BCG complications: what parents need to know

What is BCG know almost everything. BCG is an inoculation against tuberculosis. The BCG vaccine contains weakened, dried tuberculosis pathogens.

The BCG-M vaccine is intended for gentle immunization. Its composition is the same as that of BCG, only the active substance (bacterial mass) in it is half as much.

The BCG-M vaccine is administered:

• Preterm infants in the hospital;
• In the clinic, children who have contraindications to vaccination;
• All newborn children from areas where the favorable situation for tuberculosis incidence.

The first vaccination is given to the child in the hospital, between the 3rd and the 7th day of birth. Revaccination at 7 and 14 years is only carried out if the Mantoux test was negative. The injection is made intradermally, in the left shoulder.

Immunity to tuberculosis is produced 1,5-2 months after vaccination. Vaccination does not give a full guarantee. The possibility of getting tuberculosis afterwards is there, but the probability of this is much lower. According to statistics, the incidence of TB vaccinated is 15 times lower than among those who are not vaccinated. And the disease in this case is easier.

Vaccination reaction.

At the site of grafting a bundle is formed, covered with a crust. Approximately for the second month there can appear an education such as pustule. This vaccination reaction is considered normal. Do with it you do not need anything and smear zelenka or iodine too. It is better not to touch this place at all. After a while (2-4 months), everything heals and on the site of grafting a hem of 3-10 mm is formed.

Vaccinal BCG complications.

If you violate the technique of vaccination (poor quality of the vaccine, the dose exceeded, the vaccine is not injected intradermally, but subcutaneously, etc.), the occurrence of vaccine complications is possible. Despite the fact that BCG complications are very rare in 0.02% of cases, parents should know how they manifest themselves. Complications after BCG are called bezhet.

Common BCG complications (bites):

1. Cold abscess. At the inoculation site, an ulcer with a diameter of more than 1 cm is formed, nearby lymph nodes (axillary, cervical, supraclavicular, subclavian) increase. A rounded seal appears at the site of the injection. This is not an ordinary vaccination reaction - a small nodule, but of considerable size, more than one centimeter in size. The child's condition does not suffer at the same time, the temperature does not increase, the general well-being is good. After 3-6 months the compaction is softened and an abscess is formed, and then an ulcer that can not heal for several months. As a result, a cold abscess heals and a large stellate scar forms in its place.
2. Lymphadenitis. After 1-3 months after vaccination, lymph nodes on the left under the arm grow. Sometimes lymph nodes can be affected above the collarbone or under it. Inflamed lymph nodes look like red-crimson dense formations 2-5 cm in size, after a while they soften and pus flow out of them. Healing occurs in 3-9 months with the formation of a dense star-shaped scar. The course of lymphadenitis can be accompanied by subfebrile temperature, anemia, increased liver, decreased appetite and poor weight gain. In all children with post-vaccine lymphadenitis, the resistance of the body decreases and immunity decreases. Subsequently they have diathesis, rickets, chronic tonsillitis, frequent respiratory diseases, etc.
3. Calcinate. Some children with postvaccinal lymphadenitis in the place of the affected lymph node subsequently form a calcite stone - calcite. Calcinates require treatment only if they are larger than 1 cm.
4. Keloid scars. After the BCG vaccination, a coarse, overgrown, very dense scar is formed. Most often, such scars appear in teenage girls with allergic diseases or if the injection has been made too high in the shoulder region. The trouble with keloids is that they can grow.

BCG complications are treated with special anti-TB drugs: they are taken orally and used in the form of bandages on the affected area.

Contraindications to BCG vaccination:

• Premature babies weighing up to 2.5 kg.
• Acute diseases or exacerbations of chronic diseases.
• Immunodeficiency. Oncology.
• Severe complications for BCG vaccination, found in brothers or sisters.

Contraindications to revaccination BCG:

• Acute diseases or exacerbations of chronic diseases. Vaccinations are carried out 30 days after recovery.
• Immunodeficiency. Oncology.
• Complications of BCG vaccination.
• Infection with tuberculosis: tuberculosis patients who have had tuberculosis or tubinfected.
• Positive or questionable Mantoux test.