A child with hemophilia has to receive his vaccinations shots subcutaneously, under the skin instead of in the muscle, like regular patients to avoid a muscle bleed. You have to hold pressure and ice on the spot for at least 5-10 minutes after the needle stick, for extra precaution. It is so hard trying to hold ice packs on those little thighs and console an infant crying hysterically at the same time. Most infants with hemophilia are not on a regular schedule of factor yet because of the difficulty in finding a good vein to infuse the factor, so most likely he just survived that ordeal at the hematologist.
This Ted Talk video introduces a needless way to get a vaccination that I'm sure would be a welcomed technology in the hemophilia community. It's called "Nanopatch", developed by Professor Mark Kendall, Bio-engineer and delivers the vaccine through the skin. Per his discussion, its more effective than our current system. Sign me up for anything needless and less stress and care for a child with hemophilia!
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| Professor Mark Kendall uses the device he designed and patented to attach a Nanopatch to a child’s forearm. Brisbane, Australia, 2012. Photo: ©Rolex Awards/Julian Kingma. |
