Capital Region | Capital Health | Summer 2018

4 Capital Region Medical Center There may be a lot of things on your must-do list to get your child ready for school, but one item near the top should be a trip to the doctor’s office. It’s a great way to make sure your child is healthy and ready for another year of learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts recommend annual doctor visits for all school-age children and teens. These appointments are important for a number of reasons: Vaccinations The doctor can make sure your child is protected against a host of serious diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and cervical cancer. It’s important for children of all ages to get their vaccinations at the recommended times. Milestones and signs Regular exams help the doctor become familiar with your child’s development and growth. That can make it easier to spot emerging health problems. Guidance As your child gets older, routine checkups provide time for your doctor to discuss important health issues, such as smoking, drinking, drugs, nutrition, sexual activity and depression. Finally, don’t forget about dental health too. Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among kids, reports the American Dental Association. A dental exam should be part of your child’s back-to-school routine. School days ahead! Vaccines have helped keep us safe from outbreaks of disease for a long time. But an epidemic of myths about vaccines may be putting everyone at risk—including your children. Here are five good reasons to keep your kids up-to-date on their shots: Vaccines are very safe. Babies might cry and get fussy. Older kids may complain about a sore arm. But those are the most common side effects. Vaccines do not cause autism or SIDS. Study after study has found no link between vaccines and autism or SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Signs of autism often appear around the same age the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine is given. And the first dose of the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine is given when a baby is 2 months old, a time when the risk of SIDS is highest. But that doesn’t mean one causes the other. Diseases like chickenpox can be serious. Most kids with chickenpox recover after a week or so. But some get pneumonia or infected blisters. A vaccine for the disease was approved in 1995. Before that, chickenpox sent about 10,000 people to the hospital every year—and killed about 100 a year. Diseases can come roaring back. Vaccine-preventable illnesses can make a comeback if immunization rates decline even a little—even in other parts of the world. The germs that cause these diseases may be only a plane flight away. There is safety in numbers. It’s harder for a disease to spread when most people are vaccinated for it. It’s called herd immunity. And it means that your child’s shot helps protect others too. Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1 2 3 4 5 S chedule a checkup before the first bell rings Immunizations: Why kids need them