Protect Yourself from Childhood Diseases

As a kid growing up, you probably hated to "go for shots," but as an adult you know that those dreaded shots were for your own protection. Those childhood immunizations protected us from lockjaw (tetanus), diphtheria and pertussis, and there's even a generation of us who have smallpox immunization scars.

Now those childhood diseases are on the rise again, and pose the same risk to today's children and adults. Nearly one in five NC toddlers fails to get properly vaccinated against childhood diseases, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Childhood diseases, once thought to be in firm check, are reemerging. Recently an outbreak of pertussis (whooping cough) was reported in Duplin County in eastern North Carolina with 30 people becoming ill. To date, there have been 18 confirmed cases in WNC and a couple of children have been treated recently at Mission Hospital.

The CDC is also reporting the most U.S. cases of measles since 1996, with three times the diagnoses of last year. Why?

There are a couple of reasons. Health officials believe that more parents are opting out of childhood immunizations because of unfounded fears that vaccines cause a range of problems from allergies to autism. A number of the recent measles cases involved home-schooled children not required to get the vaccines. Others choose not to immunize on religious grounds. And of course, these vaccines, like the flu vaccine, are only 70-90% effective, so while they cannot always prevent you from getting the disease, they can greatly reduce your chances of contracting it.

And did you know that most adults who received these vaccinations as a child are probably now again at risk of these common childhood diseases, simply because they haven't received "boosters."

"We need to get beyond the mentality that vaccines are just for kids," said Rachel Long, public health epidemiologist based at Mission. "That's because some of us were never vaccinated as children and there are new vaccines that weren't available then. And immunity fades with time as with the pertussis and tetanus vaccines, among others."

Vaccinations are recommended to protect adults from chickenpox, diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B. human papilloma virus/cervical cancer, influenza, measles, meningococcal disease, mumps, pertussis, pneumococcal disease (pneumonia), rubella, shingles, and tetanus, according to the CDC. Immunizations have overall been proven safe and the affects of actually contracting the diseases are far worse than the chance of side effects from the vaccines we use to prevent them.

A mild case of pertussis or measles in an adult can be extremely dangerous when passed along to a young child, pregnant woman, or someone who is immunosuppressed such as an AIDS patient.

You need flu vaccine annually, so while you have your sleeve rolled up, ask your physician about updating your immunizations. The new Tdap vaccine will boost your immunity to tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis and is available from your family physician and your county health department.