STORY BYIf the last tetanus shot you got was from walking barefoot—at Woodstock.
If your parents owned a brand new '57 Chevy when you had the measles.
If you're still peeved that your brother got a GI Joe doll when he had the chicken pox-and you didn't-since you never got the chicken pox.
Then it's time to act like a grown-up by returning to your childhood.
Just because you've outgrown the polio vaccine doesn't mean you don't need other immunizations just as much as your children do. Those who think the shots they received as youngsters will protect them for life are wrong.
The number of vaccine-preventable diseases in U.S. adults is growing, and the cost to society is over $10 billion each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). Each year approximately 114,000 adults are hospitalized for influenza and 60,000 for invasive pneumonia.
Throughout a lifetime, adults need a "boost" now and then to stay healthy. Tetanus-diphtheria is a prime example.
"The tetanus-diphtheria booster is very important, and we recommend to everyone that they get it every 10 years," says Dr. Charles D. Ericsson, professor and Head of the Clinical Infectious Diseases program at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "If a person sustains a deep puncture wound, people automatically know they need a tetanus shot. But what people do not realize is that tetanus can come about from a scratch."
Tetanus does not result from the rusty nail or whatever created the wound; the culprit is spores in the soil or dirt on that nail. When spores get into a wound, they can germinate and form bacteria that produce a potent toxin which causes tetanus. Also called lockjaw, tetanus is a serious condition of the central nervous system.
The tetanus vaccine is given in combination with the vaccine for diphtheria, a contagious infection created by a bacterium that causes severe inflammation of the throat and larynx and also produces a toxin that can affect the whole body.
Another very important vaccine recommended by the CDCP is for influenza or flu.
"This annual vaccination is critical for those in high-risk categories, including people with heart disease, respiratory disease, kidney problems, especially patients on dialysis, and those who are HIV-positive," explains Ericsson, who is also director of the UT Travel Medicine Clinic.
Although most adults get their annual flu shot, it is Ericsson's experience that they do not get the pneumonia vaccine, which should be on the shopping list for all adults 65 and older as well as those with a chronic disease. Getting immunized around 60 to 65 years old is a good idea. Although this vaccine lasts about five years, getting another dose depends on the person's health and when they got their first shot.
Pneumonia can occur in a physically feeble person because he or she cannot cough vigorously to clear out the lungs," he explains. "Also, as we get older, our immunity wanes, and we are more susceptible to many infections."
Next on Ericsson's list is hepatitis, which is an inflammation of the liver caused by 1 of 5 viruses - A, B, C, D and E, with only A and B being prevented by vaccine.
Type A happens after eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Symptoms are weakness, jaundice, loss of appetite and vomiting and do not appear for 3-4 weeks. At-risk adults who need this booster are those U.S. residents traveling outside this country, military personnel, people with chronic liver disease, or someone who has been exposed to Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis B is a more serious form, contracted through contact with bodily fluids or blood of someone who has or carries the virus. It can become chronic and can lead to liver failure. At risk are patients on hemodialysis or those receiving clotting-factor concentrates, health-care workers who are exposed to blood on the job, and those being trained as nurses and dentists. Also, IV drug users and persons who engage in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners.
The meningococcal meningitis vaccine is recommended for college students, particularly freshmen, who are going to be living in close quarters, such as dormitories. Meningitis is an infection of the lining of the brain, spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds these tissues.
The Varicella or chickenpox vaccine should be taken by susceptible adults. Those who have a reliable clinical history of having had the infection do not need the vaccine. A blood test is worth checking for those without a history of having had chicken pox because many actually had the disease without knowing it and do not need the immunization.
At least one dose of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine should be taken by adults born after 1957. People born before that year are considered immune to measles.
A second dose is suggested for those recently exposed to measles, previously vaccinated with killed measles vaccine, or given an unknown vaccine between 1963 and 1967. A booster is also good for students who are in post-secondary educational institutions, planning to travel, and working in health-care facilities.
"Everybody should have taken MMR and ideally have two doses in their lifetime. Measles immunity wanes," he observes. " Houston had an outbreak in the early 1980s and everybody was encouraged to get re-immunized. Those who weren't had a 15 percent chance of not being protected."
Health-care workers who come in contact with patients are always encouraged to get immunized regularly for measles and other diseases. This protects them from the patients, and it helps prevent transmission from a health-care worker to patients.
"At the clinic and in the hospital, we do not want a person coming to work ill. In fact, health care isn't the only business that feels this way. Many large corporations want employees, who are in contact with the public, to get an annual flu shot. It cuts down on employee absenteeism," Ericsson explains.
"My colleagues in the International Society of Travel Medicine and I are working very hard to educate the public as well as other physicians about prevention. While some family practitioners do a good job keeping patients up-to-date with vaccinations and information," observes Ericsson, "I still have well-insured adult patients coming into the travel clinic grossly under-vaccinated."
The prevention bandwagon is gaining momentum, and the CDCP has joined the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the National Coalition for Adult Immunization and the National Partnership for Immunization to educate the public in a program called Immunize Now.
"The answer is for each person to become his or her own advocate and know what preventive vaccine care is needed, depending on age and health status," Ericsson says. "Be prepared to tell your doctor what you need."
Last Updated: 8-19-2004Editorial Board | Legal Disclaimer | Privacy & Security | Contact Us
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Dr. Charles D. Ericsson is professor and clinical director of infectious diseases at the UT Medical School.
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Packing Bag Lunches Safely
If you pack lunches for your child to take to school, be careful that you do not accidentally expose them to foodborne illness.
Bagged lunches, especially those containing perishable foods, need to be packed and handled properly in order to keep the food safe. In general, perishable foods should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. If left out too long, the temperature of the food can enter the danger zone where bacteria grow most rapidly, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Below are some tips to help families pack bagged lunches safely:
Before eating lunch or snacks at school, make sure your child washes his or her hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If your child's school does not have a handwashing program in place, encourage them to adopt a such a program, as handwashing is one of the best ways kids and parents can protect health and stop the spread of germs.
