Vaccines adults should ask their doctor about

Even if you had all your shots as a kid, a Calgary doctor says you're likely going to need them again when you're an adult.

"Our immune system's memory is not forever," said Calgary Eyeopener medical contributorDr. Raj Bhardwaj.

Wanted posters for diseases

He says vaccines are like "wanted posters" for your immune system they get your body to recognizes the "bad guys."

"If it's exposed to the picture of what that bad guy looks like, then when the bad guy comes into town, your immune can recognize him and take care of him before he starts robbing banks and causing problems."

But if it's been a long time since your immune system has seen that wanted poster, it can actually lose its memory of what the bad guy looks like.

Bhardwaj says a perfect example of this was when Sidney Crosby got the mumps, even though he was vaccinated when he was a child.

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"That's why you may want to get an adult booster for certain illnesses," said Bhardwaj.

Diphtheria and tetanus

"If you get tetanus, you're pretty much going to die. We don't have any good treatment for tetanus," said Bhardwaj.

Tetanus, also called "lockjaw" because it causes muscle spasms that make it hard to open your mouth, is caused by a bacterial infection.

Bhardwaj says you should get your tetanus booster, which also coversdiphtheria,every 10 years.It'savailable for free through Alberta Health Services.

Whooping cough

The medical term for this illness is pertussis, but Bhardwaj calls it the "100-day cough."

Since January, there have been more than500 cases of whooping cough reported inAlberta andlarge outbreaks of the bacterial diseasewere reported in California and Washington State in 2014.

Pertussisposes a serious risktonewborns, young children and people going through cancer treatment, so Bhardwaj saysadults in contact with this population should definitely get a booster.

Pneumococcalvaccine

Bhardwaj says thisvaccine is often calledthe "pneumonia vaccine," but itdoesn't prevent all types of the pneumonia.

It's formulated to protect peopleagainst the streptococcuspneumoniaebacteria, which causes some types of pneumonia and alsomeningitis, ear and sinus infections.

The vaccine isfree for people 65 and older or if you havea specific medical condition that would put you at risk for infection from thistype ofbacteria.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)

Bhardwaj says avaccine that can preventcervicalcancer is a "no brainer" for him.

The HPV vaccine is available to boys and girls in Alberta public schools, but also adults up to 26 years old.

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Shingles

This vaccine is "not perfect," says Bhardwaj.

He says if you gotchickenpoxas a child,you have about a 30 per cent chance ofdeveloping shingles sometime in your life.

But if you get the vaccine, which costs between $100 and $150 in Alberta, your risk drops to about 15 per cent.