Planning a trip abroad can be very exciting. Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, visiting a foreign country is an adventure. This is especially true if you have never traveled outside the country. There are certain foreign countries, however, where visiting can be dangerous unless you get the necessary immunizations.

Huh? Adults need vaccines too? Yes, you do! Vaccinations play an integral role in preventative healthcare. The adult vaccination schedule begins at 19 years old, and will continue throughout a lifetime. It’s not hectic. In fact, there’s only one vaccine recommended as an annual dosage. We’ll give you a hint: it rhymes with the “blue” shot. We’ve put together each vaccine you need in your adult life, when you can (or should) receive it, and what it’s called.

We live in a time where communicable disease epidemics are few and far between. We do not live in fear of getting polio, where paralysis of both the legs and lungs are inevitable. Nor do we have severe outbreaks of measles. Healthcare providers, and our nation’s population, have worked together to decrease and isolate outbreaks of highly contagious, deadly diseases over decades of diligence and development of preventative measures.

The flu shot…a dreaded endeavor for some, but a necessity when the seasons change from hot to cold, and cold to hot. You’ve heard the flu shot can make you sick, or it will protect you from being sick, or both. Each body is different, so each person has a unique experience when receiving this particular type of annual medicine. There are, however, some myths flying around about the flu shot, and what ensues after the fact. We are here to set the record straight! Fear not, there is no longer any reason to wonder what you can expect after receiving the flu shot, and what the normal vs. abnormal side effects are.

You wake up in the morning ready to take on the day, but by lunch time you’re sneezing and feel a sore throat coming on. “Probably just allergies…” you tell yourself. By the time you get home in the evening, your body aches, your head aches, and even though it’s 40 degrees outside, you’re burning up. There’s no denying it – you have the flu – but you can’t have the flu! There’s dinner to make, kids to bathe, a house to clean, and you have an important meeting at work tomorrow.

As most people know, we wear seat belts while driving to protect us from injury in the case of a car accident. Unfortunately, sometimes people are harmed in an accident even when they have taken preventative measures, like using a seat belt. But we can all agree that seat belts are a crucial protection because they drastically reduce the chance of serious injury, even death, from a car accident.

The same principle applies with vaccines and immunizations. Think of a vaccine like a seat belt. While nothing is 100 percent effective and there’s no guarantee against exposure to disease, modern vaccination offers high levels of protection against disease.