The topic I have decided to do this project on is children’s immunizations. I have researched this topic using the internet, I have used www.nhs.com .
IMMUNIZATIONS FOR CHILDREN:
Children are offered a number of immunizations to protect them against dangerous illnesses and diseases such as polio, meningitis, tuberculosis, measles, mumps and rubella. An immunization will help protect a child from these diseases by making their body produce antibodies to fight against these diseases.
When a child is due to have their immunizations the parent should receive a letter in the post stating what immunisation their child will be having and an appointment time. A child should have their first immunisation when they are two months old this should be (DTaP/IPV/Hib). This is a single jab that contains vaccines to protect against five separate diseases - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib, a bacterial infection that can cause severe pneumonia or meningitis in young children). A child should have their next immunization at three months old this should be the same as above with the meningitis needle. At four months old they will have the same again also with the Pneumococcal infection immunization. At 12/13 months old a child should have their hip and men c immunization this is given as a single jab containing meningitis C, they should also have a third dose of Hib, fourth dose. Measles, mumps and rubella, this is given as a single jab and their pneumococcal infection third dose.
At 2 to 3 years old children should have their MMR second immunization and their 4 in 1 pre-school immunization this includes Dtap/ivp this is given as a single needle and helps protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio. After the age of 3 a child should not need to have any more immunizations until they reach the age of 12 years old. All immunizations given to children should get recorded in a little red book which should be taken to every appointment you go to. When a child has an immunization the parent should be asked to stay in the doctors waiting room for 10 minutes to ensure the child is ok, the parent should also be told that the child may have side effects e.g. fever like symptoms as a reaction to the needle and the child may require some calpol to help soothe the child, if the symptoms do not go away they must seek medical advice straight away. Children may also have an allergic reaction to immunizations in this