Hepatitis B is a pathology characterized by inflammation in the liver of viral origin. The disease can lead to cirrhosis, acute organ failure. Hepatitis is especially severe in young children and often ends fatally.
For prevention purposes, immunization is carried out. Many parents are interested in whether it is possible to wet the hepatitis vaccine. It is important to know all the restrictions after vaccination and not to violate the rules of caring for the injection site. This will prevent complications from occurring.
Is it possible to bathe a child after hepatitis B vaccination?
Vaccination against hepatitis B is mandatory.
A child is immunized in the first hours after birth. The newborn’s body is weakened and unable to fight severe viruses and infections. Therefore, vaccination is the optimal way to protect against infection and the development of dangerous pathologies. The hepatitis B vaccine is generally well tolerated by children. But sometimes certain reactions are observed. After manipulation, redness, thickening, and swelling may occur at the injection site.
After a while, the puncture heals on its own. But to speed up this process, you need to take precautions. Doctors advise not to wet the injection area. Experts also recommend not bathing your child for some time after vaccination. This is associated with a high risk of morbidity.
But if you refuse to bathe your baby, other problems may appear. Therefore, those parts of the body that need daily hygiene should be washed carefully with baby soap and a small amount of water. It is allowed to use wet wipes. The question regarding the possibility of bathing the baby after vaccination must be resolved with the pediatrician.
Some doctors allow you to wash. In some cases, bathing makes the child feel better. The injection site may cause discomfort to the baby: pain, itching. Because of this, the baby becomes whiny, capricious, and cannot sleep normally.
If the doctor allows water procedures, then you should adhere to the following rules when performing them:
- do not bathe a child at elevated body temperature;
- if possible, take a bath with the baby to warm him with your body;
- use water at baby’s body temperature;
- try not to get the injection area too wet;
- do not rub the puncture with a washcloth or towel;
- reduce the procedure time to a minimum to avoid colds;
- After washing, wipe the child dry and wrap him in a warm blanket.
Pediatricians prohibit bathing after vaccination in the following cases:
- the child feels unwell;
- the site where the hepatitis B vaccine was administered is swollen and red;
- the apartment is cold;
- presence of drafts in the house;
- allergic manifestations on the skin (rash, itching, redness).
If there are no contraindications, then not all experts have a negative attitude towards bathing a child in the post-vaccination period, since water procedures can remove stress and help the body relax. Bathing relieves muscle tension and makes sleep more restful and sound.
Is it allowed to bathe a child after vaccination?
Sometimes doctors recommend not bathing your baby for 3 days after hepatitis vaccination. This is explained by the high risk of infection by pathogenic microorganisms from water. However, numerous medical studies have shown that bathing after immunization is not contraindicated, and in some cases is even necessary. The hepatitis vaccine is absolutely safe for children because it does not contain the active virus. Its action is ensured by an immunogenic protein, which is practically inactive, making the vaccine easily tolerated and rarely causing complications. The drug is administered on the first day after birth, which confirms its reliability. That is why, after vaccination, children can wash themselves immediately after the procedure. Pediatricians recommend bathing if, after the immunization procedure, the child’s mood worsens, which results in constant crying. The reason for this may be:
- stress;
- pain at the injection site.
The baby will feel better if he can relax in the water after a painful injection. He also needs to bathe so that sweat does not get on the vaccine site, causing redness and itching. The only requirement is not to rub the injection site.
Swimming in cool water is considered beneficial for children, as it allows them to harden the body. Water procedures often bring a lot of pleasure; the child will be able to quickly forget about the discomfort associated with vaccination. Splashing in water increases energy and allows you to fall asleep faster.
Swimming is not recommended in situations where the child's condition has worsened. In particular, the following symptoms may appear:
Drowsiness
- temperature increase;
- lethargy;
- itching at the injection site;
- drowsiness;
- nausea;
- cough;
- diarrhea;
- skin rashes;
- excessive sweating;
- headache;
- runny nose;
- pain in muscles and joints.
These signs usually disappear within three days. Any water treatments are contraindicated for children at this time until their health status stabilizes.
Opponents of bathing believe that it is impossible to wet the hepatitis vaccine, since the child’s decreased immunity increases the likelihood of contracting colds. Therefore, parents try not to bathe their child for 24 hours after the vaccine is administered.
Sometimes a child develops lumps in the injection area, and they refuse to bathe him. This reaction is not dangerous to the baby’s health and occurs when the vaccine gets into the subcutaneous tissue. From here the substance is removed for a long time, the compaction will not disappear until the drug is completely absorbed.
A lump forms at the injection site, which will dissolve on its own over time.
For how many days should a newborn's hepatitis vaccine not be soaked?
After the hepatitis vaccine has been administered, it is recommended to avoid swimming. On the first day, it is advisable to completely abandon water procedures.
The next day, it is allowed to wash areas that need regular hygiene with warm water.
Experts advise not to wet the hepatitis vaccine in a newborn until the puncture site has completely healed. As a rule, a few days are enough for this.
What happens if you wet a baby’s thigh at the injection site?
Some parents think about why they shouldn’t get the injection site wet; what happens if water gets on an unhealed puncture. Pediatricians warn that the body's reaction can be unpredictable. Therefore, it is not worth the risk.
The puncture site is a poorly protected area that can easily be damaged when swimming. Injury can cause a dangerous infection. In this case, the area where the drug was administered will begin to swell and a red halo will appear.
Also, if you wet the injection area, the following consequences are possible:
- slight increase in temperature;
- inactivity;
- noticeable discomfort;
- the appearance of severe itching;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- decreased or lack of appetite;
- bowel dysfunction.
In these cases, you must consult a doctor. The doctor will examine you and prescribe the required medications to normalize your well-being.
For newborns, the hepatitis vaccine is usually administered in the thigh area. It is difficult not to get this place wet when performing a hygiene procedure. Therefore, it is better to avoid full bathing after immunization.
The decision to carry out water procedures should be made based on the child’s well-being. But if you wash a child in the bathroom immediately after hepatitis vaccination, he may catch a cold: after vaccination, the body becomes weaker. Swimming also increases the risk of developing side effects from the vaccine.
If the baby gets sick, then all efforts will be directed not to the formation of specific immunity, but to the fight against pathology.
What to remember when bathing your child after vaccination
If a woman has a question about whether the site of vaccination against viral hepatitis can be wetted or not, then first of all it is necessary to take into account the condition of the baby.
Swimming after vaccination is prohibited in the following cases:
- Bad feeling. If the child’s general condition has worsened, then parents should pay attention to this and reduce the load on the baby’s body. This mainly applies to bathing the baby. In water, the body's strength is spent on maintaining a constant body temperature, and not on fighting the injected vaccine.
- Slight drafts and cold rooms. After warm water, the baby’s body experiences severe discomfort when entering a cold room. Hypothermia threatens a weakened body with the possibility of catching a cold. Due to a cold, a baby's body temperature may rise. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the fact that after bathing the newborn is immediately wrapped in a warm towel or is in a well-heated room.
- Skin rashes or other manifestations of allergic reactions begin to appear on the baby’s skin. In most cases, skin rashes are accompanied by itching, which is why the baby often begins to cry or be capricious. Such phenomena are considered a serious reason forbidding swimming after vaccination. It is recommended to consult a doctor as soon as such manifestations occur.
- A hard formation appears in the injection area, which can be felt upon palpation, and swelling. In such cases, it is necessary to show the baby to the doctor, as this may indicate an infection in a small wound or severe mechanical irritation.
It is worth remembering that a newborn’s body is quite sensitive and reacts to any changes with a violent reaction. Rapid changes in body temperature, the occurrence of inflammatory processes and other symptoms can appear even after a small draft.
Therefore, after the first vaccination, you should ask your doctor whether it is possible to walk with your child after hepatitis vaccination. It is prohibited to visit public places, shops, and markets with the baby. In such places it is quite easy to catch an infection from strangers or get caught in a draft.
What else should you not do after your baby is vaccinated?
A child's body is weaker and more vulnerable than an adult. In order for vaccination against hepatitis to be successful and not lead to the development of complications, you need to know what you can and cannot do after the procedure.
List of prohibitions after immunization:
- Nursing mothers should not introduce foods into their diet that can trigger the development of allergies (exotic fruits, chocolate, tomatoes, citrus fruits);
- You should not walk with your child in crowded places in winter or autumn. Specific immunity to the hepatitis B virus is formed within two weeks after vaccination. Therefore, at this time it is better to protect the baby from possible infection with infectious pathologies;
- Do not bandage, seal the puncture site with a band-aid, or treat it with lotions to soften the skin or creams to speed up healing;
- It is forbidden to take your baby to kindergarten or invite acquaintances and friends home for the first couple of days after vaccination. After vaccination, the baby’s immunity is loaded. Contact with others who are hidden carriers of a virus or infection can lead to infection and severe disease;
- Vitamin D should not be given to vaccinated children for the first 5 days after the procedure. This can provoke calcium deficiency and the development of an allergic reaction;
- Do not let your baby scratch the area where the hepatitis B vaccine was administered.
If you refuse to follow these recommendations, the rehabilitation period after vaccination will take longer, and complications of varying severity may develop.
Is it possible to bathe a baby after hepatitis vaccination?
Vaccination is a technically simple process of introducing a special drug into the baby’s body in order to develop permanent immunity to a certain type of hepatitis. As a rule, vaccinations are given against hepatitis types A and B, since there are no vaccines against other types of pathology.
Types A and B are most often found in medical practice and are common in all countries of the world. Therefore, after childbirth, doctors strongly recommend that the baby be vaccinated.
In most cases, infants tolerate the administration of the drug well, so complications are observed in very rare cases.
Standard reactions of the vaccinated person to the procedure:
- slight increase in temperature
- redness at the injection site,
- lack of appetite or decreased appetite,
- general weakness.
The appearance of these symptoms is explained by the introduction of virus particles, which causes the baby’s immunity to decrease and the body begins to fight the foreign protein.
If the temperature exceeds 38° C, then you need to consult a doctor or call an ambulance. As a rule, in this case, the baby is prescribed antipyretic drugs in the form of syrups, suspensions or suppositories. These may be drugs such as Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Viburkol and others.
When the question arises as to why the vaccine should not be wetted, it is worth remembering that vaccination against hepatitis significantly weakens the baby’s immune defense and makes him sensitive to any infection.
Hygiene procedures can be postponed for a while or replaced by wiping with a damp towel - it must be warm so that the newborn does not experience discomfort. The injection site must be avoided to avoid unnecessary contamination of soap during the wiping process.
Children who easily tolerated the injection can safely undergo bathing procedures. If the temperature does not rise and the baby does not experience any characteristic side effects, then you should not stray from your usual routine. For a better effect, you can add chamomile herb, which has antiseptic properties, to your bath.
Video on the topic
Dr. Komarovsky about what to do after vaccination:
Thus, vaccination against hepatitis protects a person from infection with the virus and liver inflammation, cirrhosis, and organ failure. Vaccinations begin from birth. After immunization, it is recommended not to wet the injection site or bathe the child.
There are also a number of other restrictions that every parent should be aware of. If you do not follow all the pediatrician’s instructions, the likelihood of developing adverse reactions and complications after vaccination increases.
