Can Amoxicillin Be Given To Treat Lump On Leg After HB1 Vaccination?

Posted on Mon, 14 Apr 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 14 Apr 2014 Answered on

Sat, 3 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My baby is 7 weeks old, having weight of around 4.2kgs. She was administered HB1 and Triple first vaccination (of 6 weeks) on 10 April at Govt hospital. After few hours she was developed redness, lump formation with pain at both her legs at injection site and also got fever. But after 1.5 day her fever disappeared and there was no pain on that lump. Also there was no any other allergy happened due to vaccination. But still today she is having those red marks and a painless lump on both her legs. PFA the pics. We went to govt. hospital and they prescribed us –Amoxicillin oral suspension IP 125mg/5ml and Paracetamol Oral suspension(if pain is there) for 5 days. They asked us to check with Pediatric surgeon incase if lump doesn’t go even after 5 days of medicine. Can you please advise if we can start giving this antibiotic - Amoxicillin oral suspension IP 125mg/5ml and please advise the dosage. Please advise about the next steps.

Answered by Dr. Arun (-5 hours later)

Brief Answer: You can give amoxicillin Detailed Answer: Hi Thanks for writing to health care magic. DPT vaccine given in govt hospitals is Whole cell pertussis which is well known to cause fever, pain, redness and swelling. usually it takes few days for fever to settle ( as in your child ). But the swelling and redness may last even for a month. I would suggest you to continue amoxicillin as prescribed to treat the lump as prescribed by the doctor who has examined your baby. He might have prescribed after suspecting bacterial infection though less likely, But follow your docs advice. Dose is 2ml twice daily for 5 days. Apply hot fomentation to decrease the swelling. There is nothing else you can do about the swelling . Wait for few more days to see if it decreases. If it becomes soft and painful , you may need to consult pediatric surgeon for drainage of abscess. Opt for less painful DTaP next time from a private centre. regards Dr Arun

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E