Immunizations: Ten Things You Need to Know!!
By: Brian Cooper, PA-C
Introduction:
It is a well established cliché that “prevention is worth a pound of cure” and this is clearly the goal of many health care professionals and organizations across the world. Many published studies and my own limited practice experience demonstrate that both clinicians and patients alike value preventative measures and service. However, recently our communities have been bombarded with multiple health messages. The information related to immunizations and their safety comes from a variety of sources, and both the veracity and the reliability of this information are quite variable and at times downright confusing.
There are only three contraindications for not receiving a vaccine. Firstly, you would have to have had an anaphylactic reaction to a prior vaccine. Secondly, you would have to have had an anaphylactic reaction to a component of the vaccine and thirdly you would have to be immunocompromised which would exclude you from having the live attenuated vaccines. Other reasons, such as, a presence of a minor illness, concurrent administration of antibiotics, recent exposure to a disease, a pregnancy in the household—although live vaccines shouldn’t be given—breastfeeding, premature newborn (either the patient or another member of the family), allergies to products NOT in the vaccine, family history unrelated to immunosuppression or everybody’s favorite the vaccine makes me ill are not acceptable reasons. With that said it is important however, to question and challenge scientific findings and quickly adopted medical or social practices. After all it is your life we are talking about here and I encourage you to become knowledgeable about your health and proactive in maintaining your health. The next few topics will get you well on your way to do just that.
Things you need to know:
The first thing we will discuss is why you should be immunized. Well, quite simply, you need your immunizations to protect yourself and your families from dangerous diseases and illnesses that have serious complications not only for you and your children but for your communities as well. The vaccines today prevent many diseases; such as, measles, mumps, Polio, Rubella, Pertussis, Diptheria, Tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae type b—which can cause meningitis and epliglotitis—Pneumococcus, Hepatitis A, B, Varicella or what others refer to as Chickenpox, and of course influenza A and B.
The vaccinations to these things are very safe and serious reactions to vaccines are extremely rare and although serious reactions, do occur it is important to keep in mind that the risks and costs from not vaccinating are far greater than the risks of a serious reaction to the vaccination. The side effects that most notably occur are: slight fever, rash, or soreness at the site of the injection. Slight discomfort is a normal cost of getting a vaccination and shouldn’t be of any concern. If you think that you are developing a serious reaction, it is important to call your providers and get to them as soon as possible. Write down what happened, the date and the time it happened; so that we can document it and report it.
Immunizations MUST be given at birth and most of the vaccinations should be completed by age two. The benefits of immunizing on time, is that you can protect your children and your families from being infected and also prevent the spread of the infection in your communities. It is important also to understand that children under the age of five are especially susceptible to disease because their immune systems have not built up the necessary defenses to fight infection.
Be sure that you keep a current vaccination health record of your children and yourselves. It is important to understand that your health is your responsibility as well. A record should be started at birth, when your child receives his/her first vaccinations, and updated each time your child receives the next scheduled vaccination. This information will help you and your next provider, if you were to move to a new area.
Finally I urge you, as I did earlier, to become more knowledgeable and proactive. You can call the National Immunization Information Hotline for further immunization information at 1-800-232-2522 or by going to their website address at www.cdc.gov/nip. Any other information that is not from this site or from the National Immunization Information Hotline should be scrutinized heavily.
Remember, immunizations are an important element in health care, the health of your families and your communities. In fact, in the CDC’s list of Top Ten Prevention Interventions immunizations for our childhood illnesses and other diseases are number one. It is my hope that you will be able to use this information as a guide and as a reminder to get informed.
