How Important Is It To Vaccinate?

            Many people don’t understand why it is important to vaccinate, and that is because the new mothers of today have no idea what it is to have a family member die from diphtheria, or the measles; or suffer from polio.

Image via Wikipedia

This is what a lesion looks like when a person is suffering from diphtheria

            These diseases are rare because medical science found vaccination to prevent us from getting what use to be fatal diseases; now they are unheard of, here in the United States of America.  They are not however unheard of in foreign third world countries, so why put yourself at risk by not vaccinating yourself or family members. Taking simple steps to prevent yourself and family from getting sick, especially if you are a traveler, just may save your life.  With immigration on the rise, there are more and more people coming into our country with these illnesses, which we had nearly abolished, from our great country. So as foreigners come into our country without vaccinations, the more children who are not vaccinated; will be at risk of catching these highly contagious diseases.

Image via Wikipedia

            In the last decade we have seen several out-breaks of Pertussis and HIB, both are very dangerous to adults and usually deadly to newborns. Pertussis can cause pneumonia, while HIB can lead to brain damage in newborns. These are both virus that we thought we had wiped out!

            While it is true that every now and then an infant will suffer an allergic reaction to the vaccination, but the pediatrician should always tell the parents what to look for, and if any of the symptoms appear they should call 911 immediately. Symptoms are, hives, difficulty swallowing, swelling, difficulty breathing just to name the most common side affect anything that someone is allergic to. 

Many people believe vaccinations are related to autism; after extensive research it has been proven that there is no link. It was in the 1990 that people questioned the mercury that was in the vaccination shots, so as of 2001 vaccination are no longer made with mercury.  Since 2001, with the removal of mercury from the vaccinations, the numbers for autism continues to increase. After all the research done by institutions and disease control centers, it has been determined that there is no link between vaccinations and autism.

            Vaccinations have wiped out so many deadly diseases, why put your child at risk?