Haemophilus Influenza B (2 months). Or that mild fever and cough could progress into something else, like epiglotittis. This is an inflammation of the epiglottis, which is the flap that covers your windpipe when you swallow so that food doesn’t go down it. What happens when your epiglottis gets inflammed? It covers that windpipe and you can’t breathe. This can happen very quickly and is an absolute emergency.
Code:
[youtube.com/watch?v=R9puIKVON-s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9puIKVON-s)
What happens when your child can't breathe due to epiglottitis closing off his windpipe and you bring him to my ER? I have to cut a hole in his throat so he breathe through it. Here is a video of that procedure, although this is done in the operating room. If I have to do it in the emergency department it is a lot faster, messier, and bloodier.
Imagine watching me do this to your child in the emergency room: [youtube.com/watch?v=6_0bH6KxPYA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_0bH6KxPYA)
By the way, I've never done one of these in the ER. If you don't get your child immunized with the HIB vaccine, your child may be the first one I do.
Diphtheria (2 months): Fever, chills, fatigue, cough, headache…sounds like the viral syndrome again doesn’t it? And it probably is, but if your child isn’t vaccinated it could be diphtheria. Your child’s lymph nodes in their neck may swell up so much that I have to put a tube down their throat so they can breathe. If I can’t get the tube down their throat, I may have to again cut a hole in your child’s throat so they can breathe. Diphtheria is fatal in upwards of 10% of cases, and possibly as high as 20% in the very young or elderly.
Polio (2 months): The poliovirus wants to attack the nerves that control your child’s muscles. Polio is almost wiped out from the planet due to the vaccines…but we could have said the same thing about Diphtheria 15 years ago before it’s resurgence. I’ve never seen a single case of it, so I’m sure I will miss it the first time I do see it.
Hep B (birth) - Very infective. Causes hepatitis which can lead to permanent liver damage, and sometimes death.
Hep A (1 year) - Similar to Hep B.
Rotavirus (2 month) - Very infective horrible diarrhea that can lead to severe dehydration and hospitalization. In America this has a very low death rate, but very uncomfortable for the child and parents.
tetanus (2 month) - If your child gets tetanus their muscles can cramp up so much that they break their own bones. Yes, your child can cramp up so much that they break their own bones. We can prevent that with tetanus vaccine.
Measles (1 year) - Fever, fatigue, body aches, and a rash everywhere. While not typically a fatal disease, it often progresses to a serious pneumonia that can require hospitalization.
mumps(1 year) Fever, fatigue for few days. Swelling in the throat. Usually goes away without any big deal. Unless you are a male who is past puberty, then you are at risk for inflammation of your testicles which can lead to infertility. Women too can have inflammation of her ovaries and infertility issues. And then there is the nearly 30% chance of spontaneous miscarriage if a pregnant woman contracts mumps.
rubella(1 year) Not commonly a significant disease for your child. But if your child gives it to a pregnant woman then the pre-born child is at high risk for congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). This results in a miscarriage approximately 20% of the time. The surviving babies have significant risk of being born with a wide range of deformities including mental retardation, deafness, cataracts, retina problems, congenital heart problems, small head, etc etc, etc.
This is what rubella vaccine prevents:
youtube.com/watch?v=v_aQVcaQ_OU
Varicella(1 year) Yeah, I know, it’s only chickenpox. You probably had chickenpox when you were a child and you don’t think it’s a big deal. It usually isn’t. It can RARELY cause swelling around the brain, but that’s very rare. However the bigger consequence of chickenpox happens 30-60 years AFTER they go away because, you see, the virus never really goes away. It just hides in a nerve root for decades until it comes back as shingles which is an incredibly painful rash. I’ve had to put people into the hospital before just to control their pain.
HPV (11 year) prevents most of the papilloma viruses that cause the most aggressive forms of cervical cancer. While cervical cancer can be detected early by annual pap smears, these pap smears on detect the cancer, they don’t prevent or treat it. Furthermore many young woman do not get the pap smears, and don’t go to the doctor until they have symptoms. But in that respect cervical cancer is like colon cancer; once you have symptoms, you probably have very advanced disease.
Now you know the risks of NOT getting the vaccines. While there is some small risk from getting vaccines (injection site discomfort, guillain-barre, anaphylaxis, etc), these risk are miniscule compared to the risks of preventable diseaes
I keep trying not no respond. I think I’ll try harder.