When you get immunizations, you’re protecting your body from dangerous diseases. Immunizations build up your immune system’s defenses, so you can effectively resist and fight off infections your body may contract.
Immunizations contain a weakened or dead version of a specific harmful virus that is administered through an injection. Your body jumps to your defense and starts making protective antibodies should it ever encounter the real thing.
These medical tools have done wonders for healthcare around the world by decreasing the transmission of disease, permanent disability, and infant mortality. But even though they’ve produced such amazing results in the medical world, many misconceptions still surround immunizations.
So, our primary care team led by Vijayalakshmi Raghu, MD, and Raghu Turebylu, MD, at Irving Coppell Primary Care and Pediatrics wants to debunk some common myths surrounding immunizations.
Natural immunity refers to getting the full disease naturally and building immunity from it. It’s still a great way to fight off infection, and it actually provides much longer lasting antibodies than an immunization does.
However, the risks of getting an infection without the protection of an immunization far outweigh the benefits of building immunity naturally. If you develop a dangerous infection, you could get symptoms that permanently damage your health and even put your life at risk.
If you read the list of ingredients in some immunizations, it can be pretty scary. You might see some substances like mercury, aluminum, and formaldehyde on that list. Although these ingredients can be harmful in large amounts, the truth is that these things already exist naturally in your body and in your surrounding environment.
It’s important to know that these so-called “dangerous” ingredients that exist in immunizations are found in much smaller amounts than you would ever experience in your day-to-day life, meaning there’s no harm in putting the immunizations into your body.
Thankfully, many harmful diseases like measles and polio are mostly eradicated in the United States. However, in other places around the world, that isn’t the case. So when someone travels internationally, those diseases are able to be brought back. If you aren’t immunized against these dangerous infections, you and others who are unprotected can develop them, leading to a health crisis.
A widespread misconception about immunizations is that they can cause health conditions such as autism or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). There has only been one study conducted that tried to link autism and immunizations; however, that study was quickly discredited due to faulty findings. In addition, there has never been any scientific evidence connecting immunizations to SIDS.
If you aren’t up-to-date on your immunizations, we highly encourage you to update those as quickly as you can. To schedule an appointment for updated immunizations, simply call your nearest office location or book online. We proudly serve the Irving, Coppell, and Dallas, Texas, areas.
