Immunizations and Your Baby

Published by the Children's Clinic of Ocean Springs

Pediatrician Dr. George D. Fain, M.D.

Office Telephone (228) 875-1184 or 1185 -- 24 hours

 

To keep your new baby healthy, you need to get she/he immunized (vaccinated) against certain diseases. Many immunizations are given in doses (booster shots) at certain ages as she/he grows. All children have to have an up-to-date immunization shot record before they can begin Daycare, Head Start or School. You can get these shots at your doctor's office or county health department. She/he will receive their first dose of Hepatitis B (HB) before she/he goes home.

Then she/he will need:

2 months          The second dose of the Hepatitis B (HB) Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (DTaP)

(Initials also used are DT and TD)

Inactivated Polio (IPV)

Haemophilus Influenza (the flu) (Hib)

Pneumococcal (pneumonia) (PCV)

 

4 months          The second dose of DTaP, IPV, Hib. PCV

 

6 months          The third dose of DTaP, Hib. HB. PCV

 

15 months         The first dose of Measles. Mumps and

(1 yearl 3 mos)  Rubella (MMR)

The first dose of Varicella (chickenpox)

The 3rd dose of IPV

The 4th dose of DTaP1 Hib, PCV

 

Hepatitis B (HP) • Virus - Hepatitis B is an acute illness that can lead to loss of appetite, tiredness and pain in the muscles, joints and stomach. You may also have diarrhea and vomiting and jaundice (yellow skin and eyes). It can also cause long-term (chronic) illness that can lead to cirrhosis (liver damage, liver cancer and even death). It is passed to others through contaminated water, food or body fluids.

 

Polio (IPV) • Polio is a viral disease that begins with sore throat, headache, vomiting, back and neck stiffness. It attacks the gray matter in the spinal cord and eventually leads to atrophy (wasting away) of muscles, which leads to contractions (drawing up, or shortening), permanent deformity and paralysis.

 

Haemophilus Influenza (type b) (Hlb) • The "flu” is a bacterial disease and can start in a mild stage and then become more severe leading to pneumonia and meningitis (inflammation of the spinal cord and then the brain).

 

Varicella • Chickenpox is a viral illness.  This starts with fever, feeling tired, not wanting to eat and swollen lymph nodes. Then, you see a red, itchy rash mostly on the upper body. Eventually, the rash becomes crusted scabs that fall off. If not treated, it can cause pneumonia and inflammation of the brain. (Your child may not need this shot at 15 months if they have already had chickenpox.)

 

Pneumococeal (PCV) • Pneumococeal is a bacterium that is very contagious. Pneumonia is a bacterial infection that is especially severe in children under five years old. It can cause earaches, eye infections, bronchitis and pneumonia. It can also lead to meningitis, deafness and brain damage. The infections can be hard to treat because the bacteria have become resistant (will no longer work) to some of the drugs (antibiotics) that have been used to treat them. This makes prevention with the immunization even more important.

Dtep • Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis

 

Diphtheria (DTaP) • Diphtheria affects mainly the throat. It starts with fever and sore throat, then a thick covering forms over the tonsils and around it causing difficulty breathing. This covering is difficult to remove and begins to affect the cells, poisoning your child's system.

 

Tetanus • Tetanus is caused by a puncture wound or damage to the skin by a rusty object like a nail, knife or animal bite. It causes muscle spasms and contractions and can result in "lockjaw".

 

Pertussis • Pertussis or "whooping cough” is an infection in the throat and lungs. When this disease begins, it acts like the common cold. In about two weeks, the cough gets more violent. The child has several short coughs and then sucks in air making a "whooping" sound. Next a long spell of hard coughing is usually followed by vomiting. This coughing is so severe it wears the child out. Coughing

can last for months. Pertussis can also lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death.

 

MMR • Measles, Mumps, Rubella

 

Measles (MMR) • "Red measles” (rubeola) is a viral disease that begins with a runny nose, feeling tired and cough accompanied by a high fever (101° - 106°). Then an itchy rash breaks out over the body. If not treated, measles can lead to earaches, pneumonia, and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain then the spinal cord).

 

Mumps • Mumps is a viral disease that will cause fever, headache, and a sore throat with swollen neck glands. If not treated, it can lead to deafness and meningitis. The disease travels to the testicles in boys or ovaries in girls; they can become sterile and never be able to have children.

 

Rubella • "German measles" is a mild viral disease in children but is serious in young girls or women who become pregnant. If you are pregnant and get rubella, it can cause miscarriages or serious birth defects like blindness, deafness or brain damage in your baby. 

Form 2034; Revised 09•09•04

Courtesy of the Ocean Springs Hospital, part of the Singing River Health System

 

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