Health Vaccine Advise: Four things to avoid after vaccination

Do not apply potatoes or leaves to the injection site, limit alcohol and greasy foods to help the immunity from the vaccine achieve the best results.

Doctor Pham Hong Thuyet, Medical Manager, VNVC Vaccination System, notes four things to avoid after vaccination below:

Avoid stimulants

After vaccination, drinks containing stimulants such as beer, alcohol, caffeine... should be limited. The reason is that these drinks cause nausea, fatigue, headaches, confusion or mask post-vaccination reactions, making it difficult to monitor. In addition, drinking beer and alcohol causes dehydration, worsening post-vaccination side effects.

Some evidence suggests that drinking alcohol can stress the immune system or weaken its response. Heavy drinking can also disrupt sleep patterns, leading to sleep deprivation.

It is necessary to limit drinking beer, alcohol... after vaccination. Photo: Pixel

Do not apply lemon or potato to the injection site.

Many parents apply leaves, potatoes, sliced ​​lemons or egg whites... to the injection site in the hope of quickly reducing swelling, redness, stiffness and fever. In fact, this method does not reduce swelling at the injection site and, on the contrary, carries the risk of infection.

Dr. Thuyet said that swelling, redness, and stiffness at the injection site are completely normal reactions. If parents are still worried about their child's discomfort, they can apply a cold compress to reduce swelling. How to do it: wrap ice in a thin towel to apply, do not apply ice directly to the skin.

If your child has a fever, you can take fever-reducing medicine and wear loose clothing to make them comfortable. If the injection site shows signs of swelling or spreading, you should quickly contact your doctor or vaccination center.

Don't eat fast food

After vaccination, the vaccinated person should avoid fried foods with lots of oil, spicy foods and processed foods such as sausages, cold cuts, bacon... These foods often contain a lot of sugar, salt, additives, and saturated fat, which increase inflammatory reactions in the body, harming health.

Many people believe that after vaccination, they should avoid sticky rice. There is currently no scientific basis to verify the effects of sticky rice on the injection site. Sticky rice causes fullness for a long time, indigestion, and is not suitable for children, the elderly, people who have just recovered from illness, or people with stomach pain.

Limit strenuous exercise

Physical activity after vaccination is generally safe. There is some evidence that physical activity after vaccination can boost the body's immune response. If you feel tired or unwell, you should rest for a few days, limit strenuous activity, or try some gentle exercise such as walking.

Applying lemon or potato to the injection site can increase the risk of infection. Photo: Pixel

After the injection, the body may have a fever, which can easily lead to dehydration. The person receiving the injection should drink two liters of water a day, drink slowly, divide the amount of water, and can use lemon juice or orange juice to provide additional vitamins C and A.

Regarding nutrition, the diet should be complete and varied: meat, fish, eggs, milk, whole grains; foods rich in fiber such as green vegetables, fresh fruits. If you feel nauseous and have a poor appetite after the injection, you should eat soft, easily digestible foods such as chicken soup, minced meat porridge with green beans and divide your meals into small portions.

After vaccination , the body will have common local and systemic reactions such as itching, pain, swelling, redness at the injection site, fever below 39 degrees Celsius, discomfort, fatigue, loss of appetite. In case of mild fever, you can use prescription antipyretics or common antipyretics (paracetamol) .

For young children, families should not use aspirin, other cough and fever-reducing medications without a doctor's prescription. Parents should take their children to a medical facility for examination if their child has a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius and shows no signs of responding to fever-reducing medications, lasts for more than 2 days, has convulsions, difficulty breathing, cyanosis...

Three behaviors that increase the risk of HPV infection
Having multiple sexual partners, early sexual intercourse, smoking, and HIV infection increase the risk of HPV infection by 6 times compared to normal. 

Where can children get pneumococcal infection?
Is it true that pneumococcus causes meningitis and pneumonia and lives in the nose and throat? From what age can children be vaccinated against this disease? (Nam Khanh, 35 years old, Ha Nam) 

Can children who have been dewormed get vaccinated?
My child is 6 years old, the upcoming flu vaccination schedule coincides with the deworming date. Will it affect the effectiveness of the vaccination and deworming? (Khanh An, Ho Chi Minh City)