Health Watch by Steve Mullenix

The North Jefferson News



Immunizations are not something to be taken lightly or forgotten.

They are life saving and even required by law for school attendance. To cover this subject adequately, we will dedicate the next two articles to this topic.

As the school year starts, you may hear about the “blue form”, and wonder what it’s about. The “blue form” is the state-approved immunization record for your child. Alabama law states the following: “The board of education and the governing authority of each private school shall require each pupil, prior to entering kindergarten or first grade or prior to re-entering the higher grades of the schools of Alabama, to present a certificate of immunization for the prevention of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, and mumps. (Code of Alabama, 1975, Section 16-30-4.). Pupils who have passed their seventh birthday are exempt from a requirement for pertussis immunization.”

Most of us trust our physicians to provide these immunizations according to the appropriate medical recommendations for our children’s age. While we have often heard these names diphtheria, rubella, etc., you may not be aware of the nature of the diseases that these immunizations are preventing. The following will explain the diseases and their immunizations.



Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, are often given as one injection under the abbreviation of “DTaP.” Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

Diphtheria and pertussis are spread from person to person. Tetanus enters the body through cuts or wounds.

Diphtheria causes a thick covering in the back of the throat. It can lead to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure and even death.

Tetanus (lockjaw) causes painful tightening of the muscles, usually all over the body. It can lead to “locking” of the jaw so the victim cannot open his mouth or swallow. Tetanus leads to death in about two out of 10 cases.

Pertussis (whooping cough) causes coughing spells so bad that it is hard for infants to eat, drink or breathe. These spells can last for weeks. It can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death.

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTaP) can help prevent these diseases. Most children who are vaccinated with DTaP will be protected throughout childhood. Many more children would get these diseases if we stopped vaccinating.

DTaP is a safer version of an older vaccine called DTP. DTP is no longer used in the United States.



Polio

Polio is a disease caused by a virus. It enters a child’s (or adult’s) body through the mouth. Sometimes it does not cause serious illness. However, sometimes it causes paralysis (inability to move arms or legs). It can kill people who get it, usually by paralyzing the muscles that help them breathe.

Polio used to be very common in the United States. It paralyzed and killed thousands of people a year. A 1916 polio epidemic in the United States killed 6,000 people and paralyzed 27,000 more. In the early 1950s, there were more than 20,000 cases of polio each year.

Treatment for polio included an invention called an “iron lung.” It was used to pump air in and out of a polio victim’s body. The patient laid in it with only the head visible. Recently, a power failure caused an iron lung to shut down resulting in the death of a patient. She had been stricken with polio at the age of three and had used the iron lung for 60 years.

Polio vaccination began in 1955. By 1960, the number of cases had dropped to about 3,000, and by 1979 there were only about 10. Who can remember lining up to get their “sugar cube” for polio immunization?

The vaccine used now is an injection called Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). The success of polio vaccination in the U.S. and other countries sparked a world-wide effort to eliminate polio.

Today, no wild polio has been reported in the United States for over 20 years. But the disease is still common in some parts of the world. It would only take one case of polio from another country to bring the disease back if we were not protected by vaccine. If the effort to eliminate the disease from the world is successful, some day we won’t need polio vaccine. Until then, we need to keep getting our children vaccinated.

Next week we will look at the rest of the required school immunizations and a few additional suggested or recommended immunizations.

Steve Mullenix (R.Ph) co-owns The Pharmacy in Mount Olive with his wife, Sherry Mullenix (J.D., R.N.). They can be reached at 631-1201.