The Flu shot

When was the last time you thoroughly enjoyed having the flu? The aches, fever, nausea…having the flu isn’t fun. It makes you feel horrible and leads to missing school/ work and expensive medical bills. This is especially true for people with asthma, heart disease or diabetes, pregnant women, very young kids, and the elderly, because they are at a higher risk of developing flu-related complications.

One of the best ways to avoid this is to get the flu shot every year, like the CDC recommends. This applies to everyone above 6 months of age.

Whooping Cough Vaccine

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes cough and cold-like symptoms. It mainly affects infants who haven’t completed their vaccinations, and teens and adults whose childhood vaccines have worn off.

There are two main types of whooping cough vaccines: DTaP, which is given to children below 7 years of age and Tdap, which is given to children above 7 years of age and adults.

Any adult who didn’t get the Tdap vaccine as an adolescent should get it once. Note that this also applies to adults who were given the DTaP vaccine as kids.

In addition, adults should get the Td (tetanus, diphtheria) booster shot every 10 years. However, pregnant women should get the shot between 27 and 36 weeks.

HPV Vaccine

About 80 million people in the U.S. are currently infected with the HPV virus, and 14 million more people become infected every year. While most of these people do not develop symptoms or health problems, some of them develop cervical cancers.

The CDC recommends the HPV vaccine for women below 26 years of age and men below 21 years of age. So if you fall in this age range and haven’t gotten the vaccine, talk to your doctor about it.

Zoster Vaccine

About 1 million people in the U.S. get shingles every year, and half of those people are 60 years or older. This is because our immune systems weaken as we get older making us more vulnerable to certain diseases.

The zoster vaccine reduces the risk of developing shingles by 51%. Considering how painful and contagious shingles is, all adults above 60 years of age should talk with their doctor about getting this vaccine.

Pneumococcal Vaccine

The CDC also recommends pneumococcal vaccines for all adults over 65 years old. These shots protect against certain infections of the lungs and bloodstream.

Please note that while this post outlines the CDC’s recommendations, it’s important to talk to your doctor before deciding to get any vaccine. Your doctor may also recommend other shots that aren’t mentioned here.

Vaccines are a controversial issue to some people. However, remember that you’re in charge of your life and, after doing your research and getting counsel from your primary care physician, you should do what you feel is best for your health.

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Most parents wish they could do more to protect
their children.

Even worse, kids bring these illnesses home and
infect their siblings, parents, and other family members, which can be
dangerous if there’s an infant or elderly family member in the home.

There are three reasons why school-age kids catch infections so easily: Their immune system is still underdeveloped, they’re in close contact with other sick and unhealthy kids all day, and they tend to have germy habits like touching their faces and sticking things in their mouths. To protect your kids at school, you must deal with these three issues.

Strengthen their
Immunity

Vaccination is by far the best way to boost
immunity. It not only keeps your kids from getting sick but also protects other
family members whose immune system is weak or compromised, which is why many
pediatricians are big fans of the flu shot!

However, there’s a timing challenge with the flu shot. It can take up to 12 weeks to build immunity after getting vaccinated, so ideally, you should get a flu shot towards the end of fall and beginning of winter. Getting the timing right sometimes means that parents must make a special trip to the doctor or pharmacy.

Encourage them to wash
their hands

Washing your hands is pretty basic, but it
works! You wouldn’t believe the number of kids who don’t wash their hands
despite knowing better. One study by the CDC found that 97% of kids know that
handwashing prevents illnesses, but most still need encouragement to do it!

Make sure your kids wash their hands as soon as they come home from school. If possible, set up a handwashing station right inside the door to help them remember; consider letting them choose a favorite soap.

Secondly, provide hand sanitizers for older
kids. They’re a cheap and easy way to kill germs when hand washing isn’t an
option. However, they’re not ideal for young kids because, apparently, children
love swallowing hand sanitizer! But if it’s the only thing you have, use it!

Teach them not to
share personal items

It might go against the golden rule of
‘sharing,’ but your kids need to know what to share and what not to share.
Teach them not to share personal items like water bottles and lip balms. If
possible, pack water bottles for your kids until they learn how to drink from
water fountains without putting their mouths on them.

Keep them home when
they’re sick

As much as possible, sick kids shouldn’t go to
school until they’re well. If they have a fever, keep them home until they’ve
not had a fever for at least twenty-four hours. Protect healthy kids, and any
children with compromised immune systems by keeping your lovable, cuddly,
charming little petri dish at home

The two lines of defense that usually never fail when it comes to protecting kids from illnesses are vaccinations and good hygiene. The latter is more challenging because you can’t follow your kids around all day, reminding them to wash their hands, cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough, and not stick things in their mouths.

It takes a while for certain habits to take hold – especially when a kid doesn’t like doing them or finds them unpleasant. But, keep teaching them until it sticks and be a good example when they’re home.

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

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