College-Immunizations-screenings, vaccinations, ScreeningsSee your physician about the flu vaccines for this fall and discuss the HINI (Swine Flu) virus and possible epidemic,. Screenings and testsCollege immunizations screenings should be done before you leave for school. They are important. In college you live in close proximity with lots of people, some of them at high risk for infectious diseases. You need to be protected as much as possible.Your college will let you know if certain vaccinations are required, but you should have a physical, and necessary shots or boosters before you go. Recommended Adolescent and Adult Screenings, Ages 18-29 *All Women: Not that men should not get tested for these STDs, but women can have disastrous life changing repercussions from these infections.
For information on Sexually Transmissible Diseases, please visit STDs and practice smarter sex. Meningitis!Frequently fatal. Thrives in college-living atmosphere, with lots of people in close proximity to each other, and sharing facilities. Flu-like symptoms, fast moving. Inflammation of the meninges caused by viral or bacterial infection and marked by intense headache and fever, sensitivity to light, perhaps muscular rigidity. Can cause convulsions, delirium and death. Ask your physician about the vaccine. Today. TuberculosisTuberculosis was first known as "consumption" and later called The White Plague. T.B. and other highly contagious diseases such as Typhus were among the reasons for inspecting newly arrived immigrants at Ellis Island between 1894 and 1924. Passengers with their own cabins, who had places to go when they arrived were not deemed to be as much of a threat as the millions of poor who were going to be living together in crowded tenements in the inner cities, altho the disease did not discriminate between groups of people. At this time, TB killed about 25 percent of our population annually. When it was identified as a contagious disease, victims were placed in sanitariums to help them as well as to isolate them from the rest of the population. Canada had large numbers of Tuberculosis patients, and lagged behind the United States in providing treatment for victims of the disease. Robert Louis Stephenson died of T.B., as did Lucy Montgomery, author of the beloved "Anne of Green Gables" series, as did the famous western character, Doc Holiday. If you saw the film "3:10 to Yuma", Christian Bales's son in the movie had T.B. Tuberculosis became less of a threat after the discovery/invention of antibiotics. Now, however, it has become resistant to some of the drugs previously used to treat it, and the spread of auto-immune diseases, particularly AIDS, is aiding in the return of this dreaded disease. TB is closely monitored by the CDC. It takes two forms: Latent (Inactive), and Active. Inactive, which many people have without knowing it. In this stage, the bacteria sit in little pockets in your lungs waiting for their chance to break out and cause full-blown T.B. This form is frighteningly common, but shows up in X-Rays and T.B. skin tests. On an X-Ray it looks like tiny holes in you lungs. Treatment for this form requires prolonged treatment (several months) with an antibiotic. It is not contagious, and has no symptoms in the Latent form. ACTIVE TB: You are sick, and you are contagious. Unknown and/or untreated, a disease, a weakened immune system, or even a weaker immune system as you age, can cause the bacteria to break out and cause active Tuberculosis. Left untreated, TB is a debilitating, eventually fatal, disease. Be aware, and avoid people displaying symptoms. Get a chest X-Ray. Signs and Symptoms of Tuberculosis Women: Cervical CancerAsk your physician about the new vaccine against Cervical Cancer. Why take a chance?If you are older than the targeted group for this vaccine, you insurance may not cover it. Discuss this with your physician, and ask if you should get the vaccine even if you have to pay ut of pocket. My understanding is that all women should have the vaccine; the insurance companies will pay the cost only for those in the targeted group. Recommended Immunizationsa Diphtheria is another disease like Tuberculosis, that is coming back to get us. Before the vaccine, it was a feared killer. This disease is highly contagious bacterial disease characterized by the formation of breath-obstructing membrane in the throat, and acommpnied by a frequently fatal toxin in the blood.
We have an STD rate of over 30%, and viruses of all kinds seem to constantly plague us. Remember, so far, we cannot cure ANY viruses. It pays to be careful:If you share toilets, use a spray disinfectant. In public toilets, use paper seat covers, try to avoid touching anything in the room, especially faucets and switchplates. Wash your hands, use to paper towel to open the door to leave. Do not share beverages, or give others bites of your food, especially during the cold and flu season. Unless you are dying to catch a virus, avoid people with the flu. Do not put pencils used by others into your mouth. Try to discourage those who cough in your face. If you do your own cooking, use simple sanitary common sense to avoid food poisoning. Wash your hands often, especially when you come home after being in public places. Buy liquid hand soap made with alcohol rather than antibacterial soap, which reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics by making bacterial more resistant. (They evolve.) Back to the top of college-immunizations-screenings Sexually Transmitted Diseases Search Colleges College Living Main Page Everything about College Home Page
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