How do vaccines boost the body’s immunity?

A mom will always be considered preachy no matter what the topic is. Actually, being overprotective gives her this tag. Let me confess that I am no different. My children once asked me why I don’t get sick often. They wanted to know why their illness cycle, like the viral fever, doesn’t stop at once even while being on medication, in contrast to me, always by their side, fit and fine. I told them truthfully that as much as you need to be healthy and strong, you also need to get regular vaccines. I don’t promote administering every vaccine in the market to your child; rather, consult your doctor and other healthcare professionals, and make an informed opinion Vaccines are made for a purpose – they boost the body’s immunity.

I always tell my children to have a positive attitude towards one’s own bodies. You should always feel fit and healthy and not wait until you fall sick to take action. A person’s attitude plays an important role in being healthy. Our .sub-conscious mind takes note of what we say, which is why I tell my kids to they are fit and fine rather than saying that they don’t want to fall sick.

Subconscious helps in building a strong perspective but kids are too young to inculcate it in their character. I believe in keeping their immunity strong and prefer to feed home-cooked food and take duly assigned precautions before changes in weather. And I get them vaccinated on time too. The conflict will never end between vaccines and strong immunity because both are complementary to each other.

What is DTP Vaccine?

Recently, I took them for their DTP vaccine. Now with time, I have turned into a modern mom. To keep a check on which vaccines the doctor suggests, I research them first. After my research, I understood that DTP vaccines are available in various formulations and are given in 0.5 mL doses. The five most common are DTwP, DTaP, Tdap, DT, and Td. As indicated by the lower case “d” and “p”, the concentration of diphtheria and pertussis toxoids have been reduced in these “adult” formulations to prevent adverse effects, while the “a” in “ap” indicates that the pertussis toxoids are acellular. (i)

There are some important things to keep in mind: if your child has a fever, then the DTP vaccine should be given a week later when the fever has completely gone. Secondly, there’s a big confusion parent have about which vaccine to administer – the one that gives the baby fever after vaccination or the one that doesn’t?  In simple terms, there are many antigens present in the pertussis wholesome vaccine and so the side effects are in the form of fever, pain or swelling. But in the acellular pertussis vaccine, there are relatively fewer antigens added and so is less irritable. The effects of both vaccines are the same. It is only because of lesser side effects, we prefer acellular pertussis vaccine (without fever) for our kids.

Myths and facts around vaccines

As a child grows, the mother also grows scientifically. There will always be myths and facts around vaccinations but we have to keep researching and updating ourselves. If you have any doubts, always approach your child’s paediatrician. This is in the best interests of your child.

• (i) https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/tools/DTP_vaccine_rates_information_sheet.pdf