Saving your baby from Pneumococcal disease

My baby Kobe was due again for another vaccine and this will be the second of three vaccines that his pediatrician will inject to his precious legs.

I have posted an entry before about this vaccine and for the benefit of first time parents and parents to be I would like to add few more things that would help parents fight against the harm that this disease would bring to your baby.

Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of illness in children throughout the world. The disease is caused by a common bacterium, the pneumococcus, which can attack different parts of the body. Illnesses that can be caused by the pneumococcus (or the "pneumo bug") include pneumonia, meningitis and otitis media (middle ear infection).

Having your baby this prevenar vaccine will prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (eg pneumonia, meningitis or blood poisoning) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria in children aged two months to five years.

Prevenar Vaccine is defined as a vaccine that contains extracts from seven of the most common types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. These bacteria are responsible for causing invasive diseases such as pneumonia, blood poisoning and meningitis. The vaccine works by provoking the body's immune response to the bacteria, without causing the diseases.

Each bacteria or virus stimulates the immune system to produce a specific type of antibody. This means that different vaccines are needed to prevent different diseases.

Prevenar contains inactivated extracts from seven of the most common types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. It stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies against these bacteria and thus is given to prevent the diseases that they can cause.

This pneumococcal vaccine is now part of the childhood immunization schedule. This vaccine will usually be given as three doses, at two, four and thirteen months of age. There will be a catch-up campaign for children up to two years who have already started their immunizations.

The prevenar vaccination is given as an injection into the muscle of the thigh for babies under one year and the upper arm for older children.

After the vaccine has been done, your baby might have flu so just like what my baby’s pediatrician told us, do not wait for this thing to happen as it advised that you give the necessary medication for your tot. A paracematol would be fine and the dosage will vary for us we give Kobe a 0.9 ml of paracematol.

I hope I was able to give important information for parents out there. Until my next posting.