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Giving infants a small amount of sugar water before administering a vaccination may
help to reduce the distress caused by the shot. A total of 107 babies attending a clinic
in Adelaide, South Australia for their routine immunizations were given either sugar water
or plain water immediately before receiving an injection in both legs. The procedure was
videotaped. The infants drinking the sugar water showed a significantly shorter crying
time than those who were given plain water. The facial expressions of the infants were
assessed by both a nurse practitioner and a parent, and neither knew which drink the baby
had been given. Both perceived those babies given the sugar water to be less upset by the
procedure, although only the nurse's observations were considered statistically
significant. The taste of sugar has been shown in laboratory settings to stimulate natural
pain-reducing substances in the infant brain. This may be a simple method of reducing the
distress of necessary vaccinations, and could help to encourage parents to have their
infants immunized on schedule.
What This Means to You: The
small amount of sugar water used in this study and the infrequency with which it would be
used should not pose any health hazard to your baby. This seems to be a safe and possibly
effective method to ease the discomfort of infant injections. Discuss this information
with your infant's doctor. Remember never to give honey to infants under 1 year of age due
to the risk of infant botulism.
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood, May
1998
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