Jessie, vaccines save lies. Period. Fact. Do you know anyone who's had polio? Do you know anyone who's had scarlet fever? Because I don't. We've forgotten how heart-breaking and deadly those diseases are, because no one gets them any more. Because vaccines.
Scarlet fever is group A strep with a specific presentation. Thanks to antibiotics, it's no longer the health issue it once was, but it hasn't vanished. Unfortunately, there's at least one resistant strain out there, which is terrifying. There is no vaccine for it (there are for some bacterial infections, like pertussis, but not for this one).
Otherwise, you tell 'em!
Also, my sister had it!
I don't think I ever did. Just bog standard strep. A lot. A lot a lot. Annoyingly often.
pokes head in thread...
Hey. Miss y'all. I'm well over a month behind in this thread. Over 900 posts. I gave up. So I skipped to the end. Work is busy, but not bad busy, just normal busy. But cuts into free time for reading here.
Hairpats, hugs, & High Fives as needed.
Had a second round of the NSB procedure on Friday. It was a little worse off. Still a bit of pain. But still, NSB.
My mom had scarlet fever. She told us that she almost died and her hair changed from curly to straight (is the latter really a thing?).
I got a bunch of boosters in '08, along with some tropics-specific shots. I had to stagger them over three visits and my arm still hurt like the dickens. I never considered not getting them, though. Avoiding pertussis: all the cool kids are doing it.
I had scarlet fever but, thanks to penicillin, it wasn't a huge health crisis.
I went to the coffe shop for the first time in over a month because I was avoiding that guy who I mentioned who seems too eager to be my friend. And of course he shows up as I'm waiting for my coffee. However, he ignored me so maybe he got the hint?
Just bog standard strep. A lot. A lot a lot. Annoyingly often.
I used to have it at least monthly. Finally was told to suck it up or get my tonsils out when I was 23. Recovery was hell but I haven't had strep since. Really regret I was able to talk my way out of surgery when I was little. But that, as I recall, was just that they were inflamed a lot but not phrased as a great reservoir for strep. Weird when a chronic health thing is just fixed. Nice. But weird.
Speaking of epidemics, when we gave Ryan his shower last night, we discovered that he's contracted hand, foot and mouth disease (caused by the not at all hilariously named coxsackie virus). He's home for the rest of the week, and feeling a bit miserable. (We are very lucky that his grandparents are still staying with us.)
I admit, I've never had a flu shot because injecting myself with virus freaks me out. But I can accept that I've been fortunate/ well-protected by y'all that do it.
