Saturday, October 3, 2009

So Many Shots!!

Shots...where to start.  I hate them!  Don't mind getting them myself, but I get so anxious when my kids have to get them.  Does anyone else feel this way or is it no big deal for most of you?  My daughter is so fearful of the doctor's office because of them.  She openly tells her doctor that she does not like him.  At my son's one year visit a couple weeks ago, he received four shots, two per leg.  Then his doctor tells me he'll need a booster for the flu shot in one month.  He is also recommending the H1N1 vaccine and I'm reading that it will also be a series of two shots for his age, and then by that time we'll be ready for his 15 month appt when more shots are due.  It just seems like so much.  Are there any children out there who aren't fearful of going to the doctors?

So I wanted to post some information about methods for lessening the pain during vaccines, a couple I have tried, and I'm curious what others have tried (especially if it's something that worked!!).

The first thing I tried was the sugar theory.  If you give an infant sugar just before or during the shot, it's less painful.  So, I went online and bought TootSweet Sucrose Solution (guaranteed bacteria and mold free) from Hawaii Medical.  The solution comes in 1oz cups with a vanilla scented pacifier to dip into the solution and then give to the infant to suck on during the vaccine.  My daughter seemed to cry just as much.  Still have 4 of the 1oz cups sitting here.  Of course I have read you can also breastfeed your infant during the shot, but I was never up for that.

Then there's EMLA cream that numbs the skin.  I tried this with my daughter too.  You need a prescription and the pediatrician was willing to give me one with no problem.  You need to put it on the skin one hour before the shot and keep it covered with something that won't rub it off.  I used a tagaderm bandage.  I have read some use plastic wrap.  First, my daughter cried when I put it on.  I'm not sure why.  I tried it on my own skin and it felt a little weird, but it didn't hurt.  But worse than that, because I put it on at home before I left for the appt, I never seemed to get the cream in just the right place and it seemed to stress out the nurse because it wasn't exactly where she wanted to give the shot.  I'm stressed enough about the whole thing, I don't need the nurse to be stressed too! The first time I used it the nurse didn't give the shot where I put the cream.  I think I tried it a couple more times and stopped.  Of course, if you don't mind waiting, you could have the nurse put it on and then wait an hour at the doctor's office before the shot is administered.

Recently I read that something as simple as the order the shots are given can reduce some of the pain.  No personal experience with this one, but here's the link.  http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Vaccines/14040

The sense of smell is the most advanced sense that babies have at birth.  According to a Swiss study, by one month, a familiar odor can soothe your baby, so try holding her with a blanket that smells of breast milk or a familiar baby lotion during vaccines.

These are just a couple things I have tried or read about.  Of course, you could search the Web and find other ideas.  Are any of these much of a benefit to the baby or is it more for our own peace of mind?  If you have had success with other methods, I would love to hear about it, because the shots aren't going away anytime soon!

http://www.aimtoolkit.org/talk/order/Lessening_the_Pain_of_Vaccines.pdf

1 comment:

  1. My fifteen year old son still screams and freaks out with shots. Sad, but true. We've had good success with Emla, if only for a placebo effect, who knows.

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