Newswise — Most of us think that immunizations end with childhood. We get the shots, and then we’re protected for life, right? Not so.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month and the physician members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society remind us that we need to be immunized throughout our lives for a variety of reasons:
• Some adults were never vaccinated as children• Newer vaccines were not available when some adults were children• Immunity can fade over time• As we age, we become more susceptible to serious diseases caused by common infections (e.g. flu, pneumococcus)
“Once a patient is older and out of school, there’s really no official way to remind them to update their immunizations,” adds Pennsylvania Medical Society member and Erie-area family medicine physician Kevin Shaffer, MD. “So it’s equally up to the doctor and the patient to keep and review a current list of immunizations.”
Dr. Shaffer says that he routinely asks his adult patients about their last tetanus shot. “You can come in contact with Tetanus fairly easily — not just by stepping on a rusty nail. Anytime you have a burn, abrasion, puncture, bite, and especially if it happens outdoors, you’re at risk. It’s a nasty infection.” He also insists that his older patients receive the Pneumonia vaccine and an annual flu shot.
Vaccine preventable diseases for adults :
• Tetanus (lockjaw) – a disease of the nervous system that causes lockjaw, stiffness in the neck and abdomen, and difficulty swallowing. It may progress into severe muscle spasms, seizure-like activity and severe autonomic nervous system disorders. Everyone needs protection against Tetanus. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more — or never had the initial three-shot series — you should be vaccinated. • Diphtheria – a potentially fatal, contagious disease that usually involves the nose, throat, and air passages, but may also infect the skin. Its most striking feature is the formation of a grayish membrane covering the tonsils and upper part of the throat. Everyone needs protection from diphtheria. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more — or never had the initial three-shot series — you should be vaccinated.
• Pertussis – Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a serious infection that causes coughing spells so severe that it can be hard to breathe. Adults and adolescents (parents, grandparents and older siblings) typically have a milder form of pertussis; however, they can easily spread the infection to infants and young children, who are at greatest risk of serious complications including death. Only one adult booster dose is needed to provide protection from pertussis.
• Influenza – the flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death.
• Pneumonia – Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of serious illness in children and adults throughout the world. It is a common bacterial complication of influenza and measles and is often causes death among the elderly and patients who have underlying medical conditions.
• Chickenpox – this disease is caused by the highly contagious varicella zoster virus and results in a skin rash of blister-like lesions, covering the body but usually more concentrated on the face, scalp, and trunk. Most, but not all, infected individuals have fever, which develops just before or when the rash appears. Adults are at greater risk for severe complications from chickenpox than children.
• Shingles – a painful localized skin rash often with blisters that is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Anyone who has had chickenpox can develop shingles. • Measles – a highly infectious respiratory disease that can result in severe, sometimes permanent complications including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death. • Mumps – caused by the mumps virus, which lives and reproduces in the upper respiratory tract. Mumps can lead to serious complications such as deafness, meningitis, painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries, and, rarely, death. • Rubella – also known as German measles, is a viral disease spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing. The main concern with rubella, however, is infection in pregnant women. There is at least a 20 percent chance of damage to the fetus if a woman is infected with rubella early in pregnancy.
• Hepatitis B – a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. It often can be a “silent disease” that affects people without making them sick. Chronic hepatitis B disease can result in long-term health problems and even death.
• HPV – Human papillomavirus is a group of more than 100 viruses that are usually spread through sexual contact. The most serious long-term complication of HPV infection is cervical cancer.
• Hepatitis A – a contagious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus. It can be spread by close person-to-person contact such as household or sexual contact with an infected person. The virus is also spread by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Hepatitis A is the most common vaccine-preventable disease acquired during travel.
For a recommended adult immunization schedule, visit: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2011.pdfDr. Shaffer urges adults to take time to talk with your doctor about which immunizations you may need.
“Your family doctor can make recommendations based on your age, health and risk level and answer any questions you might have. Make it a point to ask at your next appointment --it’s just so important to stay current, for your own sake and for everyone around you.”
By getting yourself and your family immunized, you can:
• Protect others from those same diseases. Some people can’t get certain vaccines for medical reasons, or are not able to respond to certain vaccines. For these folks, the immunity of everyone around them is their only protection.
• Help protect future generations from diseases. If we don’t sty current with immunizations, diseases that had been under control could come back to cause epidemics.
• Help rid the world of diseases that have been crippling and killing people, especially children, for centuries. Immunization allowed us wipe out smallpox. Today polio is nearly gone, and in the future measles and other diseases will follow.
The importance of continuing immunizations can’t be emphasized strongly enough. Staying up-to-date not only helps prevent the spread of otherwise preventable diseases, it also protects you for potentially life-threatening diseases.
Sources:
Pennsylvania Department of Health: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/immunizations/14141/adult_immunizations/557992
American Academy of Family Physicians: http://familydoctor.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/clinical/immunization/adultsched07-08.Par.0001.File.tmp/2010AdultImmSched01152010.pdf
The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. While there are always issues being debated about health systems, the physician members of the medical society continue to focus on better health for all Pennsylvanians. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at www.pamedsoc.org. Patients may learn more about a variety of health topics at www.myfamilywellness.org. The Pennsylvania Medical Society also sponsors the Institute for Good Medicine (www.goodmedicine.org) to encourage mentoring, professionalism, and volunteerism.
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