Vaccines are a highly effective, safe way to prevent the devastating effects of many potentially deadly diseases. At San Antonio Premier Internal Medicine in Texas, the experienced clinicians offer a comprehensive range of vaccines that protect you and the people you love from diseases like hepatitis, polio, and seasonal flu, to name just a few. To see if you or your child needs any vaccinations, call one of the practice’s three San Antonio offices or book an appointment online today.
Vaccines are substances that help protect you against an extensive range of dangerous diseases. It’s much better to avoid these life-changing conditions and the pain and misery they cause by receiving a vaccine.
Many of the diseases vaccines protect you from are life-threatening. In the years since they were first available, vaccines have saved millions of lives. San Antonio Premier Internal Medicine offers vaccination programs that start in childhood, protecting you and your family from diseases such as:
If you’re going abroad, you can get vaccines that protect you from diseases like yellow fever that aren’t a threat in the United States.
Vaccines trigger a response from your immune system, which is the body’s defense against infection. Your immune system identifies potentially dangerous microorganisms like bacteria and viruses and tells your white blood cells to release antibodies. The antibodies attack the invaders and kill them.
The catch is that you need a specific antibody to combat each infection. A healthy immune system remembers the antibodies it made previously, so it can recreate them if you encounter the same organism again.
Vaccines provide your body with the information it needs to create antibodies before you suffer an infection. This is particularly valuable when dealing with conditions that could cause long-term complications or death. Vaccines are so successful that devastating diseases like smallpox are no longer a risk.
Most vaccines require an initial series of injections during childhood that offer long-lasting protection. You might need to have booster vaccinations at intervals to maintain immunity to some diseases. Seasonal flu requires annual boosters because there are so many different strains of the influenza virus.
Vaccines are very safe. Many use dead or weakened bacteria or viruses or deactivated toxins that the microorganism releases. Newer ones use snippets of genetic material. These are all forms of bacteria or viruses that can’t infect you.
Side effects from vaccines are rare, and the benefits are significant. In contrast, the diseases vaccines prevent can cause pain, disfigurement, disability, and death.
Your doctor at San Antonio Premier Internal Medicine can advise you on which vaccinations you and your family members need. They’re also happy to discuss any concerns you might have.
To benefit from the protection vaccines offer, call San Antonio Premier Internal Medicine today or book an appointment online.