5% of students in 8 states unvaccinated

[merithyn]

The current VZV vaccine schedule is one shot at 12-18 months and a second shot at age 4-6. Or 2 shots with 4-8 weeks between the first and second shot if you're older. There isn't a booster for you to forget.

That's new... and good news.

[Barrister]

Generally, I want my doctor to treat my symptoms--the rest of my person is none of his business.

I'd also like him to restrict himself to medically proven treatments rather then try herbal supplements.

On this (and few others) I agree with Raz.  The problem with "holistic medicine" is it so often becomes a code word for unproven 'alternative' medicine.  Acupuncture, chiropracty, herbal supplements - all items that place far too much influence to too many people because they all have zero scientific basis for their effcicacy.

That being said - DPS you're wrong.  Treating symptoms and not causes is the worst thing a doctor can do for you.  Treating your cough and not your smoking, treating your diabetes and not your weight - that's the most expensive, inefficient and useless form of medicine going.  Treating symptoms is just about useless if you don't go after the underlying causes.

[Ideologue]

I prefer to simply rely on my relative invulnerability to physical harm.

[dps]

That being said - DPS you're wrong.  Treating symptoms and not causes is the worst thing a doctor can do for you.  Treating your cough and not your smoking, treating your diabetes and not your weight - that's the most expensive, inefficient and useless form of medicine going.  Treating symptoms is just about useless if you don't go after the underlying causes.

My point is that it's my responsibility to take care of myself, not my doctor's.  If I smoked, the doctor couldn't do anything about that.  It's not like people nowdays don't know that smoking is bad for you and that you should watch your diet and get plenty of exercise.