I must have been Vaccinated when I was a child and still have 2 scars on my left arm , I don't know what the jabs were Maybe smallpox and something else .
I didn't need a BCG jab when I was a teenager .
Does anyone know why the jabs scar ?
Ps I am now in my 50's but don't tell anyone
2007-10-11 07:42:22 · 7 answers · asked by dont know much 5 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Routine vaccination against smallpox was discontinued in October, 1971 here in the USA. My guess is that British Commonwealth countries stopped it around the same time.
If the smallpox vaccine "took", then it produced a 1 -3 cm blister that dried up and left a scar. Most people who were re-vaccinated got an accelerated reaction that produced little or no scar. But other persons got a second "primary reaction" that produced a second scar.
By international convention, smallpox vaccination was supposed to be performed on the left arm, so that mass screening was easier. Nurses seemed to be aware of this, but we docs were somehow left in the dark.
2007-10-11 08:10:26 · answer #1 · answered by greydoc6 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All boys at my boarding Prep school had to have various vaccinations including BCG on entry. The resulting scar, just above the left elbow, is about 1 inch (25mm) across.
We all regarded it as a sort of 'badge of courage' proving forever that we had been vaccinated against TB.
2014-04-23 13:50:45 · answer #2 · answered by Roddy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Polio vaccinations do not leave scars. The only vaccinations that leave scars are the BCG vaccine (to protect against tuberculosis) and the smallpox vaccination (routine vaccination in the US stopped in 1972). The only people receiving the smallpox vaccination since then would be certain military personnel, certain healthcare workers and people who took part in a clinical trial testing a new smallpox vaccine). The BCG vaccination was never routinely given in the US, just in countries where there is a risk of TB.
2014-11-08 11:46:49 · answer #3 · answered by CarolinaSun 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I still have the scar from my smallpox vaccine - I wiggled, so mine's up on my shoulder! I remember being lined up in kindergarten and being given a sugar cube ( I thought it was a bribe, turned out to be the polio vaccine!) then a shot. I'm pushing 50 by the way, so your secret's safe with me!
2007-10-11 07:52:17 · answer #4 · answered by woodlands127 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Smallpox vaccines given in the 1050's. But mine didn't scar. It has to do with the arrangement of cells in the dermis.
2007-10-11 07:50:33 · answer #5 · answered by mkayk55 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I can't tell you specifically why they scar. But I do know most of my family who was born in Mexico has the same scar on their left arm. I have also seen it with other people from Latin countries but never with people who got vaccinated here. Don't be shy about the scar, more people have it than you know.
2007-10-11 07:54:15 · answer #6 · answered by mysteryperson 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Wow this leaves me to wonder since I have scars on both arms from vaccinations.. I realize that one of my scars should be from the polio vaccination, but what about the matching scar on my right arm? I'm in my 50's and I grew up in NYC, does that make a difference?
2014-07-21 02:14:12 · answer #7 · answered by Carlitos' Way 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋