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capsule moments

“POX PARTIES”:

My mother didn’t need to have a pox party because I caught it from my sister. And I do remember all that calamine lotion slathered all over my  body and feeling less than well for a week or so. I read an article that said that children with chickenpox have an average 350 red itchy blisters.  I can vouch for that….very uncomfortable.  Although it’s passed off as a mild disease it can cause complications including pneumonia, encephalitis and bacterial infections of the skin.  Encephalitis can be very serious leading to seizures, deafness or brain damage.  Since its release in 1995, the varicella vaccine has become part of many parents’ immunization regimen for their children.  It’s given as two doses.  The first around 12 months and the second between the ages of 4 and 6 years.  It’s that second dose that may be difficult to remember to have given.  Perhaps pharmacists could diarize the second shot on the Mom’s prescription record to remind of the second shot.  Another service for the family pharmacist?

MORE ABOUT IMMUNIZATION:

I don’t usually spend a whole column on one topic but once I started researching the first comment, I ran across an article in Pharmacist’s Letter Canada called “Common Concerns about Childhood Vaccinations” so the other three comments were from that publication.  If you aren’t already a subscriber to this monthly letter for pharmacists, think about being one.  It’s excellent and current and will help you answer many questions your customers may have about medications and what the current news about new medications.  I remember discovering it years ago and wrote to them thanking them for considering Canadian pharmacists as well as American.  They actually used my testimonial in their marketing for a couple of years.

The anti-vexers often use the “overloading” of a child’s immune system as an argument for their views.  But all of us, children included are exposed to many immune system stimulants all day every day.  The small amount in vaccines certainly doesn’t overload the system.

Some people don’t vaccinate their children because they think because everyone else does, their child won’t catch anything.  Wrong thinking and their children are still open to infections.

Another reason anti-anti-vaxers use in their arguments against immunization is that vaccines are not tested thoroughly enough before being released to the public.  Health Canada won’t OK a vaccine without thorough testing in all age groups.  After release, doctors, nurses and pharmacists are encouraged to share information about side effects with Health Canada.  It seems that fake news is rampant in the field of healthcare and it’s the medical community’s job to ensure that the truth is louder than all the misinformation