Is it allowed to vaccinate a baby with a cold? | Cold in the baby

Is it allowed to vaccinate a baby with a cold?

Babies should generally not be vaccinated if they are currently suffering from a cold. Unfortunately, many babies and toddlers have only a few disease-free intervals, so vaccinations often have to be postponed. But this is exactly the reason for this.

The immune system of the small ones is currently already weakened by the cold and therefore not able to react to certain vaccines. In terms of vaccines, a distinction can be made between inactivated and live vaccines.Live vaccines are only given by the pediatrician in the case of an emergency during a cold, because they contain live viruses – in a very diluted form – to which the body must react with the help of the immune system to prevent the outbreak of the disease against which it is to be vaccinated. There is a lower risk with dead vaccines, but even here most pediatricians will refrain from vaccination while the child is sick. These vaccines are casually “taken note” of by the body without an immune response to kill pathogens.

Is it allowed to take the baby out for a walk if it has a cold?

In principle, there is nothing to be said against taking the baby for a walk, even if it has a cold. However, the baby must not be hypothermic, i.e. be dressed warm enough according to the outside temperature. Since colds occur in the majority of cases in winter, the cool outside air is often even helpful.

It reduces the swelling of the mucous membranes in the throat and nose area so that the children can breathe more freely again. However, fever should be an obstacle to an extended walk. As the temperature regulation in the child’s body is not yet fully developed, a too large temperature difference could lead to stress development in the body, which would delay the baby’s recovery process rather than have a positive effect on the course of the disease.