Acts of Tekla: I got it as a teenager in 2000. I was coughing for about 6 months and had to take a semester off from gym class. My BFF got it in college and coughed so hard she dislocated a rib.

Second reminder about vaccination prompted by my most recent MMR thread: several people have mentioned their doctors have never told them the DPT (diphtheria, pertussis/whooping cough, tetanus) shot is NOT a lifetime shot. You need boosters every 10 years.

If you can't remember the last time you got a DPT booster, get one now and then set a reminder in your head to get them in years that end in 5.

The other method (and the one I use): get one when a relative is having a baby and then get boosters when the kid is having a birthday that ends in 0. (Our oldest niece is our clock for that.)

If you frequently work outside, around metal, or get injuries that make a doctor ask "when was your last tetanus shot", you can get the TD shot that's just tetanus and diphtheria every 5 years, but don't let more than 10 years pass between TDaP (the one with the pertussis protection).

Whooping cough is pretty much always circulating at a low level of transmission and a LOT of doctors can't recognize it anymore. It is miserable and you don't want it! Get a booster!

I got it as a teenager in 2000. I was coughing for about 6 months and had to take a semester off from gym class. My BFF got it in college and coughed so hard she dislocated a rib.

Post