All About Vaccines

Why do we need vaccines?

Vaccines protect us against deadly diseases like measles, mumps and whooping cough.

How do vaccines work?

When you receive a vaccine it helps your body create antibodies. Antibodies are your body's defensive cells that fight off any foreign substance (germs). Sometimes your body can create antibodies on its own. But the diseases you get vaccines for are very dangerous. Most people get very sick and some die before enough antibodies are produced.

Lets learn more about the diseases we get vaccinated from.

Hib Vaccine (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b)

This vaccine protects us from the Haemophilus Influenza type b bacteria.This bacteria causes meningitis, (an inflammation of the cover that surrounds the brain) and may cause brain damage. Also this bacteria can infect the blood, joints, bones, muscles, throat and the cover surrounding the heart. Hib disease" is caused by a bacterial infection spread by coughing, sneezing and close contact. Hib disease can cause a swelling of the brain that can lead to brain damage, mental retardation, hearing loss, weakened sight, speech problems, middle ear infections and pneumonia. Just a few years ago, Hib infected one of every 200 children before age 5. It is most dangerous for babies under age 1.

DTP Vaccine

The D in DTP stands for Diphtheria.

Diphtheria is an infection that attacks the throat, mouth and nose. This is a very contagious disease (easy to get), but rare ever since the vaccine was created. Diphtheria can form a gray web that may completely cover the windpipe and cause someone to stop breathing. Also, if this disease is not treated right away it could cause pneumonia, heart failure or paralysis.

Diphtheria is a very serious disease that can make a person unable to breathe, cause paralysis (when a person cannot move some muscles) or heart failure. It is spread by coughing and close contact. About one of every 10 people who get diphtheria dies from it. Fortunately, only a few cases were reported in the United States during the past few years, but larger outbreaks continue to occur in other areas of the world.

The T in DTP stands for Tetanus.

Tetanus is an infection caused by a bacteria found in dirt, gravel and rusty metal. It usually enters the body through a cut. Tetanus (lockjaw) can occur after a cut or wound lets the germ into the body. If tetanus attacks the jaw muscles it causes lockjaw, the inability to open and close your mouth. Tetanus makes a person unable to open his/her mouth or swallow and causes serious muscle spasms. Tetanus can also cause the breathing muscles to spasm. That can be deadly. In the United States, tetanus kills three of every 10 people who get the disease. Those who survive have a lengthy hospital stay.

The P in DTP stands for Pertussis.

Pertussis, also called Whooping Cough, is a bacteria that clogs the lungs with mucus (a thick, slimy substance). This can cause a severe cough that sounds like a "whoop." The cough can last for 2 months and allows for other bacteria such as pneumonia and bronchitisto attack the body.

Pertussis (whooping cough) may be mild or serious and is easily passed from one person to another. Pertussis can cause spells of coughing and choking that make it hard to eat, drink or breathe. The coughing can last for several weeks or months.
Pertussis is most dangerous to babies under 1 year of age. Babies with pertussis are so sick that nearly half must go into the hospital. About one baby out of 100 with the disease either dies or is left with permanent brain injury. Serious illness is less likely in older children and adults.

Polio Vaccine

Polio can paralyze (can't move) the legs and chest making walking and breathing difficult or impossible. The first symptoms of polio are fever, sore throat, headache and a stiff neck. Polio is very rare since the vaccine became available.

Polio is a very dangerous disease caused by a virus that is easily spread from one person to another by contact with human feces. Some children and adults who get a serious case of polio become paralyzed. They may even die.
Serious cases of polio cause severe muscle pain. Sometimes it can be difficult to breathe without the help of a machine. Mild cases of polio may last only a few days and cause fever, sore throat, stomach ache and headache.

MMR Vaccine

The first M in MMR stands for Measles.

Measles is a highly contagious (easy to get) disease that causes a high fever, cough, and a spotty rash all over. It may also cause ear infections and pneumonia.

Measles (rubeola or hard measles) is a very serious disease that is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact. It causes a high fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes and a rash lasting one to two weeks. Ear infections and pneumonia can also develop.
In serious cases, measles can cause an infection of the brain, hearing loss, mental retardation and death. Babies and adults who get measles are more likely to be sicker, suffer longer or die than are school-age children or teen-agers.

The second M in MMR stands for Mumps.

Mumps causes painful swollen salivary glands which are under the jaw, as well as a fever and a headache. Mumps also may cause a serious problem called meningitis or hearing loss.

Mumps can be serious. It lasts for several days and is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact. Mumps can cause fever, headache, swollen painful glands under the jaw, swelling of the coverings of the brain or spinal cord and hearing loss.
About one of every four teen-age or adult males with mumps will have painful swelling of the testicles for several days, but this usually does not result in sterility.

The R in MMR stands for Rubella.

Rubella is also called German Measles. It is most dangerous for women who are pregnant. Rubella can cause a mother to have a miscarriage (lose the baby) or deliver a baby with heart disease, blindness, hearing loss or learning problems.

Rubella is a mild disease in kids that lasts for a short time. However, if a pregnant woman catches the disease, rubella is very dangerous to her unborn baby. Babies born with rubella can have heart disease, be blind or deaf, or have learning problems. The disease is easily passed from person to person by sneezing, coughing or close contact.

People who catch rubella can have a mild fever, swollen glands in the neck, a rash that lasts up to three days, and soreness or swelling in the joints. This soreness or swelling usually lasts for a week or two. In rare cases it may last for months or years, or may come and go. The pain and swelling is more likely to occur in women.

Hepatitis B Vaccine

Hepatitis B causes extreme tiredness and jaundice (all the white parts on your body, like your eyes, teeth and nails, turn yellow). It may cause the liver to stop working.

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. It can lead to severe illness, a lifelong infection, scarring (cirrhosis) of the liver, liver failure and even death. Hepatitis B virus is a common cause of liver cancer. It is spread easily from one person to another by blood and other body fluids.
Each year in the United States, more than 240,000 people get infected, more than one million people carry the hepatitis B virus in their blood, and about 5,000 people die from hepatitis B.
If a baby is born to a mother who has the virus in her blood, the baby needs to start shots at the time of birth to keep from becoming a carrier. If the baby does not get the shots starting at birth, the baby is very likely to carry the virus for the rest of his/her life.

Chicken Pox Vaccine

Chicken pox is a virus. It causes an itchy rash and a fever. You can catch it from someone who already has it if you touch an open blister on that person's skin or if that person sneezes or coughs around you. Not everyone gets the vaccine, so lots of kids still get chicken pox.

Varicella zoster (chickenpox) is a disease caused by a virus that is easily spread from one person to another by touching the open sores, sneezing or coughing. It causes vesicles, aches, pains and fever. Most childhood cases are not severe, but it can be very serious and cause death for individuals with weak immune systems.

(http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/kids/html/vaccines.htm)

Pneumococcal Pneumonia Vaccine

This form of pneumonia is caused by a bacteria known as streptococcus pneumoniae. It can cause the lungs to fill with fluid, a bacterial infection of the whole body or a swelling of a certain part of the brain called the meninges. Children under age 2 and adults over age 40 are more likely to have problems with this invasive disease. All adults over the age of 65 should receive a pneumococcal shot.

Influenza

Influenza is a very infectious disease caused by a virus that is easily passed from one person to another by sneezing, coughing and touching the eyes, nose or mouth. A person who gets influenza will usually have a sudden onset of fever, aches and pains, a sore throat, cough and headache. There are different strains of influenza that can infect people, and the viruses can change each year. Severe head, nose and lung infections can occur in adults over age 65 and in people with weak immune systems.

Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is a virus that infects the liver. The virus enters the body through the mouth by eating something contaminated, grows in the liver and is present in the blood and feces after about two weeks. Most children who get the disease usually do not feel that sick. When someone gets Hepatitis A, they can have a fever, feel poorly, have dark urine and look yellow (jaundice).

Why Immunize?

Immunizations can save lives and stop the spread of diseases. Babies and toddlers that are given immunizations on time can be protected from many dangerous diseases.

Babies and toddlers who do not get their shots on time can be infected by one of these ten diseases and become very sick. The measles epidemic of 1989-1991 made more than 55,000 people ill - 11,000 had to be hospitalized and 120 died. Most of the infants and toddlers who got sick did not have their measles shot on time.

Children need to have all of their immunizations by age 2 to be fully protected against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Besides saving children from dangerous diseases, immunizations save money. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every $1 spent on diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis programs, $29 is saved in direct and indirect costs.