Sugar Water Eases Pain of Infant Vaccinations

(Page 2)

There's also some indication that exposure to pain early in life might have long-term neurological effects.

American and Canadian pediatric groups already recommend the use of sucrose for minor painful procedures in neonates.

Hatfield and her colleagues randomized 100 2- and 4-month-old infants to receive either oral sucrose or a placebo (sterile water) 2 minutes before routine immunizations.

Pain was assessed with a score which took into account crying, facial expression, body movement, behavioral indications and sleep.

The sucrose group showed lower pain scores at 5, 7 and 9 minutes after being given the solution and, by 9 minutes, had a mean pain score 78.5 percent lower than that of the placebo group.

Parents were asked not to swaddle or cuddle their child during the immunization as this could have had an effect on the experience of pain.

Is it a good idea to give sugar to young babies? Hatfield says the solution is so weak (only one-quarter sugar) that it's unlikely to have any effect on later weight problems and doesn't even raise blood sugar in the short-term.

As for how sugar works, Goldschneider pointed to previous research proposing a link between exposure to sucrose and release of the body's natural pain-relieving chemicals.

More information

See the childhood immunization schedule at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.