Baby care: fever after vaccination

The list of childhood vaccines has both changed and grown over time. Although vaccines are there to help protect your child from nasty diseases, most mothers find it hard to watch their baby receive shots. Some vaccines also have short-term side effects, including a rash at the site of injection, and a fever. What should you do if your baby gets a fever after being inocculated?

Most of the time, you'll see that your baby won't have any noticeable side effects at all after being vaccinated. If there is a slight fever, it is a good idea to keep an eye on it and offer a fever reducer like baby Tylenol, as agreed with your baby's pediatrician at the visit where your baby received his shots.

Mild reactions to a vaccine may show you that the vaccine is, in fact, working. These symptoms should pass within days of the vaccine being administered and should not aggravate. Some children do have serious allergic reactions to some of the ingredients of a vaccine, and in that case the situation is much more serious than a low grade fever. What are some of the possible symptoms of a serious allergic reaction to a vaccine?

Let's take a look:

A high fever that will not go away. Seizures. Breathing difficulties, including wheezing. Your baby turning blue. Being very lethargic and not responding to impulses. Fainting. An irregular heartbeat.

If your baby shows these symptoms, or just one of them, call your baby's doctor right away and go to the ER if your intuition tells you that the situation is serious; particularly if you notice breathing trouble and seizures. If you do go to the ER, make sure that you tell the staff there when your baby received vaccines, and which ones.

If that has you all worried in advance, rest assured that these side effects are extremely rare. In some cases, allergic reactions to vaccines can be prevented an egg allergy, for instance, may mean that your baby can receive alternative vaccines that were not cultured on eggs.