Reasons for refusal
Pediatricians do not recommend bathing a newborn baby immediately after vaccination.
This is due to the following reasons:
- Quality of tap water. It contains pathogenic microorganisms that can penetrate the affected area. This threatens the onset of an inflammatory process.
Risk of hypothermia. It is possible to develop colds against the background of decreased immunity;- Contact with hot water. This may cause your body temperature to rise.
Swimming is a contraindication if there is a pronounced reaction of the body to the administered vaccine.
It is not recommended to wash if you have the following symptoms:
- runny nose;
- weakness;
- hyperthermia;
- cough;
- general malaise.
Bathing a child is allowed only after his condition has normalized.
Shower on the first day after vaccination
Children can take baths and wash themselves on the same day the injection was given. This is not prohibited by experts.
When talking about a ban, doctors are simply creating conditions of increased security to avoid possible negative consequences. There can be a reaction to any vaccine. It usually manifests itself in the form of a rash on the body, redness and many other symptoms. But this does not affect taking a bath or swimming in the pool. Therefore, children can be bathed at any time after all procedures. The most important thing is to monitor its general condition.
Taking a bath and washing yourself will help take your mind off the post-vaccination stress. The child will be able to relax and perhaps even forget that he was given an injection.
The ban on washing is a groundless misconception that many parents are subject to. If children are not washed, the wound may become infected. After bathing, the skin becomes clean and protected from infection. Therefore, contact with water is necessary, because children lead an active lifestyle, which means contact with dirty things is not uncommon for them. Therefore, there is a high risk of infection at the injection site if hygiene rules are not followed.
The best means for washing after a BCG vaccination is regular baby soap. It does not cause skin irritation and will not provoke an allergic reaction. You should not use products containing many chemical additives to wash children. They can cause rashes and redness on the skin. It is advisable to use soap consisting of organic ingredients.
On what day is it allowed to bathe a child?
The first vaccination is given in the maternity hospital. Parents will bathe the baby for the first time only after discharge, so no questions arise.
When the baby is brought home, taking a bath after the hospital will benefit him.
It’s a completely different matter if BCG was not done in the maternity hospital for some reason.
If the drug is administered in a children's clinic, you should immediately ask your doctor about all the precautions that should be taken during the post-vaccination period.
Doctors allow you to wash your child a day after immunization.
This is due to the fact that in the first few hours after vaccination the temperature may rise. During the day it subsides.
If the baby has a normal body temperature the next day, post-vaccination reactions do not appear, he can be safely bathed. Even if the injection site is slightly swollen and begins to fester, this is not considered a contraindication for a bath.
The main thing is to wash the baby for several days without soap and not to exert mechanical force on the affected area. Swimming will be extremely beneficial.
Basic rules for swimming
When bathing for the first time in the post-vaccination period, you need to adhere to a number of important recommendations:
use exclusively clean, boiled water;- avoid sudden changes in temperature, for example, immediately after a bath, transfer the baby to a cool room;
- do not use hot water;
- avoid keeping the child in the water for a long time: three to five minutes is enough;
- do not rub the affected area with a washcloth and towel; if the injection site is damaged, the risk of infection and the development of post-vaccination complications increases;
- stop using all kinds of cosmetics and even soap;
- Do not cover the injection site with a band-aid.
Bathe babies in a bathtub. After this, carefully wipe with a towel, without touching the papule that has formed on the hand.
Why swimming after vaccination can be beneficial
Hygienic procedures not only help cleanse the newborn’s skin, but also help relax the nervous system.
In water, the child moves more actively - this improves appetite. What do you think are the most important factors when choosing a medical facility?
Children love to swim, and positive emotions help strengthen the immune system.
After bathing in warm water, the child falls asleep faster and sleeps more soundly.
There is no need to change your established daily routine due to vaccination; a newborn feels better in his usual routine.
In what cases is it permissible to bathe after vaccination?
There is no strict ban on swimming immediately after vaccination. If the baby feels normal, no negative changes in his condition are observed, there is no fever, and you should not postpone the bath until the next day.
Swimming is allowed on the day of vaccination. The main thing is to follow the rules and avoid any negative impact.
What is strictly forbidden to do after BCG vaccination?
After vaccination, the doctor must warn the parents of the vaccinated baby about the following points:
- It is prohibited to rub the injection site with a washcloth or steam it while bathing;
- Do not squeeze out the pustule or tear off the crust;
- It is prohibited to treat the injection site with brilliant green and other antiseptics, as well as apply ointments and bandages.
To develop high-quality immunity, the wound must heal on its own, without outside intervention. A doctor or nurse will definitely monitor her, recording all changes after vaccination in the child’s card.
Why there is disagreement: can you bathe or not?
Pediatricians have different opinions regarding water procedures.
Doctors working “the old fashioned way” strictly prohibit washing a child on the first day after vaccination. They explain this by the fact that the water in the taps is of poor quality, and the baby’s immunity is weakened in the post-vaccination period. Therefore, it is better not to subject the child’s body to additional stress.
Another group of doctors has the opposite opinion. They believe that swimming after BCG has enormous benefits.
It is especially noticeable if immunization is carried out in the summer.
In hot weather there is profuse sweating. When an aggressive substance gets on the wound, irritation, itching and discomfort occurs. When in contact with water, the affected tissues are restored faster, and unpleasant sensations are eliminated.
Vaccination is a serious stress for a child. The baby can be frightened by this process.
Thanks to bathing, he calms down and reduces emotional and physiological stress. Therefore, the baby tolerates the post-vaccination period much easier.
Water procedures can reduce the risk of negative reactions. The wound heals much faster, and the chances of infection are minimized.
Possible consequences
Most often, children are vaccinated on days 3-7 of life in the maternity hospital, and specialists monitor the condition of the newborn after vaccination. Sometimes vaccination is done in a clinic, in which case parents should carefully monitor the post-vaccination reaction; it is better not to bathe the child for 1-2 days. On the first day, anxiety, sleep disturbances, appetite disturbances, or hyperthermia may occur.
If the body temperature rises, the child refuses to breastfeed and sleeps poorly, you should immediately consult a doctor.
It happens that parents try to steam the skin while bathing and clean the wound from crusts and purulent discharge. Doctors warn that such actions will not help the child in any way, but rather will lead to complications.
There is no need to further disinfect the water.
The measures taken during daily hygiene procedures are sufficient for safe swimming after vaccination.
What to do if the vaccination site gets wet
Many parents remember from their childhood that vaccinations cannot be wet. True, we are not talking about BCG, but the Mantoux test.
The confusion arose due to the fact that the drugs administered are closely related to each other. At the same time, the ban on swimming even after a tuberculin test has long been lifted. It never applied to BCG.
If you accidentally wet the vaccine injection site, nothing bad will happen.
It is not at all necessary to protect the baby from contact with water, much less cover the papule with a band-aid. You just need to make sure that the affected tissues are not steamed.
In addition, the child should not scratch them, squeeze out pus, or perform any other actions.
Even if an abscess forms, you can wet the vaccination site. You just need to beware of active influence on it to avoid infection.
What could be the consequences if you wet a papule?
Each child's reaction to vaccination is different.
It is impossible to predict it. Most often, no negative changes are observed when the wound comes into contact with water. On the contrary, there is a positive trend.
But this doesn't always happen. For example, if the water contains chlorine or other harmful substances, a local reaction to them is possible. In this case, the injection site becomes red and inflamed. A sharp rise in temperature cannot be ruled out either.
Another possible problem is the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the wound. The risk of such problems is extremely small, but it cannot be completely excluded.
Against the background of infection, the affected tissues also become inflamed, and a purulent process may begin. The child must be shown to the pediatrician.
If you bathe your baby without paying attention to the presence of side effects, his condition may worsen. The development of hyperthermia cannot be ruled out.
An increase in temperature above +39 °C is dangerous for a child: convulsive syndrome and a number of other negative changes may occur. In such a situation, you should immediately call an ambulance.
Myths about the dangers of swimming after the BCG vaccine
Some children may experience slight swelling or redness at the injection site.
This is a normal reaction of the body, and there is nothing wrong with it. However, some parents have many questions regarding several situations that should not be feared:
- Water that gets on the wound can affect the result of the vaccination. BCG vaccination is a medical procedure, and contact with water cannot affect its result in any way. If we are talking about diagnostic vaccination, for example, about checking the presence of microorganisms in an active form in the body, then it is better to refrain from swimming.
- Leakage of blood from the resulting wound. A blood clot often forms at the site where the vaccine was administered. This is normal, and if such a situation arises, you should use clean wet wipes (without antiseptics) to remove any droplets of blood that appear.
- Penetration of infection through the wound. The crust formed on the wound protects the skin area from the harmful effects of many surrounding factors (dirty water, bacteria). However, infection of the wound is impossible, because Bathing a child in the first days of his life occurs only in boiled water.
Is it possible to go for a walk after swimming?
In addition to the “prohibition of specialists” on taking water procedures, there is a myth that after vaccination you cannot walk in the fresh air. This is another misconception that many parents blindly believe and lock their child in the apartment.
This is definitely not worth doing. This kind of isolation will not help in any way to protect yourself during the period after vaccination. Doctors may recommend temporarily stopping walking only due to a weakened immune system, in order to prevent contracting a cold as the body fights the injection bacteria.
After the BCG vaccination, when going for a walk, it is worth protecting him from contact with other children, as they may well be carriers of infectious bacteria. After returning home, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
