Immunization is one of the best means of protecting your child against contagious diseases. When a child is born, he or she may be immune to certain diseases, due to the disease-fighting antibodies passed from the mother to the unborn child through the placenta. After birth, if the mother decides to breast feed, the baby receives additional antibodies in breast milk. But this immunity is only temporary.In adults, immunity is governed by the immune system, the body’s defense mechanism that helps fight disease. Medical science says that the use of vaccines is an effective way to help the immune system fight disease. When you get an infection, your body reacts by producing substances called antibodies. These antibodies fight the invading germ (antigen) or disease and help you get over the illness. The antibodies usually stay in your system, even after the disease is gone, and protect you from getting the same disease again. This protection against the disease is called immunity.
Immunization has saved millions of lives and is one of the greatest medical success stories in human history. Many serious childhood diseases are preventable because of vaccines that are routinely recommended for children. Since the introduction of these vaccines, rates of diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, whooping cough and meningitis have declined by 95 to 100 percent. Prior to immunization, hundreds of thousands of children were infected and thousands died in the U.S. each year from these diseases. Immunizations not only save lives – an amazing feat for humankind – they also conveniently save you money. Each dollar spent on a vaccine saves $7 in medical costs and $25 in overall costs related to vaccine-preventable diseases.
Your primary health care provider may offer immunizations and all the information you will need to prepare yourself and your child. Local health departments also provide immunizations. Many immunizations are administered through an injection or shot. Here are some ways to make this dreaded trip to the doctor more bearable:
- Explain the situation. Illustrate to your child that the injection is to keep him or her safe and healthy. Knowing ahead of time what to expect may reassure them.
- Suggest bravery. Some children are reassured if a parent explains that they do not like injections either, but they try to be brave. Praise the child after the injection is over.
- Distract your child. At the moment of the injection, tell them to look away or have them count or say their ABCs. By the time the child finishes looking or laughing, the injection is over.
- Be calm. The child will notice if the parent cringes before the shot.
- Plan something fun. After the experience, take a trip to the park or playground or eat out to make the next immunization experience less fearful.
