ADULTS need shots/vaccines too!

There are 4 shots/vaccines that we should get as adults according to Parade.com Health info Dr. Ranit Mishori

Vaccine Alert!

Adults also need vaccines--to boost that initial immunization or to take advantage of newly developed protection.

Yet many adults tend to neglect this important area of preventive medicine.

But it's a mistake to let the matter slide. Just because you made it through childhood, you don't want to risk getting diseases for which you can easily find protection. Vaccinations are one of the simplest and least costly ways to stay well. Here's what I recommend to my adult patients.

The Shingles Vaccine.
The vaccine for herpes zoster, better known as shingles, has been on the market only since 2006. It is intended for adults 60 and up who have had chicken pox. That disease can reactivate later in life as shingles, with the hallmark painful rash. For many, it also has a nasty aftereffect--severe pain that can last for months. One expert estimates that, if used as recommended, the vaccine could eliminate some 280,000 cases of shingles a year.

Pneumonia Vaccine.
This vaccine guards against 23 of the most common strains of bacterial pneumonia, which is responsible for 40,000 deaths a year in the U.S. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) also protects against some bacterial infections of the blood. It is given as a one-time shot for all adults 65 or older and for younger people with lowered immunity.

Tetanus Booster.
A tetanus shot prevents "lockjaw" or muscle paralysis, which can lead to death. Booster shots are needed every 10 years--don't wait until there's the threat of infection from an open puncture wound. (That's when adults usually get the shot.) In 2005, a combination booster, called Tdap, was introduced. In addition to tetanus, it contains low concentrations of diphtheria and whooping cough vaccines. Whooping cough was added because of a surge in cases in recent years and the realization that if the vaccine is given in childhood, its effectiveness may wear off. Giving the vaccine to adults and adolescents provides "a double benefit," says Dr. Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of immunization services at the CDC, because adults who care for or live with young children are the No. 1 source of infections for kids.

HPV Vaccine.
The Gardasil vaccine was created to counter human papillomavirus (HPV), responsible for genital warts and, more important, cervical cancer. In fact, about 70% of cases of cervical cancer in the U.S. are associated with HPV. A series of three shots currently is recommended for women through age 26 or before they become sexually active. Studies now are looking at how the vaccine might work in women older than 26 and in men.

Flu Shot.
This is the best- known vaccine--and also the most "popular"--among adults. Nearly 60% of adult Americans get it each year, although each year's formula is different from what came before. This is because the virus that causes influenza keeps changing, making itself a moving target, and the scientists developing the vaccine have to anticipate which strains they'll likely be up against in any given year. "There's no other vaccine that we give that's like that," says Dr. Myron Levine of the University of Maryland's School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development.

So, all of you wise, weary and wary, need to get these vaccines even as an adult. Make it happen!

Source: Parade Magazine Dr. Ranit Mishori