vaccination

Lately we've seen diseases long since defeated reappearing at alarming rates.  When I was growing up I never heard about anyone getting measles, for example, and now it's coming back.  Doctors claim it's because kids are not being vaccinated, which opens the door for things to only get worse.

When I think back to the vaccinations I got as a child I don't remember my parents having a choice.  But, it was a different time.  They actually gave us a cube of sugar, A CUBE OF SUGAR, with a pink dot of medicine on it.  I think it was to prevent polio back then.  Parents today would never go for that, but some are eliminating vaccinations all together and I don't see why.

I remember the days when I had a health question concerning my daughter and knew that that I just needed a quick answer, not an appointment with her doctor.  But, where can you get that without having to pull out your health insurance card?  At the Duluth Public Library and their Health Happens program.

It's the time of the year when everyone makes sure they have enough hand sanitizer at work, we remind people to wash their hands and stay the heck home if they are sick, and people talk about getting the flu shot.  What can we expect for the 2013-2014 flu season?

I was at a routine doctor's appointment yesterday when I was told I was overdue on my Tetanus vaccination.  Ok, what the heck.   Let's get it over with and I'll be good for a few more years.  But then the Nurse also suggested that I get the combination that includes the Pertussis (or whooping cough) vaccination.

This winter reminds me a lot of the H1N1 pandemic a few years ago, and some health officials believe this flu season could rival that one.  With at least 8 flu-related deaths in the Northland already this year, clinics are getting very busy as people rush to get the flu vaccine.