Good Health Habits

I read some articles while waiting for my baby's turn to see his paed at KJMC.. So, I just wanna share something that I think it is important and a very good info to all of us, mommies.. :-)

TO give our baby a good start in life, we must be able to provide basic hygiene care, example, bathing and changing diapers.. This is also the time to introduce our child to healthy lifestyle habits and good nutrition, beginning with breastfeeding.. Another important thing is to ensure our child is given all the recommended immunisations..

What is immunisations?
Active immunisation is the use of vaccines to protect against particular diseases caused by bacteria or viruses.

What are vaccines?
Vaccines contain weakened, dead or (usually) fragmented viruses and/or bacteria that are responsible for some serious diseases. The body sees these fragments as foreign and develops an immune response (immunity) against them, without exposing the child to the disease.

How does immunity work?
When a virus or bacteria enters the body, our immune system develops an immune response, which includes antibodies specifically against the virus or bacteria, to fight it. The first time an organism enters the body, the immune system is not ready and it takes some time to make antibodies. During this time we may become ill. However, if our immune system, including the antibodies, can control the organism we will recover.

After an infection, the immune system retains a memory of the infecting organism that attacked us, and if it enters our body again, it is usually controlled before we become ill. Active immunisation using vaccines works in the same way - but without us having to have the disease first.

Is immunisation safe?
Vaccines must go through many tests before they can be used. The vaccines used have been proven to have excellent safety profiles and to be highly effective. Studies have shown that if all doses of vaccines are given properly they will protect 80-95% of the children who are immunised.

Some children who have been immunised may still become ill with the disease, but usually the illness is much less serious. The risk from disease is far greater than the risk from immunisation.

When should my child not be immunised?
If your child is undergoing medical treatment, has a serious disease or lives with someone with a severe disease, has an immune system that is not working properly or had severe allergic reactions to immunisations before, or has recently had other vaccinations or blood treatments, immunisation may not be advisable. Talk to your doctor.

What should be expected?
Your baby will probably cry when receiving his/her immunisation shot. After the shot, the area will be sore to the touch. He/she may also run a slight fever and be a little more tired than usual. Often, doctors will prescribe a non-aspirin pain-killer to ease the fever and discomfort.

A number of children will have a minor reaction to immunisation. Serious reactions, eg, severe allergic reactions, can happen, but are very rare. Your doctor is trained to handle such problems.

Arsyad just got his MMRV shot (M - Measles, M - Mumps, R - Rubella and V - Varicella).. And, he was down with a slight fever for about 2 days after that.. Owh~ he even got the vaccination certificate and fridge magnet for that.. hehe.. I'm not yet printing his name on it.. It is so cute.. So damn lazy to snap the picture.. hehe.. Hope these info can give us more knowledge and awareness about immunisation :D