Vaccination should be a stressful and painful time for the baby, and a bad drink also for parents who are looking for a way to calm their children. There are some ways to do it, and sugar seems to be confirmed as a pain reliever for vaccines.
Some time ago we told you that a spoonful of sugar relieves pain, and there are also studies that indicate that sweet solutions administered to babies who face painful procedures such as blood tests done at birth are effective in this regard , by a puncture in the heel.
Now experts from the University of Toronto have studied and compiled studies on the effect of sugar to calm the pain of the puncture that confirms these data.
As they conclude, newborns are less likely to cry when vaccinated if they have previously taken any sugary solution, specifically 20% less likely to cry, and also for less time.
The research, published in the magazine "Archive of childhood diseases", (Archives of Disease in Childhood, in English), is based on the information collected after analyzing the behavior of a thousand babies when vaccinated and in 14 similar clinical studies.
The study is entitled "Efficacy of sweet solutions for analgesia in infants between 1 and 12 months of age: a systematic review". "The efficacy of sweet solutions for analgesia in children 1 and 12 months of age: a systematic review" ).
Just as these results are related to glucose, the scientists found that ingestion of between a couple of drops to half a teaspoon of sucrose (common sugar) and glucose had an impact on reducing the time babies cry. They have pointed out that
Health professionals should consider the use of sucrose and glucose, before and during immunization.
But i can't imagine giving a newborn baby a teaspoon of sugar... I think a good substitute is breastfeeding (lactose is broken down into two sugars, galactose and glucose). And the little arms and pampering, before, even during and after the vaccine. There is probably no better painkiller.
