Medical Associates of the Shoals
Family Medical Practice | Internal Medicine
Did you know that a PAP test does not detect the most deadly of all gynecological cancers? There is no early detection test. It's important to know early potential symptoms and to communicate with your physician.
Watch this brief video from the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition to learn about the risks, symptoms, and other facts about ovarian cancer, then share the connection to spread education and information that can help save lives.
The month of August is time to think about Back To School and Sports Physicals, but it's also National Immunization Awareness Month. As such, we thought it could be helpful to provide you with the information below.
The following information comes from the CDC’s “Basic and Common Questions” portion under Vaccines and Immunizations. For more information on vaccines, vaccine-preventable diseases, and vaccine safety visit:www.cdc.gov/vaccines
Diseases that vaccines prevent can be dangerous, or even deadly. Vaccines greatly reduce the risk of infection by working with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease. The information below helps to explain how the body fights infection and how vaccines work to protect people by producing immunity.
The Immune System— The Body’s Defense Against Infection
To understand how vaccines work, it is helpful to first look at how the body fights illness. When germs, such as bacteria or viruses, invade the body, they attack and multiply. This invasion is called an infection, and the infection is what causes illness. The immune system uses several tools to fight infection. Blood contains red blood cells, for carrying oxygen to tissues and organs, and white or immune cells, for fighting infection. These white cells consist primarily of B-lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes, and macrophages:
Macrophages are white blood cells that swallow up and digest germs, plus dead or dying cells. The macrophages leave behind parts of the invading germs called antigens. The body identifies antigens as dangerous and stimulates the body to attack them.
Antibodies attack the antigens left behind by the macrophages. Antibodies are produced by defensive white blood cells called B-lymphocytes.
T-lymphocytes are another type of defensive white blood cell. They attack cells in the body that have already been infected.
The first time the body encounters a germ, it can take several days to make and use all the germ-fighting tools needed to get over the infection. After the infection, the immune system remembers what it learned about how to protect the body against that disease. The body keeps a few T-lymphocytes, called memory cells that go into action quickly if the body encounters the same germ again. When the familiar antigens are detected, B-lymphocytes produce antibodies to attack them.
How Vaccines Work
Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection. This type of infection, however, does not cause illness, but it does cause the immune system to produce T-lymphocytes and antibodies. Sometimes, after getting a vaccine, the imitation infection can cause minor symptoms, such as fever. Such minor symptoms are normal and should be expected as the body builds immunity.
Once the imitation infection goes away, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes, as well as B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that disease in the future. However, it typically takes a few weeks for the body to produce T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes after vaccination. Therefore, it is possible that a person who was infected with a disease just before or just after vaccination could develop symptoms and get a disease, because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
---
Some people believe that naturally acquired immunity—immunity from having the disease itself—is better than the immunity provided by vaccines. However, natural infections can cause severe complications and be deadly. This is true even for diseases that most people consider mild, like chickenpox. It is impossible to predict who will get serious infections that may lead to hospitalization.
Vaccines, like any medication, can cause side effects. The most common side effects are mild. However, many vaccine-preventable disease symptoms can be serious, or even deadly. Although many of these diseases are rare in this country, they do circulate around the world and can be brought into the U.S., putting unvaccinated children at risk. Even with advances in health care, the diseases that vaccines prevent can still be very serious – and vaccination is the best way to prevent them.
I really want to take this opportunity to say thank you to so many people who have
made it much easier to be the new doctor in town. The physicians and staff at Medical
Associates of the Shoals have made my launch into their practice a pleasure. I’m also
grateful to the staff at Helen Keller Hospital for being generous with information and
assistance. Of course, my new patients have been kind and informative with lots of tips
about living in the Shoals.
I always try to use this platform to write about conditions that I think are greatly
impacting our community, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD, has
really been on my mind lately. You may know that COPD refers to diseases that cause
air flow blockage and breathing related problems. It includes emphysema, chronic
bronchitis, and in some cases, asthma. In the United States, tobacco smoke is a key
factor in the development and progression of COPD. What’s very concerning is that
more than 50% of adults with low pulmonary function are not aware that they have
COPD.
According to the CDC, compared to adults without COPD, adults with COPD are more
likely to experience any of the following:
Activity limitations, such as difficulty walking or climbing stairs
Inability to work
The need for special equipment, such as portable oxygen tanks
Inability to engage in social activities
Confusion or memory loss
More emergency room visits, or overnight hospital stays
Other chronic diseases such as arthritis, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and stroke
Depression or other mental or emotional conditions
How can COPD be prevented? First and foremost, quit smoking and avoid inhaling
tobacco smoke! Treatment of COPD requires a careful and thorough evaluation by a
physician. A subsequent plan of treatment should be developed based on the findings
of the evaluation.
If you think you or someone you love might be suffering from COPD, check with your
physician right away. If you aren’t currently under the care of a physician, please call
our office and schedule a time to come in. We will run a few simple tests to determine
what’s going on and the level of care you may need. My goal is to help you to achieve
the best quality of life possible.
To schedule an appointment, just call our new patient line at 256-383-4447 ext. 124,
visit www.medshoals.com and click on New Patients, or email us at
talktous@medshoals.com. We’ll get you scheduled as quickly as possible.