Some babies and children have a sore, red spot where the needle went in for a few days after they get their vaccinations. It can feel hot and it could be a bit swollen. Sometimes it feels itchy.

What to do at home
Putting a cool, damp cloth on the spot where the needle went in can help babies and children feel more comfortable. Cuddling or breastfeeding really does relieve pain, too.

Sometimes a small, hard, painless lump, also called a ‘nodule’, develops at the spot where the needle went in. The nodule may last for weeks or even months, but it will eventually disappear on its own.

What to do at home 
Nodules usually don't hurt and they usually go away after a few days or weeks without any treatment.

For a few days after vaccination, some babies and children don't want to eat as much as they usually do.

What to do at home
Babies who aren't feeling well often want to breastfeed more often. Older babies sometimes refuse to eat solids for a day or two. Bottle-fed babies may prefer to have smaller bottles, more often than they usually do.

Older babies and children may prefer to eat small meals throughout the day instead of at regular mealtimes. Reminding older children to drink water throughout the day is a good idea because this will help them feel better, too.

It is not unusual for babies and children to have a mild fever for a day or two after vaccination. A mild fever is a low-grade temperature of around 38.5°C or less. Babies and children with a mild fever may be sweaty and warm to the touch and will sometimes look a bit red in the face.

Fever can also develop seven to ten days after the MMR vaccine at 12 months, and after the MMRV vaccine at 18 months.

Fever on its own will not harm your child, but it can make them feel uncomfortable and unhappy. In some children, fever can be high (>39.4°C).

What to do at home 
If your baby or child has a fever, it helps to dress them in light (summer) clothes.

Babies who aren't feeling well often want to breastfeed more often, and older babies sometimes refuse to eat solids for a day or two. Bottle-fed babies may prefer to have smaller bottles more often than they usually do. Reminding older children to drink water during the day, or giving them crushed ice to suck, can help them feel a little better.

Holding your baby or child really does make them feel better. If your child has a mild fever, try to plan for a few quiet, cuddly days.

Paracetamol (for example, Panadol, Dymadon) can also help ease a fever and relieve soreness. (Always follow the instructions on the packet.) Call your doctor if you feel like your baby or child is getting worse, or if the fever lasts for more than three days.

Babies and children can feel a little unsettled and unhappy after vaccination, even when they are not showing any particular symptoms.

What to do at home
Medical research has shown that cuddles actually trigger the release of pain-relieving hormones in children’s bodies,¹ so keep your child close and give them lots of extra cuddles.

Babies who have had the rotavirus vaccine may develop vomiting and diarrhoea (watery poo) up to seven days after their vaccination. The rotavirus vaccine is recommended for babies at two months and four months.

What to do at home
Most babies recover within a few days. In the meantime, keep up breastfeeds or bottle feeds as normal, and offer additional clear fluids such as water. It is important for babies to keep drinking fluids to make up for the fluids they lose through vomiting and diarrhoea.

Dehydration can be dangerous for small babies. See a doctor if:

• your baby is sick with vomiting and diarrhoea and you think they are not drinking enough
• or if the vomiting and diarrhoea lasts for more than a few days without any sign of getting better.

Around 59 babies in every one million who get the rotavirus vaccine experience a blockage of the intestine called an ‘intussusception’.² The blockage gives babies strong bouts of pain in their abdomen which can make them look pale, weak and very sick. They may vomit. Babies who look pale and distressed and are drawing their legs up could have intussusception and should be taken to hospital quickly so they can get the help they need. Babies who are treated for intussusception usually don’t have any long-term health problems.

Occasionally, children receiving a mumps-containing vaccine experience swelling of the salivary gland under one of their ears or jaw (parotitis) similar to mumps disease.

What to do at home
The swelling is not infectious. It doesn’t need any treatment.

Some children develop a faint rash seven to ten days after they get the MMR vaccine, which is given at 12 months, and the MMRV vaccine, which is given at 18 months.

What to do at home 
The rash isn’t usually uncomfortable and is not infectious. It doesn’t need any treatment.

Around five to 26 days after they get the MMRV vaccine at 18 months of age, some children develop a few small red lumps and blisters that look like a mild form of chicken-pox, usually near the spot where the injection went in. Usually, there are no more than five lumps or blisters.

What to do at home 
The rash isn’t usually uncomfortable and is not infectious. It does not need any treatment.

Around one in every 3,000 babies experiences fits or seizures known as ‘febrile convulsions’ after vaccination. Febrile convulsions are scary for parents to see, but babies usually recover quickly without any long-term effects.² Febrile convulsions can occur when a baby’s temperature goes up very quickly, and stop once their temperature stops rising.

‘Anaphylaxis’ is a severe allergic reaction to one of the vaccine ingredients. Less than one in every one million children has this reaction.² Anaphylaxis usually happens within a few minutes of vaccination, before you and your baby or child leave the clinic, and can be treated with an injection of adrenalin. People who have this reaction usually recover quickly and don’t experience any long-term effects.

Around 59 babies in every one million who get the rotavirus vaccine experience a blockage of the intestine called an ‘intussusception’.² The blockage gives babies strong bouts of pain in their tummies which can make them look pale, weak and very sick. They may vomit. Babies who have signs of intussusception need to go to hospital quickly so they can get the help they need. Babies who are treated for intussusception usually don’t have any long-term health problems.

Around three to five children among every one million children who get the MMR vaccine to protect them against measles, mumps and rubella have a reaction that causes a condition called thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count in the blood).² Thrombocytopenia causes children to bruise or bleed very easily. It usually lasts for between one and six months and then gets better. These side effects are less common after the MMRV vaccine is given at 18 months, because it is the second dose of a vaccine that contains MMR.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare disorder where the immune system damages nerve cells. It usually begins with tingling and weakness in the feet or legs and can lead to temporary paralysis. Less than one out of every one million people who get an influenza vaccine get Guillain-Barré syndrome. Children don’t get the disorder as often as older adults. People infected with influenza are more likely to get Guillain-Barré syndrome than people who get the influenza vaccine.³