs in 5 out of 100 people infected with hepatitis B virus, which allows only certain groups of people who are at daily risk of infection to be revaccinated.

Many patients who have been scheduled to take a course of vaccination want to know where they get the hepatitis vaccine. The finished form is administered intramuscularly. It is most convenient to inject into the deltoid muscle. This is the superficial muscle of the shoulder, forming its outer contour.

When is vaccination needed?

No one determines the schedule for adults to follow for vaccination and revaccination. Doctors prescribe the procedure based on indications, which depend on many circumstances. The duration of the vaccination is calculated based on the existing risk factors. For an infectious disease specialist recommending vaccination, it is important where the patient works, lives, whether there is a risk of infection in his family. It takes into account a visit to or long-term residence in a country where there is a risk of contracting the virus.

The injection is given before surgery to the patient, if he has not previously been vaccinated. This type of body protection against infection is needed for people who use a hemodialysis machine.

To prevent the disease, one course of vaccination should be given to an adult who has multiple sexual contacts with unfamiliar partners. Promiscuous sex often leads to infection. Protection from infection with hepatitis B is required for masters:

Doctors do not determine a certain age to vaccinate. A mandatory procedure is carried out for all graduates of medical schools. All healthcare workers have their HbsAg levels checked annually. Under normal conditions, a repeated administration of one dose is carried out 1 time in 5 years.

Hepatitis B vaccination is temporarily contraindicated if the patient has signs of acute illness. It is canceled if a pathological reaction of the body to the 1st injection was observed.

The doctor will cancel the appointment if he is informed of a history of bronchial asthma or an individual intolerance to nutritional yeast. The vaccine is completely contraindicated if there is a history of complex diseases of the nervous system that are progressing.

There are people who have a congenital immunity to the active substance. It is determined after a three-time re-conduct using regular blood tests for antibodies. Such persons are not revaccinated.

How is the vaccination done?

The standard type of vaccination is used for newborns. The first vaccination is given to them immediately after birth, in the first 12 hours of life. Then the vaccine must be administered at 1, 6 and 12 months. This scheme provides immune protection up to 18 years of age, provided that there are no infected people in the close environment of the child and he has a well-functioning immune system.

Since hepatitis B vaccination has been included in the schedule since 2001 and the mother has the right to refuse its introduction, not all citizens of the Russian Federation are vaccinated in early childhood. If emergency vaccination is needed to quickly increase immunity before a planned surgical intervention, a scheme is used in which a drug that protects against infection is administered 4 times:

• first put the 1st injection;
• a week later - the 2nd;
• after 3 weeks from the 1st injection, the 3rd injection is administered;
• exactly one year later, a one-time revaccination is performed.

If necessary, revaccination is carried out every 5 years. This scheme is used by those who go to work in areas where there is an increased risk of contracting a viral infection.

Other vaccination schedules

The hepatitis B vaccine for adults and children at risk may be given using a different schedule. The alternative type runs on a 0-1-6-12 month schedule. It is suitable for adolescents who have not been vaccinated at an early age but need protection against this type of infection.

Often, the vaccine against the virus is administered to adults according to the scheme, in which 3 injections are given at certain intervals:

1. For the 2nd time, you should come to the vaccination room no earlier than a month after the first injection.
2. 3 times the prophylactic agent should be administered no earlier than 4 months after the first administration of the active substance.
3. The 2nd vaccination, if necessary, can be done with a delay of no more than 4 months.
4. The 3rd vaccination can be carried out no later than 18 months after the 2nd one.

For long periods of time, there is a danger that the effect of the vaccine on the body will not be effective enough and the risk of infection remains.

In sick people attending hemodialysis, an enhanced scheme is used:

How long does the immune response last?

The effectiveness of the vaccine depends on age and health status. Up to 20 years, the result reaches 98%, up to 40 years - 96%, older than this age, the drug shows stable results in 65%.

A decrease in efficiency is observed due to the presence of bad habits. A weak immune response to the vaccine is observed after 40 years, in nicotine-dependent people and overweight people. This phenomenon is observed in alcoholism. Patients undergoing hemodialysis show an insufficient response of the immune system due to the fact that the hardware method allows you to cleanse the blood of viruses and pathogenic microflora.

To increase the susceptibility, a single revaccination is carried out, which increases the efficiency by 20%. After 3 additional doses, the level of antibodies increases in 40% of people.

If there is a real risk of infection, then to determine the effect of the hepatitis B vaccine, a blood sample is taken to find out if there is an immune response. Blood for analysis can be taken a month after the end of the course, consisting of 3 vaccinations. The result will depend on how many times such a preventive procedure is done.

If the level of antibodies in the blood does not reach 100 mIU / ml, it is considered as a weak response. Then the doctor gives a direction for the introduction of an additional injection. Patients receive a single dose without re-examination. Those individuals who have had a minimal effect of the vaccine may be advised to administer a larger amount of the drug.

The duration of the resulting immunity depends on the general state of health. Formation of long-term protection individually. It is associated with immunological memory. The vaccine used in the Russian Federation provides protection in 90% of people. After 25 years after its application, some apparently healthy people were found to have protection against the virus formed after vaccination. This result was recorded in individuals whose body gave an adequate initial response to the first course. Based on these data, mandatory revaccination is recommended every 5 years only for people at risk and patients with immunodeficiency.

Before revaccination, healthy people can first test for antibodies to determine if the body has retained its protective ability to suppress the hepatitis B virus after the regimen. Based on the results of the analysis, the final decision is made.

Hepatitis B is an infectious disease that affects the liver. It manifests itself in the form of jaundice, a general malaise, similar to SARS. In some cases, it can be asymptomatic, for example, in children under one year old.

Newborns are vaccinated against hepatitis within twelve hours of birth. Included in the list of mandatory vaccinations. Vaccination is repeated two more times - one month and six months later. It helps to protect the child from infection with hepatitis for several years.

Hepatitis B vaccine: complications

The effect of hepatitis vaccination on the overall development of the body is not fully understood.

Within two days after vaccination, the same symptoms of malaise are possible, as with other vaccinations:

• increase in body temperature;
• weakness;
• aches in the joints;
• diarrhea;
• nausea or vomiting.
• rashes on the body;
• hives;
• lethal outcome in isolated cases.

Mild redness and swelling at the injection site is considered an acceptable reaction to hepatitis B vaccination in newborns.

Where is the hepatitis vaccine given?

According to the rules adopted worldwide, the hepatitis B vaccine is injected into the thigh.

Hepatitis B vaccination schedule

1. In the first twelve hours of a child's life.
2. One month after the first vaccination.
3. Six months after the first vaccination.

Is Hepatitis Vaccination Required?

The risk of contracting hepatitis to an infant is extremely negligible. There is only one condition under which the baby can be infected - the mother is the carrier of the virus. Group at risk of contracting hepatitis B:

• drug addicts who inject intravenously with non-sterile syringes;
• homosexuals, due to microcracks and ruptures of the tissues of the anus that occur during intercourse. Thus, hepatitis is transmitted with semen, falling into open wounds;
• constant change of sexual partners, sex without the use of contraceptives;
• in everyday life, through the blood;
• through sweat, saliva is transmitted extremely rarely.

Hepatitis B vaccination for newborns is done to reduce the risk of the disease later in life. But the fact that newborns are not at risk is not taken into account. And the reaction to the vaccine in each child is very individual and almost unpredictable! The side effects of the hepatitis vaccine are not fully understood and are often not even documented. In most cases, it is almost impossible to link vaccination with changes in a child's development.

No one can force you to vaccinate your child against hepatitis B or other infections. You can easily sign a waiver of hepatitis vaccination while still in the hospital. This will not affect the child's admission to kindergarten or elementary school.

Hepatitis vaccination for newborns: contraindications

Official contraindications are:

1. Allergy to products that contain baker's yeast (but how to determine this in a child who is a few hours old ?!).
2. SARS.

No one takes into account other unexplored factors that can even lead to death. Hepatitis vaccination for infants is done without taking into account the individual intolerance of the administered drug. After the government discovered that it was impossible to force people at risk to vaccinate, it was decided to vaccinate everyone without exception “on the spot”, that is, immediately after birth. At that moment, when the mother has not yet recovered from childbirth and cannot reason sensibly.

Vaccination against hepatitis to newborns who are not at risk has no scientific validity and is beneficial only to vaccine manufacturers and self-serving rulers who are in business with the former.

Hepatitis is a dangerous viral disease that affects the liver and bile ducts. Infection occurs in a variety of ways (domestic, sexual, artificial, etc.), since a very stable virus can persist under a variety of conditions and everywhere - in blood, urine, saliva, semen, vaginal secretions, and other biological fluids.

The disease is very severe, it can lead to a decrease in the detoxification function of the liver, cholestasis (impaired outflow of bile), loss of sleep, increased fatigue, confusion, hepatic coma, extensive fibrosis, cirrhosis, polyarthritis, liver cancer.

Given such serious consequences and the difficulty of treatment, vaccination is widely used all over the world to prevent infection. According to WHO, hepatitis B vaccination should be done in the first days of a baby's life. However, many parents hesitate to give consent to it due to lack of awareness.

Today, hepatitis B vaccination for children, like everyone else, is not mandatory, so parents doubt whether it is needed at all. Before signing a waiver, they must weigh the pros and cons and make the only right decision. There are a number of reasons why all doctors advise mandatory vaccination of children from a very early age against hepatitis B:

1. the spread of infection has recently become epidemic, so that the risk of infection is very high, and it can only be reduced through vaccination;
2. hepatitis B can become chronic, i.e., give long-term, very severe complications in the form of cancer or cirrhosis of the liver, which leads to disability and death in childhood;
3. a child infected with hepatitis becomes chronic;
4. if you get vaccinated against hepatitis B, the chance of getting infected is still there, but it is very low;
5. even if the vaccinated child is infected, the disease will be mild, and recovery will come much faster and without any consequences for the baby's health.

Many parents mistakenly believe that their children do not need a hepatitis B vaccine, because they simply have nowhere to get infected: they are brought up in a prosperous family, they do not use drugs. This is a fatal delusion.

Children can come into contact with someone else's blood, which may be a carrier of a dangerous virus, in a clinic, kindergarten, on the street: a nurse may forget to put on new gloves when taking a blood test; a child can fight, hit, someone will bite him; on the street, the baby can pick up a used syringe and many other foreign objects. No one is immune from infection.

So parents should understand that the hepatitis B vaccine is very useful and necessary for all children from birth. No wonder it is one of the first in the vaccination calendar.

Timing, schedules, vaccination schemes

Since hepatitis B is a dangerous, rather serious disease, there is not one vaccination scheme, but three. Doctors came to such schedules after a catastrophic increase in the number of infected people:

1. Standard: 0 - 1 - 6 (the first vaccination against hepatitis for newborns is given in the first days of life, the second - after 1 month, the next - after six months). This is the most effective vaccination schedule for children.
2. quick scheme: 0 - 1 - 2 - 12 (the first - in the maternity hospital, the second vaccination against hepatitis for newborns - after 1 month, the next - after 2 months, the fourth - after a year). With this scheme, immunity is developed instantly, so this schedule is used for children who have a high risk of hepatitis B infection.
3. emergency vaccination: 0 - 7 - 21 - 12 (the first vaccination - at birth, the second - a week later, the third vaccination against hepatitis B - after 21 days, the fourth - after a year). Such a scheme is also used to quickly develop immunity in a small organism - most often before an urgent operation.

If the vaccination against hepatitis in the maternity hospital was not done for some reason, the timing of the first injection is chosen by the doctor and parents arbitrarily, after which one of the above schemes must still be observed. If the 2nd vaccination was missed and more than 5 months have passed since then, the schedule starts again. If the 3rd injection is missed, follow the 0-2 schedule.

After a single vaccination, immunity is formed only for a short period of time. For the formation of long-term immunity, a hepatitis vaccination schedule for newborns is required, consisting of 3 injections. At the same time, the interval between injections can be lengthened, but not shortened: this can lead to the formation of inadequate immunity in children.

As for how long the vaccine works: if all the schedules were followed exactly, you can not worry for 22 years: this is the period for which protection against hepatitis B applies. It is especially important to vaccinate those children who are at risk.

Risk group

As already noted, the vaccination schedule for hepatitis B largely depends on how quickly you need to build immunity against infection in a child. If he is at risk, a quick vaccination is carried out. It is required in the following cases:

• the mother of the child was found to have hepatitis B virus in the blood;
• the mother is infected with hepatitis B, and was infected during a certain period - from 24 to 36 weeks of her pregnancy;
• the mother was not generally examined for the presence of this disease;
• parents use drugs;
• among the relatives of the child there are patients or carriers of a dangerous virus.

In all these cases, parents should not doubt whether their child needs a hepatitis B vaccine: it is simply necessary. Otherwise, the risk of infection increases several times, and it can hardly be avoided. In such an important and responsible matter, you need to listen to the recommendations of doctors and not harm your own child.

A large percentage of refusals to vaccinate is due to parents' concerns about how the hepatitis vaccine is tolerated by children at such an early age. You should not be afraid of this either: the reaction of babies usually proceeds within the normal range and is controlled by the medical staff even in the maternity hospital.

Reaction

Usually, babies have a local reaction to hepatitis vaccination, i.e., vaccination is tolerated by children easily and in most cases painlessly.

As side effects may be noted:

• redness, unpleasant sensation, compaction in the form of a small nodule at the injection site (parents should know where they are vaccinated against hepatitis - most often in the shoulder, less often in the thigh and never in the gluteal muscle) - these are adverse reactions of an allergic nature to the presence in the preparation aluminum hydroxide, they develop in 10-20% of babies; most often they appear if the hepatitis vaccine is wetted: this is not dangerous, but causes similar side effects of local action;
• less often (in 1-5% of children) there is an elevated temperature, which can be brought down with elementary antipyretic drugs with the permission of a doctor;
• general malaise may be noted;
• there is slight weakness;
• headache (because of it, a small child cries and is naughty for 1-2 days after vaccination);
• excessive sweating;
• diarrhea;
• itching, redness of the skin (if the allergic reaction is pronounced, the doctor may recommend an antihistamine for several days).

All this is considered the norm: a similar reaction at 1 month or 1 year in a baby to a hepatitis B vaccination should not worry and worry parents. All these symptoms appear within 2-3 days after vaccination and disappear on their own and without a trace after the specified time. Serious complications after vaccination against hepatitis B are diagnosed very rarely.

Complications

The frequency of isolated cases when complications begin after vaccination against hepatitis B is 1 per 100,000, i.e., such phenomena are extremely rare. Complications include:

• urticaria;
• rash;
• erythema nodosum;
• anaphylactic shock;
• exacerbation of allergies.

Today, vaccine manufacturers are reducing the dosage and even completely eliminating preservatives from it, so that the updated composition of the hepatitis B vaccine minimizes adverse reactions and complications. It includes three main components:

• Australian antigen (viral protein purified from impurities);
• aluminum hydroxide;
• merthiolate is a preservative that preserves the activity of the drug.

There is nothing dangerous in the hepatitis B vaccine, so rumors that it further provokes the development of multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases are not justified.

WHO studies have shown that this vaccine has no effect on any neurological disorders, does not exacerbate or reduce them. So myths about the dangers of vaccination should not cast doubt on parents who plan to abandon it. Complications occur only if contraindications are not observed, and doctors follow this very strictly.

Contraindications

Before vaccination, any child is examined for contraindications for hepatitis B vaccination. These include:

• allergy to baker's yeast, which is expressed in a reaction to beer, kvass, any confectionery and bakery products;
• severe reaction to the previous injection;
• diathesis (vaccination is given after skin rashes have passed);
• colds and any other infectious disease in the acute stage (vaccination is performed after complete recovery);
• meningitis (injections are allowed only after six months);
• autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.).

Parents should have as much information as possible about what this vaccination is, from its composition to contraindications, in order to make the right decision in a timely manner and agree or refuse it.

Despite the fact that today among the inhabitants there are still disputes whether the hepatitis B vaccine is mandatory, all doctors unanimously argue that it is simply necessary in modern conditions, when the disease is taking on the proportions of a widespread epidemic. Prevention is much more effective than treatment, which in this case is protracted and does not guarantee a 100% recovery.