Easing the Pain of Immunizations

K.,

Just to give Motrin or Tylenol 30 minutes before shots and to bring a favorite toy or blanket.

Take Care,

T.

The only thing I know to give your daughter is some baby Tylenol 30 minutes before her appointment. That is what I have learned from the nurses for all the times my 4 year old has had shots. Other than that to ease your nerves you just have to think it is only a pinch and she will stop crying in a few minutes and will bounce back pretty quick. I know every child is different but mine cried for all of 30 seconds anytime she had to get shots. Another thing to remember is that the shots are ment to keep your girl healthy so getting them is the best thing for her.
E.

I always give my boys a little Tylenol before we get shots. The actual "pain" from the shot is short lived & response will be elevated if you are nervous. Try to act like it's a normal process. I never tell my boys about the shot until we arrive at health dept. ( I use the health dept. so they won't assoc. pain with our regular Doctor) Plus it's free:)
Good luck, and plan for quiet rest time afterwards. she won't feel good for the rest of the day. I wouldn't try to add any errands or shopping after, as she will be a grumpy bear.
C.
http://www.workathomeunited.com/C.

hello....

to help with shots, give your child Tylenol 30 min prior to appt. also you can ask your doctor for a prescription for EMLA cream & tegaderm patch. you apply it 30 min prior to appt on each of the baby's outter thigh area and cover it with tegaderm patch. this cream helps numb the area. I always put the cream on for my daughter when she has shots or has blood drawn. it does work.

as far as shots, you daughter should be getting these shots:
1. Pediarix has (hep b, Dtap & polio) all in one shot
2. prevnar (pnemococcal vaccine)
3. HIB
4. Rotovirus (oral vaccine)

its up to you if you want to get them done one by one but it will be hard to "catch up" in time for school plus if your child goes to daycare, lots of them will not accept one by one records. just telling you this from experience b/c I am a nurse at the doctor office giving shots all day long. plus why put your child thru pain EVERY MONTH but that is your decision. I know there are many reports and news about vaccines and all the side effects but if you have a good pedicatrician or family physican (who keeps up with current news regarding issue relating to health care field and does continuing education)they will tell you the truth about the vaccines. if they knew that it was a major threat to your child's health, we would not be giving it. I am a first time mommy myself and at first I was scared to have her gets shots (even though I gave it to other children on a daily basis), I thought that the shots would interact/set off her "seizures" but it didnt. She has gotten all her shots all at once. Yes I did do my own research on each vaccines, there will always be good and bad things about each vaccines but it is up to you to decide is your child's health worth the risk (not getting the vaccines, getting sick & ending up in the hospital OR a few minutes of pain and helps keep ur child out of the hospital)
I just wanted to tell you MY OPINION regarding this issue from what I see & have to deal with on a daily basis. there will be many people who probably will disagree with me & that is fine, its their OPINION. You have to do what is best for your child's health. good luck in whatever decision you make for your little one.

I would like to add my two cents in about the vaccination debate. I apologize that my response doesn't address your original question.

I am worried about the number of parents that seem to feel that immunizations do more harm than good. I'm not sure why this idea seems so prevalent. It is absolutely true that some people have bad reactions to immunizations. However, I'm not sure why so many people feel that the risks outweigh the benefits. For almost all people, immunizations create no health problems and potentially protect them from dying from an infectious disease.

We are not afraid of infectious diseases like measles and mumps, because we have been vaccinating our children for so long that most people don't know anyone who has ever had them. Millions of children die from measles in Africa every year because they do not receive this life-saving vaccine. After one study was released indicating a possible link between autism and the MMR vaccine, so many parents in the UK chose not to vaccinate that there was a large measles outbreak.

All studies that have been done in the years following that initial study have found no evidence to suggest this link. As far as science is concerned, this case is closed, and the MMR vaccine does not explain any increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism.

Vaccines are intended to prevent inffections. The reason they are given to young children is to immunize them before they could potentially come into contact with the disease. There is science behind the vaccination schedule and it is thoroughly investigated before and after recommendations are made.

If you choose not to vaccinate your children, they will probably not get polio or measles. That is because the majority of parents are still choosing to vaccinate. Please be respectful of this, and appreciate the fact that your children stay safe because other families are taking a small risk.

I again apologize because I know this was not your question. However, I feel very strongly about this issue and I appreciate the chance to respond.

I have to correct on of the posters on this site. I sell vaccines, and there have been several cases of meases reported just this year. This is a result of parents not wanting to give MMR to their children due to the potential autism scare. There is no data that supports that these vaccines cause autism. Check the american academy of pediatrics website. Also, you can check the immunize.org website. Not giving your child vaccines is putting your child at risk of DEADLY diseases. In my line of work, I have seen photos of these deadly diseases and I know I will do anything to prevent this from happening to my child. When people don't vaccinate, the diseases slowly comes back into the community, Remember, in Orlando, we are an international community. People come from all over the world to Orlando to Disney and other places. Some of these people may not have been vaccinated and they may be carriers of the disease. So, given that, our kids are at even higher risk if we come in conatct with these people and the common places we go...disney, seaworld, etc. I have a 2 year old and I made sure she got all of her shots at the earliest possible opportunity. She is doing just fine.

Don't watch...close your eyes if possible. It really does go quick. Sometimes a dose of tylenol will help any soreness afterward. Since your baby is so little, you should ask your doctor first. Don't worry...you'll do great!

K.,

I realize this is late but, Tylenol, warm compresses, and a warm bath. My doctor recommended and I have found useful - Giving them 1/2 a dose of Tylenol 30 minutes before the doctor visit and then following up the shots with warm compresses (just be careful not to get them too warm), and a nice warm bath that evening.

When my sons shots have started to form knots I gently massage them while I've got the warm compress on and that helps. I also give another 1/2 dose of tylenol the next morning if the knot is still prodominant this will help ease any pain and by the following evening he's forgotten about it and there seems to be no more pain.

Best wishes to you and yours!

Assuming that the newborn is the one getting the shots...it'll be over before you know it,and you baby won't cry very long and she won't hold it against you (really). It'll be harder on you than on your baby. Ask the nurse what to do when you get home-treat yourself to some ice cream!

Another thing, expect your daughter to be sleepier than normal for the first 24 hours after her shots. Her body will be working hard developing all those new antibodies to fight disease! My daughter slept all day, waking only to eat. I did not have give her Tylenol, because she did not develop a fever and did not appear to be in pain. And vaccinations are not bad for your daughter. For every research article on the negatives of vaccines, there are about a hundred or more articles on the positives.

Have your spouse go with you and go in with her so you don't have to watch. And a little Tylenol & Motrin before hand helps afterwards.
It will be ok.
God Bless.

It's not clear to me if the baby or 5 yr old is getting immunized. If it's your baby, then bring along whatever method of feeding and give her a bottle (or the breast) immediately upon receiving the shots... this is the best comfort you can give. (If breast, tell the nurse what you are going to do before hand so that they can plan for the extra few minutes in the room without interrupting you). It doesn't have to be a full nursing session, just a couple of minutes is all you will need to calm her. At the minimum, give her her pacifier during and immed. afterwards. (Sucking is soothing to babies). Then follow the Dr's recommendations for follow up at home.

If it is your 5 yr old, then that is actually harder (on the child anyway). Best I can remember is to tell them ahead of time, but don't make it into a big deal. Be matter-of-fact about it. Tell her it will feel like a small pinch. Then when your appt is over you're planning to go get icecream. (Let her anticipate the ice-cream, not the shot). Bring something for her to look at during the shot (a picture of the family pet?) to focus her attention away from the shot, and let her squeeze onto your arm/hand as hard as she wants, too. Praise her for being brave afterwards.. even if she cries alot. Before you get into the car, she'll have forgotten the pain most likely, but she'll still be wanting the ice-cream, lol. Let her choose....with whipped cream? hot fudge? cup or cone?
good luck Mom. It is harder on you than the little ones. After the set around 4 or 5 yrs, there aren't any more until they hit about 12.

I always gave my girl a little Tylenol beforehand. I also would distract her and get her to look at me, then I would blow in her face lightly to take her focus off her arm. Now... that works well when they are little, little and for a while... and certainly best with shot #1... once you get to shot #3, though, they are totally on to you and pretty angry. But my daughter always recovered quickly and I never cried. If yours is the newborn, nurse afterward also to provide relief.

Good luck!
K.

Knowledge is power. Please, even if you do not believe that vaccines are dangerous, do some reading anyway. Just because you have an older child with no issues does not mean that your younger child will get through the vaccines without harm.

I do not wish to scare you, just to encourage you to get informed. My older son went through his vaccines and the only issue he has is ADHD. It is an issue but we can work through it. However, my younger son was born 2 1/2 years after my older. He was born in 2002 totally healthy with no complications. At a year and a half, after his 18 month vaccines, he screamed and screamed and was very sick. Once he seemed to get over the reaction to the vaccines, he slipped away. He stopped answering to his name, began running in circles, flapping his hands, pressing his face against the tv screen, stopped communicating completely, stopped playing with toys correctly, and started throwing tantrums that would rival any child! At 2 1/2 yrs old my (formerly normal developing) child was diagnosed with Moderate Autism and our lives were changed forever.

I didn't even know what Autism was or that vaccines were suspected until it happened to me. I wish every day that someone - anyone - would have told me to research it.

We are doing (very expensive) medical testing on my son right now including food sensitivity testing, toxicity testing, genetic testing, and mitochondrial dysfunction testing, just to name a few. We are quickly finding that all of his test results point to vaccines as his "trigger" for autism.

Do research and make your own decision....

I just wanted you to hear my story and know that Autism isn't something that will never happen to you.... It can happen to anyone. In fact, it happens to at least 1 in every 150 children. (Although I believe the number is much smaller than 150)

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all. Just know that we are flying to Texas tomorrow to spend a week and a half with a team of Autism speicalists to do further tests and start some bio-medical treatments on my son. So I might not be able to answer you for the next few weeks but I will gladly write back once I am home again....

Best of luck to you.

www.vaccinenation.net

www.talkaboutcuringautism.org

www.autism.com

K., All shots hurt whether child or adult. Give appropriate dose of Tylenol prior to taking to physician's office.
Pain is not that bad children especially babies do not like to be held down. Most of the crying is from this rather than the injections themselves. Once injections are complete pick up infant and love her while making soothing noises. It is OK for you to cry since it will hurt you more than her.

I give my children Tylenol before they get their shots. It seems that the babies get over the shot pain faster than the bigger kids. If it's her first shots, make sure that you stick around for about 10 mins. after to make sure she doesn't have a reaction and she may have a little knot around the shot area for a few days. To help you out, maybe you can just not look when they do the shots.

Have you thought about your right to not vaccinate? I did tons of research after both of my kids had reactions to vaccines and decided not to vaccinate anymore.

Here is a good article to start with: http://www.vegfamily.com/vaccines/deciding-not-vaccinate.htm

You can Google the topic and find lots of books on Amazon or interlibrary loan them at your library.

There are several pediatricians in the Central Florida area who will support you on this decision and you can get a religious exemption (even if you are not religious) from the Heath Department so your child can still attend daycare or school.

Send me a private message if you would like the names of those pediatricians.

Best wishes,
G. G.
Health Educator & Writer

Hi K.. I am a mother of 3, and due in 5 weeks. I am all too familiar with the regimen of immunizations that our babies have to get. One thing that always helps me to feel better is to realize that the tiny needle they get the shot with is 10 times better than the actually disease we are protecting them from. (I'm also an M.A.) Another thing that helps is to give the recommended dose of Tyelnol about a half hour before the immunizations are given. When you get home, warm compresses do wonders. You both will do just fine. Good Luck.

K.,
I've always given my son baby Motrin or Tylonol 30 minutes before the shots.

Hi, K.:

Let me just say that whatever your decisions are on vaccines, it is good to do your research first! Posting here is a good start. Our pediatrician recommends that we give only one vaccine at each appointment, even if that means we go in monthly just to get a shot from the nurse. That way, if/when your little one has a reaction (fever, lethargy, restlessness, lack of appetite, or worse) you know which vaccine it is and what to watch out for!).

They also recommend "vitamin loading," which is adding a good, strong dose of vitamins and antioxidants before hand. This helps to alleviate the negative after-effects of the shots that many children and infants have. I found this to work for the shots we've given my daughter.

Just to add on to what the other mom's have said...we chose to delay some vaccines and just not give others. My child does not need Hep B because she's not having sex/sharing needles; she is also not going to get the Varicella/chicken pox vaccine unless she's maybe 10 and hasn't had it. I know there are huge debates about vaccines, and you didn't ask about whether to do them or not, but when I began reading some of the ingredients in these vaccines, I was astonished (Monkey Liver Cells and so many chemicals). On the other end, she is in daycare and there are a few essentials like the pneumococcal, which could be fatal very instantly. I really just suggest you take what we all suggest and do research of your own on the implications we face as the little babies and children we have are vaccinated. Someone below listed some good websites - one of them even mentions the vitamin loading and one-at-a-time shots.

C.

I always used to give my daughter a small dose of infant tylenol or motrin approx 1 hour before her shots and it always seemed to help.

I read the other responses and thought I would add that I also chose not to vaccinate my son. It is definitely a very personal decision. I would highly recommend doing lots of reading and research to make your own opinion. Don't just take your pediatrician's advice. Just because it's something we've always done doesn't make it the best choice. If you do choose to go through with vaccinations I would definitely not follow the normal schedule. They are giving way too many all at once and way too early. If you are breastfeeding your baby is getting her antibodies from you. Let her little immune system develop a bit before inundating it with these toxins. If your pediatrician is not open to giving the shots one at a time or willing to follow a different schedule find a different pediatrician. They should be willing to work with you since you are the parent. Dr. Mercola has a great site (www.mercola.com) to get more information. Also a very informative book is "The Consumer's Guide to Vaccinations". Check these things out before you decide to move forward. You will be glad you did.

Hi K.!
I gave my daugther baby tylenol (Obviously ask your dr for the right dosage before hand) about 4 hours before her appointment, and then I gave her some right after the shots. She was hurting, but she loves tylenol for some reason, so she actually stopped crying once I gave it to her! I then gave her some every 4 hours for the next 24 hours to help reduce the risk of a high fever, and she was good to go! She did need some extra TLC that day, but after a day she was pretty good.

Tylenol before shots kleenex for Mom

Hi K.,

Definitely take some Tylenol with you, ask the doc about it as soon as he/she comes in and give it to your baby right away. I give it to my son at the beginning of each vaccine visit and it does seem to help.

Try giving her some infant tylenol before you go. Also ask the nurse giving the shots if the have a shot blocker. It presses against their leg and takes their mind off of the shot. It worked great with my son.

This is one of those situations where it really does hurt the parent more than the child!
You can give her a dose of tylenol about 30min before her shot which will help with the pain and any side effects.
But really, she will fine!

Hi K.,
Do not let them give your daughter 3 shots at once. You are the parent and you must speak up. This is far too many toxins going into your little one's body. Yes! Vaccines are toxic! (Do some quick research on sites by goggling Mike Adams the Health Ranger or Dr. Mercola, or Timothy Long to name a few.) Then divide the weight of your darling baby girl into your weight and think about how she may be taking that many times more toxins than you would be by getting the 3 shots. Perhaps the doctor gives her a smaller amount than he would give you, but not necessarily. Check it out because you have far more to be nervous about than the pain. If you go with the shots, there is a company I think it is Nature's Sunshine, that has a product to help with the immediate side effects such as fever and irratibility. Herbs and More on Edgewater Drive sells it. I got it for my daughter who battles with giving vaccines or not, but is now moving as a family as missionaries to a third world country and is giving them.
Keep this in mind, that as parents in today's Big Pharma era, we must do our own research for the sake and health of our families. The powers that be are looking for you money, not your safety nor you health.
You may feel free to email me personally if you want more info from me.
Congratulations on having two little girls and may your house be filled with lace and pink and lots of tea parties.
J.