National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is a “good time to promote back to school immunizations, remind college students to catch up on immunizations before they move into dormitories, and remind everyone that the influenza season is a few months away. It’s a great reminder to our nation that people of all ages require timely immunization to protect their health,” says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Although this is a good time to start thinking about getting the flu vaccine in September or October, that is not the focus of this post. Instead it is about learning from the experiences of others.
Vaccines are not something which I thought much about until after I was diagnosed with chronic disease. There are a number of diseases which can be prevented through adult diseases, including diphtheria, shingles (herpes zoster), influenza, pneumonia (pneumococcus), tetanus (lockjaw), pertussis, hepatitis A and B, human papillomavirus (HPV), and more. But before we all run out and ask the doc to shoot us up with all these vaccines, we should evaluate how these shots might impact our lives, positively or negatively.
One reason I have chosen to receive annual flu vaccines and the pneumonia vaccine is because of the serious trouble these diseases would cause in my life as an MS patient. Getting sick puts me out of commission for weeks But the vaccine experience is not always easy. If you haven’t already, I recommend you read Leslie’s story of how an improperly given vaccine caused her serious illness (cellulitis) on top of living with RA and lupus.
Is a specific vaccine contraindicated with my disease or current treatment? Am I at increased risk of developing a disease if I don’t get vaccinated at some point? How do I time the vaccines so that I receive the greatest benefit? Should I avoid “live” vaccines?
These questions are ones which should be discussed with our physicians while we conduct our own research. If we are lucky, we will have a doctor who is proactive and thinks of these questions and answers them before we’ve even asked.
When I was a child, I received all of the recommended vaccines which were available. I even received the smallpox vaccine although it was not available to my brother who is four years younger than I. Recommendations change, availability fluctuates, and getting vaccines is not something set in stone, I have learned.
When I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, my rheumatologist ran extra bloodwork to test my resistance or immunity to several diseases. She recommended that I receive the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) before starting methotrexate. I was almost due for a tetanus shot anyway so the timing was good. Tetanus vaccines are recommended every ten years, and at least once, adults should received the DTaP combo vaccine instead of the single tetanus shot.
