Polk clinics, doctors' offices busy for back-to-school visits

LAKELAND — Angie Guerrero, 11, is about to start the sixth grade at Mulberry Middle School and was at the busy Central Florida Health Care pediatric clinic Wednesday morning, getting a series of vaccinations.

“That one burned,” Angie told LPN Lindsey Torres after receiving a human papilloma virus immunization, along with one for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, and a third shot for menactra and meningitis.

“When you get the shot, you can prevent a lot of things,” said Angie's mother, Juana Nievez.

Across the hall, Char'Xavion Smith, 6, was getting his teeth checked, treated with fluoride and sealed by dental hygienist Jenny Ruffy.

“I got a cavity,” he told Ruffy. “When I eat candy, I have a toothache.”

Ruffy showed him how to properly brush and floss his teeth.

Char'Xavion will be starting kindergarten at South McKeel Academy next week. His mother, Ruby Smith, said she loves having the state-subsidized dental clinic in Lakeland.

“He's had a lot of cavities,” Smith said. “He's had a lot of problems with dentists — he doesn't like to be held down. They were sending him all the way to Orlando.”

It's the busiest time of the year for local community health clinics and pediatricians' offices, as kids get physicals, immunization shots and dental exams before the start of school, which is Aug. 13 in Polk County.

“We always stay busy here,” said Nurse Practitioner Kelly Crews. “I myself have seen about a 25 percent increase in patients. Right now, it's mostly physicals and shots. In a few weeks, it'll be everybody getting sick from going back to school.”

Nicole Riley, a spokeswoman with the Polk County Department of Health, said their clinics also see an uptick in students.

“It is great to see the increase in traffic because that means kids are getting the immunizations they need,” Riley said, adding that the two weeks before school starts and the week after is when they see their biggest rush. “The clinics extend their hours most of the day to all five days of the week at all five clinic locations. No appointment is necessary for the back-to-school immunizations. Both required and recommended vaccinations are given during this time."

Riley said the vaccinations are free.

There are several clinics throughout Polk County:

Auburndale Clinic

1805 Hobbs Road

863-519-7910

Haines City Clinic

1700 Baker Ave E

863-519-7910

Healthy Start Hub

2020 E. Georgia St

Bartow

863-519-7900

Lake Wales Clinic

835 W. Central Ave

863-519-7910

Lakeland Clinic

3241 Lakeland Hills Blvd

863-519-7910

Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802-7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all states require children to be vaccinated against certain communicable diseases as a condition for school attendance. All states also establish vaccination requirements for children as a condition for child care attendance. The state of Florida allows exemptions for medical or religious reasons, but will exclude those students during an outbreak, epidemic or emergency. Florida allows for exemptions based on a parent’s philosophical beliefs.

The immunizations requirement for Florida school children can be found at: https://bit.ly/2Mb8apA.

The Mayo Clinic describes vaccine-preventable diseases, such as:

• Diphtheria: Serious bacterial infection including a sheet of thick, gray material covering the back of the throat, which can block the airway, causing a struggle for breath. In advanced stages, diphtheria can damage the heart, kidneys and nervous system. Even with treatment, diphtheria can be deadly.

• Tetanus: Serious bacterial disease that affects the nervous system, leading to painful muscle contractions, particularly of the jaw and neck muscles. Tetanus can interfere with the ability to breathe and can threaten the patient's life.

• Pertussis: Also known as whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory tract infection marked by a severe hacking cough, followed by a high-pitched intake of breath. Deaths are rare, but most commonly occur in infants too young to be vaccinated.

• Hepatitis B: Serious liver infection caused by this virus. Chronic hepatitis B increases the risk of developing liver failure, liver cancer or cirrhosis.

• Meningitis: Inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Most cases of meningitis in the U.S. are caused by a viral infection and improve without treatment in a few weeks. But bacterial and fungal infections can be life-threatening and require emergency antibiotic treatment.

• Measles: Can be serious and even fatal for small children. Symptoms include tiny white spots with bluish-white centers on a red background found inside the mouth on the inner lining of the cheek and/or a skin rash made up of large, flat blotches that often flow into one another. For pregnant women, the disease can cause preterm labor, low birth weight and maternal death.

• Mumps: Viral infection that primarily affects the glands near the ears. Complications of mumps include hearing loss and/or miscarriage.

• Polio: Contagious viral illness that in its most severe form causes nerve injury leading to paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death.

• Rubella: Also called German measles or three-day measles, is a contagious viral infection best known by its distinctive red rash. The virus can cause death or serious birth defects in the developing fetus. Rubella during pregnancy is the most common cause of congenital deafness.

• Varicella: Also known as chicken pox, a viral infection that causes an itchy rash with small, fluid-filled blisters. Complications can include infections of the skin, soft tissues, bones, joints or bloodstream (sepsis), dehydration, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and toxic shock syndrome. Chicken pox early in pregnancy can result in a variety of problems in a newborn, including low birth weight and birth defects, such as limb abnormalities.

Vaccines can prevent several diseases