Vaccinations against hepatitis A. Vaccination against hepatitis B in adults

Hepatitis is a serious liver disease that can be transmitted from person to person. The disease can have a chronic form, some of its types provoke the development of cirrhosis, liver failure, liver cancer.

The disease has three types - A, B and C. Hepatitis A is better known as jaundice. Forms B and C lead to destruction of the liver, in addition, the course of the disease is often asymptomatic. There are inoculations from hepatitis A and B. Vaccination against hepatitis B should be done necessarily according to the schedule of vaccinations.

Vaccination against hepatitis A is done at will, most often this need arises before traveling to the regions where this infection is common. There is no vaccine from hepatitis C yet.

Hepatitis A

This acute infectious disease, which can be infected through food, water, household items, as well as directly in contact with the patient. The disease is not dangerous, but without proper treatment, severe hepatic insufficiency may develop, which can result in coma and fatal outcome.

At the beginning of the disease, the patient has nausea and vomiting, the temperature rises, pain and heaviness appear in the right upper quadrant. Somewhat later, the skin becomes yellow and mucous, the feces become discolored, the urine becomes dark.

The sick person is placed in an infectious hospital for at least a month. Full recovery occurs within six months. Long-term recovery from illness, weakness, the need to adhere to a strict diet significantly reduces the quality of life.

Although inoculations against hepatitis A and are not mandatory, but this is the only effective method of protection against this disease.

Features of vaccination

Doctors recommend vaccination to children in those cases when there is a risk of infection, for example, when there is a person in the environment of the child who is sick with hepatitis A, before traveling to hot countries. The high risk of infection of medical personnel of infectious diseases departments, educators and personnel of children's pre-school institutions, public catering workers and water supply.

Before the trip, the vaccine is done two weeks before departure so that the body can develop immunity. After contact with a sick person, the inoculation must be made within 10 days.

Before vaccination, blood is given for analysis. If it detects antibodies, it means that the child was vaccinated earlier or already had hepatitis. In this case, there can be no re-infection, since life-long immunity remains.

Vaccinations against hepatitis A can be done after the child is one year old. Enter the vaccine intramuscularly, mainly in the shoulder. In order to develop stable immunity, it is necessary to repeat the vaccination after 6-18 months.

Reaction to vaccination

Import vaccine has no side effects. What can not be said about domestic drugs. Within a few days after the hepatitis A vaccination, a child may experience malaise, headaches may occur, a decrease in appetite, a gastrointestinal disorder, a feeling of weakness and pain in the muscles, allergic reactions in the form of itching or urticaria. The child can be whimsical and irritable.

There may be redness, swelling, weak pain, tightness, itching at the site of the injection. It must be remembered that this area can not be lubricated.
If the child has a significantly increased fever, you can give antipyretic.

Such side effects are completely normal, quickly pass and do not affect the health of the baby. But in the event that these symptoms last long and cause fear, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician.

Contraindications

The vaccination against hepatitis A is made to children after examination by a pediatrician, which helps to avoid possible complications. Vaccination is not carried out in case of individual intolerance of the components of the drug, with bronchial asthma, as well as in the acute period of any disease. The child should be completely healthy.

If you do not adhere to these conditions, you may experience complications. It can be Quincke's edema, the development of hepatic insufficiency, lesions of the nervous system, the appearance of failures in the work of various organs and the exacerbation of chronic diseases. Serious complications can lead to coma and death.

The main danger of hepatitis A is that a child can become a carrier of infection even with a mild, asymptomatic course of the disease. And in the body of an adult this disease is much more complicated, even a lethal outcome is possible. Therefore, vaccination against hepatitis A to children is the most effective way of preventing the disease.

Hepatitis B

Viral hepatitis B is a more dangerous disease. The virus causes severe liver damage, which can result in cirrhosis and cancer. Therefore, treatment should be started as soon as possible.

How does the infection occur?

The disease is transmitted sexually (with unprotected contact), through the blood (injections, surgeries, blood transfusions, etc.). You can get infected by doing a manicure in the salon, tattooing or piercing with non-sterile instruments, on which there are particles of the blood of an infected person.

There are cases when a child was infected, accidentally jabbing in the sandbox with the used syringe.

Strong immunity to the disease is produced after vaccination. Hepatitis B is highly contagious, and it is vaccination that can prevent the spread of the virus.

Symptoms

The disease can be acute and chronic. The acute form occurs some time after the infection has occurred. A person's fever rises, he is shivering, nausea arises, skin becomes yellow. During 6-8 weeks of therapy a person can recover, while he develops a natural immunity, in another case the disease can go into a chronic form, which can be either active or inactive.

With an active form, you need to take antiviral drugs, an inactive form of treatment does not require. But control over the course of the disease is still necessary.

The chronic form of the disease often progresses very slowly, while the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer is low. Actively progressive disease in 20% of cases can lead to the development of these diseases, especially if a person abuses alcohol.

Chronic hepatitis B is much more dangerous. Ill person does not feel well, quickly becomes tired, can not perform normal physical activities. Such signs are not present constantly, therefore many are thoughtlessly to them concern. Sometimes a person may experience nausea, pain in the upper abdomen, in the muscles and joints, and upset of the stool.

In the late stages of jaundice manifests, darkening urine, bleeding gums, the liver and spleen increases, weight decreases.

Since it is very difficult to assess the nature of the disease on your own, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible. And the best way to prevent disease, both in adults and in children is vaccination.

Vaccination against hepatitis B in children

Parents are interested in the question: "How many shots of hepatitis do the child do?"
Vaccination against hepatitis B is done immediately after the birth of the baby, intramuscularly in the shoulder. It is necessary because even at this age a virus can easily catch a small one. Infection is possible in the process of giving birth from a mother or in close contact with other people.

Again, hepatitis is vaccinated in a month and six months. This scheme allows you to maintain immunity for twenty years.

Vaccination of adults

Vaccination is made from hepatitis B in adults not older than 55 years old, who previously did not get sick and were not vaccinated.

If contact with the infection has occurred or an operative intervention with blood transfusion is to be performed, the vaccination is carried out according to the accelerated scheme. The risk group for hepatitis infection includes medical workers, drug addicts, people who have a promiscuous sex life or are donors. Therefore, these people need to be vaccinated against hepatitis B.

If contact with the infection was previously vaccinated, it is necessary to determine the level of protective antibodies in the blood. Based on the received indicators, the question of the expediency of additional vaccination is being decided.

Vaccination schedules

How many vaccinations from hepatitis B do and according to what scheme? There are three vaccination regimens:

• Standard (0-1-6) - the second injection is done a month after the first, the third - in six months. This method of vaccination is most effective.
• Accelerated (0-1-2-12) - the second inoculation is done after one month after the first. The third - in two, the fourth - in twelve months. Use this method when the possibility of infection is increased.
• Emergency (0-7-21-12). In this case, the second injection is done seven days after the first, the third - in twenty-one days, the fourth - in a year. This method is used if it is necessary to quickly develop immunity.

Vaccination against hepatitis B is done at any time to adults, but it is necessary to follow the vaccination scheme. If the second injection was missed for some reason, the scheme starts anew. When the third inoculation was missed, the vaccination is made according to the scheme 0-2: two months after the first one, a second injection is made, which will be the end of the course. A single injection provides immunity for a short time.

Side effects

Although vaccination against hepatitis B is considered one of the safest, reactions to certain constituents of the drug may occur.

Of the side effects can be noted the appearance of swelling, redness, pain in the place of grafting, an increase in temperature. Severe complications occur very rarely. Among them, you can note headache, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, myalgia, arthralgia.

Contraindications

Vaccination can not be done at elevated temperature, during the period of illness. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the fact that vaccination can trigger the occurrence of an allergic reaction. Therefore, if a person is allergic to food yeast or other components of the remedy, you must first inform the doctor about it.

Whether to vaccinate against hepatitis is a private matter for everyone. But do not forget that the earlier a child was vaccinated, the less likely it is to get infected with hepatitis, which has a very negative impact on quality and life expectancy.