NEWS FLASH: Baby stabbed with needle ... mother does nothing to stop it
August 17th 2007 13:50
Well, it’s been a busy week in our household. In just over a week we are all on the move, furniture, children and all, from the outer Melbourne suburbs to the Gold Coast. It’s proving to be a mega undertaking but the packing is going well and my biggest daughter is doing a wonderful job in babysitting my littlest daughter when needed.
My computer will be packed up very soon … thank God I’ve got a laptop!!
We also had to take Mackensie in for immunisations this week which is an experience I have always hated and will continue to hate for the next four years. If you don’t have children you can’t understand what it’s like to sit and hold a screaming baby while a nurse sticks her with a needle.
Poor Mac had no idea what was going on and she was so upset it made me feel quite guilty about putting her through all that. Oh well, it had to be done, I suppose. I’ll tell you what, though, the nurse was pretty slick with the needles … I didn’t even realise the first one had broken the skin until Mac suddenly screamed and her little face went all red. Twenty seconds later it was all done and we were being ushered out of the room, told to wait fifteen minutes in case of any allergic reaction and advised that if we had any questions we shouldn’t hesitate to ask.
The first vaccine was the ‘easy’ one; taken orally for Rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children in this country. Rotavirus is easily spread and is often more severe than other causes of diarrhoea, requiring hospital treatment.
Any diarrhoea is potentially very dangerous in a young baby as dehydration can affect them much faster and much more severely than in older children or adults. Mac will have to suffer this unpleasant tasting vaccine another two times when she is four and six months old but it’s a hell of a lot better than developing a potentially life threatening condition.
So, like I said, that was the easy one.
Next I held her on my lap … waiting. And I didn’t have to wait long. Three sticks with needles … bang bang bang and she was all done, albeit a touch red in the face and loudly screaming in my ear, she was all done.
The other vaccines given were:
A joint diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and poliomyelitis immunisation;
Pneumococcal immunisation;
A joint Haemophilus Influenza type b (HIB) and Hepatitis B immunisation.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection which causes a membrane to develop around the inside of the throat making it difficult to swallow, breath and can lead to suffocation. These bacteria release a poison in the body which can cause paralysis and heart failure. Diphtheria is caught through coughs and sneezes from an infected person.
Tetanus is something that most people are familiar with and is not contagious but caught through the bacteria entering the body through a break in the skin. Tetanus affects the nervous system causing muscle spasms, initially in the neck and jaw, leading to breathing difficulties, convulsions and abnormal heart rhythms and is often fatal.
Pertussis is highly contagious and is most serious in babies under one year old. It causes severe coughing spasms which can remain present for months and can result in haemorrhage, convulsions, pneumonia, coma, inflammation of the brain, brain damage and long term lung damage. Around one in every 200 children who catch the disease will die.
Poliomyelitis (Polio) is a virus which affects the digestive and nervous systems. It causes fever, vomiting, and muscle stiffness and can also affect the nerves resulting in permanent crippling. Paralysis of the breathing and swallowing muscles can also occur, leading in death. Up to 5% of sufferers will not survive the disease and of those who live, around half suffer permanent paralysis. Polio is contracted through the faeces of an infected person.
Pneumococcal disease is one of the major causes of hospitalisation and death among young children in Australia with babies under one year being the most susceptible. The bacteria is carried in the nose of the majority of people and is transmitted through coughs, sneezes or saliva. It’s generally harmless however some people are more vulnerable and their immune system cannot control the bacteria which then spreads.
If the bacteria enters the blood stream it’s called bacteraemia;
If it attacks a specific part of the brain it’s called meningitis;
If it attacks the lungs it’s called pneumonia;
If it attacks the middle ear it’s called otitis media.
Pneumococcal disease is one of the two main causes of bacterial meningitis in children in Australia. It peaks at around twelve months, however cases of meningitis can occur from the age of two months.
Before the introduction of the vaccine in 1993, HIB was the most frequent cause of life threatening infection in children in Australia. It rarely occurs over the age of five and is not related to influenza. It lives in the upper respiratory tract.
HIB disease can cause:
Meningitis, an infection of the membrane covering the brain;
Epiglottitis, a swelling of the throat leading to difficulty breathing;
Septic arthritis, an infection of a joint;
Cellulitis, an infection of the tissue under the skin (often affecting the face);
Pneumonia, an infection in the lungs.
Hepatitis B is a virus which affects the liver causing fever, nausea, diarrhoea, tiredness, dark urine and yellow skin. The disease spreads through contact with an infected person’s body fluids, including from mother to child at birth, and a person can carry the virus without showing any symptoms, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.
That’s quite a list, isn’t it. No wonder poor Mac felt quite unhappy for the next couple of days.
Immunisations are an important process in the developed world, keeping these potentially fatal diseases from affecting the population and taking lives. There have been many people who believe immunisations are dangerous, linked to the development of other conditions in young children such as autism, but no link has been found.
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs regarding immunisations but, personally, I’m all for them. However, I’m really not sure Mac feels the same way!!! I’ll tell you what, though … the night after the immunisations, Mac slept all through the night without waking, the combined effects of the vaccines and the paracetamol we gave her for her high temperature, knocking her out for a good twelve hours.
Best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages!!!
My computer will be packed up very soon … thank God I’ve got a laptop!!
We also had to take Mackensie in for immunisations this week which is an experience I have always hated and will continue to hate for the next four years. If you don’t have children you can’t understand what it’s like to sit and hold a screaming baby while a nurse sticks her with a needle.
Poor Mac had no idea what was going on and she was so upset it made me feel quite guilty about putting her through all that. Oh well, it had to be done, I suppose. I’ll tell you what, though, the nurse was pretty slick with the needles … I didn’t even realise the first one had broken the skin until Mac suddenly screamed and her little face went all red. Twenty seconds later it was all done and we were being ushered out of the room, told to wait fifteen minutes in case of any allergic reaction and advised that if we had any questions we shouldn’t hesitate to ask.
The first vaccine was the ‘easy’ one; taken orally for Rotavirus, which is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children in this country. Rotavirus is easily spread and is often more severe than other causes of diarrhoea, requiring hospital treatment.
Any diarrhoea is potentially very dangerous in a young baby as dehydration can affect them much faster and much more severely than in older children or adults. Mac will have to suffer this unpleasant tasting vaccine another two times when she is four and six months old but it’s a hell of a lot better than developing a potentially life threatening condition.
So, like I said, that was the easy one.
Next I held her on my lap … waiting. And I didn’t have to wait long. Three sticks with needles … bang bang bang and she was all done, albeit a touch red in the face and loudly screaming in my ear, she was all done.
The other vaccines given were:
A joint diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and poliomyelitis immunisation;
Pneumococcal immunisation;
A joint Haemophilus Influenza type b (HIB) and Hepatitis B immunisation.
Diphtheria is a bacterial infection which causes a membrane to develop around the inside of the throat making it difficult to swallow, breath and can lead to suffocation. These bacteria release a poison in the body which can cause paralysis and heart failure. Diphtheria is caught through coughs and sneezes from an infected person.
Tetanus is something that most people are familiar with and is not contagious but caught through the bacteria entering the body through a break in the skin. Tetanus affects the nervous system causing muscle spasms, initially in the neck and jaw, leading to breathing difficulties, convulsions and abnormal heart rhythms and is often fatal.
A baby with tetanus.
Pertussis is highly contagious and is most serious in babies under one year old. It causes severe coughing spasms which can remain present for months and can result in haemorrhage, convulsions, pneumonia, coma, inflammation of the brain, brain damage and long term lung damage. Around one in every 200 children who catch the disease will die.
Poliomyelitis (Polio) is a virus which affects the digestive and nervous systems. It causes fever, vomiting, and muscle stiffness and can also affect the nerves resulting in permanent crippling. Paralysis of the breathing and swallowing muscles can also occur, leading in death. Up to 5% of sufferers will not survive the disease and of those who live, around half suffer permanent paralysis. Polio is contracted through the faeces of an infected person.
Pneumococcal disease is one of the major causes of hospitalisation and death among young children in Australia with babies under one year being the most susceptible. The bacteria is carried in the nose of the majority of people and is transmitted through coughs, sneezes or saliva. It’s generally harmless however some people are more vulnerable and their immune system cannot control the bacteria which then spreads.
If the bacteria enters the blood stream it’s called bacteraemia;
If it attacks a specific part of the brain it’s called meningitis;
If it attacks the lungs it’s called pneumonia;
If it attacks the middle ear it’s called otitis media.
Pneumococcal disease is one of the two main causes of bacterial meningitis in children in Australia. It peaks at around twelve months, however cases of meningitis can occur from the age of two months.
Before the introduction of the vaccine in 1993, HIB was the most frequent cause of life threatening infection in children in Australia. It rarely occurs over the age of five and is not related to influenza. It lives in the upper respiratory tract.
HIB disease can cause:
Meningitis, an infection of the membrane covering the brain;
Epiglottitis, a swelling of the throat leading to difficulty breathing;
Septic arthritis, an infection of a joint;
Cellulitis, an infection of the tissue under the skin (often affecting the face);
Pneumonia, an infection in the lungs.
Hepatitis B is a virus which affects the liver causing fever, nausea, diarrhoea, tiredness, dark urine and yellow skin. The disease spreads through contact with an infected person’s body fluids, including from mother to child at birth, and a person can carry the virus without showing any symptoms, increasing the risk of spreading the disease.
That’s quite a list, isn’t it. No wonder poor Mac felt quite unhappy for the next couple of days.
Immunisations are an important process in the developed world, keeping these potentially fatal diseases from affecting the population and taking lives. There have been many people who believe immunisations are dangerous, linked to the development of other conditions in young children such as autism, but no link has been found.
Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs regarding immunisations but, personally, I’m all for them. However, I’m really not sure Mac feels the same way!!! I’ll tell you what, though … the night after the immunisations, Mac slept all through the night without waking, the combined effects of the vaccines and the paracetamol we gave her for her high temperature, knocking her out for a good twelve hours.
Best night’s sleep I’ve had in ages!!!
Ssshhhhhhhh ... don't wake her up, please!
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Comment by Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I had to laugh at your title to this post... when I realised what you were talking about!
Not an easy task for you by the sounds of things. I remember being with my younger sisters when they went for their needles and hearing them scream the place down. You can just imagine the thoughts going through their heads... but when you see them sleeping like your little angel there then you know it`s all worthwhile knowing you have protected them.
That photo of the baby with Tetanus is awful, the poor child.
When I was in Europe we were with a guy who died from Meningitis. 200 of us put in quarantine at a campsite in Venice whilst the media buzzed outside the gates and Doctors flew in from Rome to give us advice and antibiotics. I made sure I had that vaccine as soon as I was back in the UK as I never had one when I was a baby! There are some realy nasties floating around out there and you can just never be sure what germs you are inhaling.
Good luck with the rest of your move. How exciting!
ash
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
I'll admit it's not the most pleasant part of having a baby in the house but, like you say, worthwhile in the end. Thankfully Mac seems to have got over it totally now.
That photo is horrible, isn't it. That poor baby.
Your experience in Venice sounds awful, I can't blame you for getting the vaccine as soon as you could. It's one of those diseases that you wouldn't wish on your worse enemy.
Thanks Ash ... my fingers and toes are crossed for a smooth move north.
A.xx
Comment by Portsmouth
I know some people are against immunisation but perhaps reading this post will make them think again. Who would want their babies/children to go down with some of the horrible things you describe. The photo of Little Mac sleeping so peacefully is lovely.
Lots of love from Pompey xxxx
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
Well, I'm not an expert on immunisations but I am definitely in favour of them. You're right, I wouldn't want to see my children go through any of these terrible conditions.
The photo is gorgeous, isn't it. I knew you'd like that one!!!
Much love
A.xxxx
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
It sounds like one of those hard decisions that a mother has to make for the best for the baby. Glad Mac seems well now and I hope you feel better too,
Tracy
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
All is good now.
A.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Physiotherapy
Living Healthfully
Masahista pala ha!!!
On the Lighter Side
Anyway my wife and I will also be having a baby. I hope everything goes well with us.
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
Thanks for stopping by and welcome.
I look forward to reading your posts on paediatric care, they sound very interesting.
All the best for your upcoming birth and congratulations. When is the baby due?
A.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I too am all for vaccinations. But it can't be fun,...for either Mac.....or you!!
Hope the rest of the packing and your move goes well
Kylie
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
xx
Comment by Mrs M
Mum's Word
I hate vaccinations...I get them done but I hate them.
Hope the move was as stress free as possible.
Love & stuff
Mrs M
Comment by Andrea
Diet and Health
V8 Supercar Pitstop
Vaccinations ... a necessary evil, unfortunately.
The move's going well ... just have to find a house to rent in QLD, then we can finish the travelling.
Hopefully it'll all come together seemlessly and as soon as possible.
A.xx