Measles vaccination.

[Butterfly]

Posters above who have never known anyone who suffered terribly before vaccines became available for "childhood diseases" should consider yourselves lucky. I remember friends whose houses had foreboding "Quarantined!" signs hung on their doors because of whooping cough. A cousin of mine was stillborn because his mother contracted German Measles during the pregnancy. An aunt on a different side of the family had polio as a child and suffered with terrible back pain throughout her life. I knew several people my age and older who suffered from the after-effects of polio, and it will forever be painful for me to report that one of my siblings died after complications from the chicken pox.

I had German Measles, measles, and chicken pox. They weren't anything remotely as mild as a cold. Quite the opposite - they made most kids very sick. Parents were delighted and relieved when polio and other vaccines became available. My father was a scientist who understood the extraordinary benefits of vaccines, and was particularly eager for the rest of his children to get in line as they became available since he had already buried one child.

The international scourge of smallpox was wiped out by vaccines. Simply because there are some charlatans in health care (I daresay the supplement field is loaded with them, as well) does not mean that all docs and all pharma companies are evil. Delegitimizing vaccines - or most of western medicine - is irresponsible and without merit. I daresay that western medicine and big pharma have saved the lives of most of us on this forum, or someone we hold dear.

I'm not someone who thinks all doctors and all pharmaceutical companies should be sanctified. Far from it. On the other hand, I am a thinking person who gives credit where it's due.

I strongly agree. I also remember those quarantine signs, too.

 

[win231]

I'm completely up to date on all my vaccines, but still managed to get both pneumonia AND the flu last year. Sigh. Maybe i had milder cases because of the shots, though. Anyway, I'll continue getting whatever shots my doctor recommends.

Nothing wrong with doing whatever gives you confidence - whether it's getting the vaccine or not.

BUT, think about this: Your doctor recommends a flu shot & a pneumonia shot.
You have confidence in him & he's a medical professional & you're not, so you get the vaccines.
Then you get the flu and pneumonia.
Then you ask your doctor, "Why did I get two illnesses that you told me the vaccines were supposed to prevent?"
You can't very well expect your doctor to say, "Well....they're not very effective....I just told you what I'm trained to say." That would undermine your confidence in his knowledge, so he will say what we've all heard doctors say: "If you do get the illness, the vaccine will help you recover faster," which is a desperate attempt to make his suggestion sound beneficial.

 

[Warrigal]

I knew a family from outside the US (I forgot where) whose first child died from encephalitis caused by measles.

Measles is caused by a virus, and because of this there has not been a cure so far. Antibiotics have no effect. A person who had contacted measles just has to sweat it out in a warm room with the curtains drawn. Plenty of fluids and nutritious meals.

Both my kids had measles back before the vaccine was available. I knew that it was very important to watch for complications caused by other infections that could invade while their young immune systems were busy with the measles virus. Meningitis is the most serious of these and can be fatal within hours. It can also result in deafness or blindness. We were lucky both times.

One of the problems with trying to contain an outbreak among people without immunity is the fact that the virus is spread before the rash develops. The children or adults don't appear very sick and are sent to school or go to work, social events etc and then there is an epidemic as the chain of contacts becomes a rapidly spreading network.

 

[Warrigal]

Nothing wrong with doing whatever gives you confidence - whether it's getting the vaccine or not.

BUT, think about this: Your doctor recommends a flu shot & a pneumonia shot.
You have confidence in him & he's a medical professional & you're not, so you get the vaccines.
Then you get the flu and pneumonia.
Then you ask your doctor, "Why did I get two illnesses that you told me the vaccines were supposed to prevent?"
You can't very well expect your doctor to say, "Well....they're not very effective....I just told you what I'm trained to say." That would undermine your confidence in his knowledge, so he will say what we've all heard doctors say: "If you do get the illness, the vaccine will help you recover faster," which is a desperate attempt to make his suggestion sound beneficial.

There is a lot on the radio down here about flu vaccines at the moment. Influenza is not just one disease, it is made up of many different strains and they mutate very quickly, rendering the last version of the vaccine less effective. The vaccine serums are made up 6 months in advance. The injection will contain antibodies to just 4 strains and the scientists are gambling on which ones are likely to be the most common.

Until about the last two years I never bothered about a flu shot based on the fact that I had only succumbed to actual flu twice in my life. Influenza is not the same as a heavy cold. I've had plenty of those. I was a teacher and caught them from the kids. Standing in front of a class of germy kids every day will do that to you.

However, I am now 76 and I don't think I can any longer rely on my immune system to fully protect me from the flu. Associated complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia are not something I wish to develop. The former weakens the lungs and the latter can be deadly, even if the flu itself doesn't kill me.

The flu season has come early to Australia with a sharp rise in cases not usually seen at its peak until October/November. My GP is holding off vaccinating me based on previous evidence of when to expect the peak. This is because the immunity only last for about 5 months and if vaccinated too soon, when the peak comes immunity may have worn off.

The upshot is that influenza vaccination is very much a gamble whichever way you look at it. I am prepared to throw the dice and take the shot when my doctor recommends me to because I don't think the vaccine will do damage. At least the odds are very much against that outcome.