vaccination under sedation?

[CyclingLegs]

Hi,

I wondered if I might ask about giving a vaccine to a send child who is extremely phobic about needles?

My son is so averse to needles that he has asked if we could arrange to have him be asleep when he has his vaccinations, as we have done in the past of dentistry. He's happy to take an anaesthetic through a mask that he breathes in from.

I'm happy enough to try, but I'm not sure who to contact to arrange that.

I wondered if anybody might know, or if there are other ways?

We are looking for a clinical psychologist to treat the cPTSD that causes the phobia, but the waiting lists are long. DS is due a polio/tetanus/diphtheria vaccine this year, which I don't want him to miss.

Thanks!

Do you have a nursing service locally that help those with additional needs? If so, contact them if you haven’t already. In some areas the LD nursing service can deliver vaccines to those who struggle to access mainstream care - some support patients with autism with this even if they don’t have a LD. They are much more relaxed and willing to work with various adjustments - although may decide the risk of sedation (especially anything other than oral or entonox) is too high unless other treatment e.g. dentistry work is needed at the same time.

Thank you very much. What is an LD nursing service? I thought maybe the school nursing service who do the school vaccines might be the people to contact, but is that the same thing? Thanks!

LD = learning disability, so LD nursing team is the learning disability nursing team.

By all means contact the school nursing team, but it is likely to be beyond their resources.

Thanks, that's brilliant. I just found that there is one learning disability nurse in my local hospital. I will phone up and ask.

Are they a learning disability liaison nurse? Hospitals generally have someone that is (although they may be called something else). They generally deal with issues around attending hospital/hospital admissions/treatment. Not all would help with vaccinations. There is likely to be a community learning disability service as well as the hospital LD liaison nurse, but the hospital nurse should be able to point you in the right direction.

Thanks, yes I have found that now. I will ring them up. Thank you for your help.