Measly Measles

The truth of the matter is that measles aren't

 really measly at all. Since they are caused by a virus and completely preventable through vaccination, they may even seem so measly as to not require a second thought. I am giving them a thought (or two) here for a couple of reasons. Earlier this week I took two grandsons for immunizations (not for measles prevention, for meningitis prevention) required for school in GA. Apparently vaccination requirements vary from state to state (in this case from FL to GA) and their immunization records were found lacking. That is reason number one. Reason number two is that not everyone is immunizing their kids against measles, resulting in recent outbreaks. The worse news is that measles may seem measly because they have long been out of our mainstream consciousness but they aren't. Measles can be deadly (hence, we have vaccines for their prevention, duh!).

Back to my grandsons…I clearly remember taking them for shots when they were still babies (MMR-measles, mumps, and rubella included) and the older of the two (now 14) was the classic shot despising, wiggling screamer. But we got the job done. The younger of the two never made a peep which really surprised me since I was mentally preparing myself for the whole table tackle situation. Fast forward to ages 14 and 12…now you get your shots at the local pharmacy on the corner so if you throw down all the shoppers in the store can make a video with their cell phones. The older of the two rolled up his t-shirt sleeves and was nervously showing off his ‘guns’ when the nice lady pharmacist with the cart (and needle) came rolling out from behind door number two. She engaged him in video game conversation and despite all his trepidation he didn’t realize the deed was done until she was ready to move on to grandson number two. He said all he felt was a pinch. Then it was the younger one’s turn. After watching his big brother handle the process I thought he’d be okay, but that’s what I get for thinking. When he sat down in the chair his face went pale and he reached for my hand and whimpered, “Grandma.” But by then it was practically all over as the pharmacist started talking with him about his martial arts and jujitsu classes. That second shot went smoothly and soon we were on our way.

Back to the not so measly measles…the part that matters here is that the measles can be deadly. The virus does usually start out with a fever, runny nose, and rash but can move on to include swelling of the brain (causing brain damage), ear infection (causing deafness), and /or pneumonia (one of the leading causes of death in infants and children under the age of 5). The big thing here is that this is ALL PREVENTABLE with simple vaccinations. No matter how unhappy your child is over the actual shot the truth is the vaccine can save their lives. That is what should be foremost in the minds of parents because measles are not measly at all.