Babytalk | Grandparents and everyone coming contact with them should be vaccinated
The good news about all the news about COVID-19 is people are taking serious and becoming informed on how infectious diseases spread. We have always known that washing hands is the first step in preventing many illnesses. Now, all over social media, people are spreading the word: wash your hands.
I put together a little ditty about washing hands:
We wash our hands, O yes we do
Especially when we go ACHOO!
Soap and water work together
Getting rid of germs,
But not forever.
So many times, every day
We must wash our hands
To keep the germs away.
The other good news is, vaccinations work. We tend to associate vaccinations with children. If you are a grandparent, a close friend of a family with a baby, you too should be up to date with your vaccinations.
One of the most important vaccinations you should have is the Tdap ( tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis). Many of us were vaccinated when we were children, but immunity fades over time. Tetanus and diphtheria are rare in the United States, but vaccines work to keep them rare. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory illness. An adult can get pertussis and it is just a really bad cough. It can kill a baby. Babies do not receive the Tdap until they are 2 months of age. They are not fully vaccinated until 6 months. During that time an adult can pass pertussis to a baby. Half of all infants under 1 year of age who catch pertussis end up in a hospital.
For adults one shot every 10 years is enough to protect the young ones in your life from pertussis. The CDC, center for disease control, recommends you receive it at least 2 weeks before having contact with a child younger than 1 year of age.
The Shingles vaccine is a two shot vaccine given to people over the age of 50. Shingles is very painful and caused by the same organism that causes chickenpox. If you have a breakout from Shingles you are contagious when you have a blister rash that hasn’t formed a crust. You will not be contagious after getting the shots.
People born after 1957 should be tested to see if they are immune to the measles. If you are not immune, you should see your doctor and discuss getting the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination. You should also discuss how long you should wait before having contact with children.
People most vulnerable to the flu are either over 65 or younger than 5 years old. The flu vaccine is not perfect, but it is the best we have at this time. Researchers are working on perfecting the flu vaccine. It is hoped in the future it will be a one time vaccination. However, it is still a yearly vaccination. More people have died and gotten sick from the flu than COVID-19. Eighty percent of the children who have died this flu season were not vaccinated against the flu. That is a tragedy not only for their family, but for society as a whole.
Pneumonia is a bacterial infection in the lungs. Just like the flu, the people most at risk are over 65 and younger than 5 years of age. Discuss with your doctor which pneumonia shot is best for you and how long you should stay away from children after receiving it.
Viruses and bacteria cause deadly illnesses invisible to the human eye. We do not have all the answers on how to prevent the transmission of sicknesses caused by viruses and bacteria, but we do know some things do help stop the spreading of these sicknesses.
We do know washing your hands, avoiding being near someone who is sick, not touching your face, coughing and sneezing etiquette ( covering your mouth and putting your face into your elbow ), avoiding touching surfaces such as handrails, and very importantly, getting vaccinated are the best bet for staying healthy.
The scary thing about COVID-19 is we have no vaccination.
I will finish with another ditty: Soap is good, germs are bad, wash your hands and you’ll be glad.
Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in Healthy Living in the Bradenton Herald. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.