 Yearly vaccinations aren't just for kids any more. You probably heard a lot about a seasonal or H1N1 flu shot last fall, but you should know that a battery of other adult vaccinations might also become part of your health care routine. Pneumonia and shingles vaccines are preventive-care essentials for older adults, and meningitis and tetanus shots are now college rites of passage. Even the vaccines of childhood—measles, mumps and rubella, and whooping cough—are recommended for adults who missed out in their younger years. Adult vaccinations should be part of all preventive care, but they are especially critical for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, since flu and other illnesses can make routine medications less effective, throw off health goals such as stable blood sugar, and reduce ability to care for oneself. For America's growing population of older adults, vaccinations may head off potentially deadly disease complications—a bout of influenza leading to a trip to the hospital for pneumonia, for example. Vaccinations can also be a good way to establish your medical home with a primary care provider, as a non-critical visit where you can discuss other preventive health goals and maybe ask questions about minor symptoms in a less urgent setting. But for adults without a regular doctor, immunizations are one of the few preventive care tools widely available through public clinics, drugstores and community vaccination drives. Who Gets What? Let's start with the flu. Seasonal influenza vaccinations are a must for all adults, since the major strain of flu changes from year to year. New flu strains such as the H1N1 virus may also require additional vaccinations each year, although researchers aren't sure yet how often that virus will change. Another vaccination recommended for all adults is the tetanus shot, which should be given every ten years. Margaret Lewin, M.D., medical director of Cinergy Health and a vaccination expert, recommends more frequent tetanus shots for her patients who rock-climb or enjoy other sports where skin-penetrating injuries are common. "If they get the shot every five years, we might be able to save them a trip to the emergency room," she explains. Annual pneumonia vaccinations are important for those 65 and older, along with people who have underlying heart, lung or immune disorders. For adults over 60, Dr. Lewin also recommends a shingles vaccine. Shingles is caused by a reactivated chicken pox virus, and can be "devastatingly painful," she says. "It's never very hard to talk someone into getting a shot for shingles, if they know someone who has had the disease." Some vaccines are recommended mostly to special groups of adults. College students and soldiers bunking in dorms and barracks should receive meningitis vaccinations, since the close- quarters living makes them prone to potentially deadly outbreaks. Hepatitis B vaccines are recommended for all sexually active adults, emergency personnel, health care workers and those who work with small children. The new vaccine against cervical cancer is now widely offered to young girls and women. And international travelers may need to get shots for yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A and polio, depending on their destination. |