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Morrill County Community Hospital offers FREE immunization clinics on the
first Monday of each month at no charge. Contact Donna Kesterson at Home Health at 262-1600 for more information. Immunizations and Your Child Immunizing your child is one of the most important decisions a parent can make. There are ten dangerous childhood diseases ( measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, polio, Hepatitis B, Rotavirus and Varicella) which can be prevented.
Why should my child be immunized? Before vaccines were available, parents lived with the constant fear that their children would be among the thousands who were left crippled or dead by common childhood diseases such as polio, measles, or pertussis. Fortunately, today most children are immunized and parents' fears have become a thing of the past. Even though the actual number of reported cases has been greatly decreased, diseases preventable through immunization have not disappeared. If children remain unimmunized, they are unnecessarily at risk of contracting one of these deadly diseases. Vaccines are among the safest and most effective of all medicines. Each year, about 100 million doses are given in this country, most of them to babies and young children. Like most medicines, however, vaccines can cause side effects. These are usually mild and don't last long. They might include a low fever, a sore arm or a mild rash. On rare occasions, the side effects are serious and your clinic or health department staff can discuss those reactions with you. It is generally agreed that risks from the vaccines are far less than the risks faced if the child becomes ill.
What immunizations should my child have before entering day care or school? State law requires that children entering day care or school be immunized. All vaccines are given in a series, and the number of doses required depends on the age of the child and how old the child was when immunizations started. Currently, day care facilities require immunization for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP), polio, Hib, and measles, mumps, rubella (MMR). While Hepatitis B vaccine is not currently required, it is strongly recommended. School facilities require immunization for DTP, polio, and MMR. Vaccines are constantly being developed and improved and the state laws may be changed as well. Check the Recommended Schedule for Immunization for the childhood immunization timetable. Under some circumstances, a day care will accept a waiver as a substitute for the immunizations. If a disease outbreak occurs, your child may be excluded until the outbreak is over. For schools, a medical exemption from a physician or an affidavit of refusal for religious reasons may be substituted. Check with your doctor, county or state health department or school if there are any questions regarding immunizations. ~~ Keep your own record for each child. ~~ Keep it up-to-date. ~~ Review it often to be sure no immunizations are missed. ~~ Only missed immunizations will have to be made up - not the whole series. Recommended Schedule for Immunization
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Measles - ("hard", "red", "7-day" or "10-day" measles; rubeola) Measles lasts for one to two weeks and starts with the signs of a cold, followed by a high fever and rash. It spreads easily when an ill person coughs or sneezes. One out of every ten victims develops pneumonia or ear infections and one out of every one thousand will become blind, deaf, mentally retarded or will suffer from seizures or other brain disorders. Mumps cause fever, headache and painful swelling of glands under the jaw or in front of the ears. It leads to inflammation of the brain in one out of ten ill children and while most get well without problems, deafness may occur. It can also cause painful swelling of the testicles and ovaries, but rarely makes a person sterile. Rubella - ("German measles" or "3-day measles") Rubella is usually a mild, 3-day illness that causes a slight fever, rash and swollen glands behind the ears. Sometimes, the joints will become sore and swollen. Problems occur when a pregnant woman catches rubella. There is one chance in five that her baby will be born with serious birth defects, including heart problems, blindness, deafness, or mental retardation. Varicella - (Chickenpox) Chickenpox is caused by a virus which spreads when germs pass from an infected person to the nose or throat of others. It usually causes a rash, itching, tiredness, and fever. It can lea to pneumonia, brain infection or death. Complications occur most often in very young children, adults, or people with damaged immune systems. Diphtheria usually attacks the airways, causing a sever sore throat, fever, and cough. Dead skin cells can block the windpipe, choking the ill person. Diphtheria makes and sends poison into the bloodstream, attacking the heart, brain, and nerves. About one out of ten people who get the disease die. Those who survive may have permanent nerve damage. Tetanus - ("lockjaw") Tetanus occurs when the bacteria, usually found in dirt, gets into wounds or cuts. It makes a poison which causes severe muscle spasms and violent convulsions. Breathing and heart problems often result. Of those who get ill, about half will die. Pertussis causes severe coughing spells, making it hard for the sick child to eat, drink, or breathe. One of every four ill children get pneumonia. Permanent brain damage occurs in about two of every one hundred cases. People of any age may become ill, but infants are usually the sickest and may even die. Polio virus is found in the nose, throat, and intestines of infected people. It spreads easily and often permanently cripples or kills its victims. Hib Meningitis (Haemophilus influenzae type b disease; "Hib disease") Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) germs are spread from an infected person to the nose or throat of others. Hib causes meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord coverings), pneumonia, and infection of the blood, joints, bones, throat, and heart covering. This disease is very serious for children under five years old, especially infants. Hepatitis B is a serious disease of the liver caused by the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). This can cause life long infection and severe illness such as cirrhosis (which destroys the liver), or liver cancer. Of every ten infants who are infected at birth, up to nine will become chronic HBV carriers, and can spread the infection to others throughout their lifetime. Rotavirus is a highly infectious disease and the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children in the United States. The virus may cause a mild illness or more severe symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Almost all children become ill with at least one or more rotavirus infections in the first five years of life. It can be spread by failure to practice good hand washing following the use of the toilet or after changing diapers. |
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