Adult Vaccinations

An important part of staying healthy is making sure you have had all your vaccinations. Getting your “shots” isn’t just for little kids.  When you make the time to get your vaccines you are taking an important step to stay healthy, to avoid costly medical bills, stay at work and keep other people healthy.  Even if you do get sick, a vaccine can keep you from getting horribly sick.  Some vaccines last a lifetime.  A few vaccines need to be repeated every few years.  There are many vaccines that require at least two doses to give a person full protection.

One of the most important vaccines you should get is a yearly flu shot.  The medicine to treat the flu doesn’t work well; it is expensive and must be started soon after symptoms start.  It is cheaper and more effective to get a yearly flu shot.  It is important for all pregnant women to get their flu shot.  Anyone that cares for elderly, very young or ill people should get this shot as well.  People with asthma or emphysema or other lung diseases especially need flu shots.

“Tdap” is a tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis shot.  Everyone needs a tetanus diphtheria shot every 10 years. Conveniently pertussis is now available in combination with a typical tetanus and diphtheria shot. A pertussis or whooping cough shot is a relatively new shot for adults.  Whooping cough has been a rising health problem and it makes children quite ill.  The best way to prevent young children from getting very ill is to vaccinate adults.  Adults that get whooping cough can cough for a very long time but they may not get horribly sick. However they may not feel well for months.  They do feel well enough to leave home and spread it around.  Tetanus or “lock-jaw” is still difficult to treat, despite many medical advancements.  Getting a shot and preventing tetanus and diphtheria is best. Prevention of these diseases is much more successful than trying to treat these diseases.  One “Tdap” as an adult is enough, then a regular “Td’ is needed every 10 years.

If you are a smoker there are new recommendations for vaccines.  A pneumonia or pneumococcal shot after age 18 and again after the age of 65 is important to avoid getting a severe form of pneumonia.  Yearly flu vaccines as well are very important for smokers.

 People with many other chronic health problems should consider a pneumonia vaccine.  Once they turn 65 they should then repeat the vaccine.  Anyone over age 65 needs a pneumonia shot.  Usually two shots in a lifetime are enough.

Sexual activity can place a person at risk for many diseases.  Some of these diseases can be vaccinated against. Condoms are needed to protect against other diseases. Vaccination against hepatitis A and B is a good idea. These vaccines protect against viral diseases to the liver. Gardisil is a fairly new vaccine that can protect against cervical cancer.  Cervical cancer is caused by a virus that is spread by sexual contact.  It is a true wonder of modern medicine that cervical cancer can be  prevented with a something as simple as a vaccine.

Blood exposure for any reason puts a person at higher risk for Hepatitis B.  Three vaccinations complete the series.  Hepatitis A can be vaccinated at the same time. A minimum of two hepatitis A shots are needed to complete this series.

Chicken pox has been considered a childhood disease.  Most children are vaccinated against chicken pox.  For the very few adults that have not been vaccinated or haven’t actually had a case of chicken pox it is very important that these people get a shot against chicken pox.  Two shots finish this series. Chicken pox as an adult disease can cause severe illness.  Pregnant women should not get this vaccine; they should wait until after they deliver the baby.

Once an adult has had chicken pox they never quite get rid of the virus, it lives in a nerve.  If the virus is triggered to become active it causes the disease shingles or herpes simplex.  Shingles can be prevented with a vaccine called Zostavax.   Zostavax is recommended for people older than age 60, even if they don’t remember having chicken pox.  One shot is enough. It is a “live” vaccine and should only be given to people that are basically healthy. If a person is taking medicine that suppresses the immune system they should not get a Zostavax shot.

Meningitis is a disease no one wants.  Luckily this important vaccine has been available for years.  It is recommended for everyone from age 11 to 18.  It is important that people at high risk (those living in dormitories, in the armed services or traveling to high risk countries) get vaccinated against this disease.  It is approved for use up to age 55.  It is reasonable for anyone to be vaccinated against meningitis only because they wish to vaccinated.

If someone has not started or had two MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccinations they should go ahead and get these shots.  Pregnant women should delay getting this vaccine until after they deliver.

Minor illnesses are not a reason to skip a vaccination.  A cold or cough will not interfere with a vaccine

Here is a website with the 2009 adult vaccination recommendations. http://www.immunize.org/shop/views/adultsched_pg2.pdf

Occasionally people have unusual health problems that require special vaccination schedules.  The final selection of vaccines should be done during your visit to the office.

Adults need to think about vaccines just like children do.

Sometimes people aren’t able to get all their vaccines on time.  However that doesn’t mean the shot series has to be restarted.  It can be as easy as just taking the remaining shot.  There are people with special situations like people who don’t have a spleen.  The final decision to receive a vaccine for special cases or diseases should be made during an office visit.