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Deborah Howell (Host): Medical care is one thing, but pediatric medicine is a whole different box of crayons. We all know it’s important to have a family physician. But what are some of the crucial benefits of taking your kids to a pediatrician? I’m Deborah Howell and in this episode of Pioneers Memorial Health Talk, we will talk about some common pediatric health problems and the importance of childhood vaccinations with Dr. Ameen Alshareef. Dr. Alshareef is a pediatrician in El Centro, California and Chairman of the Clinical Service of Pediatrics at Pioneers Memorial Hospital. A pleasure to have you on the show Dr. Alshareef.

Ameen Alshareef, MD (Guest): Thank you so much. Pleasure having you as well. Thank you.

Host: Alright. Let’s talk about childhood immunizations. First of all, how do vaccines work?

Dr. Alshareef: Okay, so, the vaccines work in the following ways. The immune system recognizes germs that enter the body as foreign invaders called antigens and it produces protein called antibodies to fight them. Now the first time the child is infected with a specific antigen, say measles virus; the immune system produces antibodies designed to fight it. Now this takes time. Usually the immune system cannot work fast enough to prevent the antigen from causing the disease. So, the child still gets sick. Now however, the immune system remembers the antigen. If it ever enters the body again, even after many years; the immune system can produce antibodies fast enough to keep it from causing disease a second time.

Now this protection is what we call immunity. Now it would be nice if there was a way to give a child or children immunity to a disease without them having to get sick first. In fact, this is how the vaccine works. So, vaccines contain the same antigen or part of the antigen that causes the disease. For example, measles vaccine contains measles virus, but the antigen in the vaccine is either killed or weakened to the point that it cannot cause the disease. However, they are strong enough to make the immune system produce antibodies; that lead to immunity. In other words, a vaccine is a safer substitute for a child’s first exposure to a disease. And this is how the vaccine works and provides protection to the children.

Host: It’s a pretty incredible system, isn’t it?

Dr. Alshareef: It is. It is.

Host: What are some of the reasons to vaccinate?

Dr. Alshareef: Well, it’s always better to prevent the disease rather than treating it, right? Now diseases that used to be common in this country and even around the world including polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, what’s known as whooping cough, rubella, or what’s known for the public as German measles, mumps, tetanus, haemophilus influenza, can now be prevented by the vaccines. So, the vaccines – thanks to the vaccines, one of the most terrible diseases in the history, smallpox, no longer existed outside the laboratory. Over the years, vaccines have prevented countless cases of disease and saved millions of lives. This is why we should vaccinate our kids.

Host: That is reason enough. Now what about the side effects and are vaccines safe?

Dr. Alshareef: Well, the vaccines are medicines, right and like any medicine, vaccines can cause side effects. The most common side effects are mild. The side effects from the vaccines are almost always minor such as redness or swelling where the shot was given and usually goes away within a few days. Now, serious side effects after vaccinations such as severe allergic reactions are very rare, and doctors and the clinic staff are trained to deal with them when they happen.

Host: What kind of ingredients are used in making the vaccines and are they safe as well?

Dr. Alshareef: Well, vaccines contain ingredients, right, called antigens which cause the body to develop immunity. Vaccines also contain very small amounts of other ingredients. All ingredients either help make the vaccine or ensure the vaccine is safe and effective. Now, all those have been studied before and they are shown to be effective and safe. Some of those examples, for example aluminum salt, sugar, gelatin, egg proteins, neomycin, just to keep the vaccine working and safe and effective and help storing the vaccine. As I mentioned earlier, they all have been studied over and over and they are shown to be safe and effective.

Host: I have one final question on this subject. Is there a link between vaccines and autism?

Dr. Alshareef: The short answer is no. And I mean some people have had concern that autism might be linked to vaccines children receive. But studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism. One vaccine ingredient that had been studied specifically is the thimerosal and research has shown that thimerosal doesn’t cause autism. Indeed, between 1999 and 2001, the thimerosal was removed from all the vaccines. The only childhood vaccine that contains thimerosal are flu vaccines packed in multi-dose vials. That being said, thimerosal-free alternatives are also available for flu vaccine. And I want to reemphasize on this fact that thimerosal-free alternatives are also available for flu vaccine. Now besides thimerosal, some people have had concern about other vaccine ingredients and relation to autism as well. However, no link has been found between any vaccine ingredients and autism.

Host: Great information. Thank you, Doctor. Now pediatric care is very different from adult medical care. What are some of the main differences?

Dr. Alshareef: The immune system for the child is usually weaker compared with the adult. And naturally the kids are born with immunity they gain from their mom. That provides some protection for the kids for the first few months and for maximum for the first few years of life. But then unfortunately, over time, after birth, they start losing those luxuries. This is why they are more prone to be affected with different types of viruses and infections. And because they are weak, and the immune system is weaker; it is really important to provide a secondary protection against some of the serious health problems like the viruses and the health problems we mentioned earlier like the measles and the rubella and the polio and other pathogens.

Host: Well, you’ve mentioned just some of those things but what are the most common health problems you treat in your practice?

Dr. Alshareef: Well, we treat all variety of diseases. We treat kids with asthma, with obesity, we do all of the routine healthcare in our office. We see a lot of newborns. We see newborns in the newborn nursery the first day they are born. We see them after they go home, a lot of vaccines and a lot of physical exams. We treat all health problems related to the flu, the respiratory symptoms, the infections and we really, really focus on preventive medicine because really the focus now is on preventive medicine. We want our kids and our community to stay healthy. This is why we really advertise, and we work hard for our patients to get immunized, keeping them up to date with their vaccines. We do everything possible to help parents keeping their appointments for their physical exams, being sure all those kids are vaccinated, they are protected, and they are healthy. So, we really, really focus on preventive medicine as well.

Host: Preventive medicine is one way, but what are some of the other ways your staff is providing quality pediatric care in the Imperial Valley?

Dr. Alshareef: That’s right. That’s right. We have two offices in the Imperial Valley in Brawley and in El Centro and we see kids with stomach infections, with asthma, with ADHD, with behavioral issues. We see a lot of kids with obesity. We do a lot of nutritional counseling and so forth. We do a lot of like hearing tests, vision exams. We insure our kids are staying healthy and we do – when needed, we do a lot of the referrals to see the specialists. We have a strong connection with the specialists at Brady Children’s in San Diego, so if the kid ever needs like more help and needs to be seen by a specialist; we are sure that our kids also have easy access to see the specialists in San Diego.

Host: Fantastic. And exactly where are your facilities located and how long have you been around?

Dr. Alshareef: We have been in the Imperial Valley for almost five years right now. Time flies quick, right. My office is – we practice in two different locations. It’s mainly in El Centro and Brawley and El Centro is at 1271 Ross Avenue and in Brawley it is at Pioneers Health Center across the street from PMH, from Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley.

Host: Perfect. Doctor, is there anything else you’d like us to know about pediatric care today?

Dr. Alshareef: Well, I just want to be sure – I just want to mention that we are available for everybody. Our offices are open five days a week and we have a help-line phone number which is available for our patients and for the mommies 24 hours, seven days a week and holidays and weekends are not excluded from this role. So, we tell the moms, we tell our patients if you have a question, if you have a concern, we are here to help you. We are here for your kids, so please call us. Bring your kids to us to see them. If you can’t bring them in, if there’s a small thing it can be handled over the phone. Please call us. We are always available 24 hours for your kids.

Host: I can feel your open heart even over the phone. Dr. Alshareef, thank you so much for your insights, for all the good work you do and for being on our program today.

Dr. Alshareef: Thank you so much. We appreciate this so much. Thank you.

Host: For more information please visit www.pmhd.org. Our guest today has been Dr. Ameen Alshareef, and this is Pioneers Memorial Health Talk. I’m Deborah Howell. Thanks so much for listening and have yourself a terrific day.