There are some people in the wold who cannot be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons. People who have certain allergies, sensitivities, genetic conditions, etc. may not be in a position to be safely vaccinated like the vast majority of us. Those are not the people this article is talking about.
Well... they kind of are, but not really. You'll see what I mean.
So Reddit asked a pretty interesting question recently:
Doctors of reddit, have you ever encountered an anti vaxx patient? What happened?
And it turns out medical professionals dealing with anti-vax patients is pretty common. There were a few mentions of people who could not be vaccinated, but what we really found interesting is that there wasn't anywhere near as much "studied under anti-vaxx professor Jenny McCarthy" as we expected.
According to the doctors who responded, most of the anti-vax patients they meet are just scared and misinformed. It may take some time to gain their trust, but they typically come around and are open to whatever is safest once that trust is established.
Then there are the parents who think diseases are God's way of punishing a child for sins committed in a past life. Yeah... not much to be done for that one.
So Reddit asked a pretty interesting question recently:
Doctors of reddit, have you ever encountered an anti vaxx patient? What happened?
And it turns out medical professionals dealing with anti-vax patients is pretty common. There were a few mentions of people who could not be vaccinated, but what we really found interesting is that there wasn't anywhere near as much "studied under anti-vaxx professor Jenny McCarthy" as we expected.
According to the doctors who responded, most of the anti-vax patients they meet are just scared and misinformed. It may take some time to gain their trust, but they typically come around and are open to whatever is safest once that trust is established.
Then there are the parents who think diseases are God's way of punishing a child for sins committed in a past life. Yeah... not much to be done for that one.
Uninformed V True Anti-Vax
Many times. It often depends on the situation, if I have to do something to help the child that is unrelated to vaccines, I usually won't say much because I need to maintain a working relationship to help the child. It's also important to separate people who might be vaccine hesitant due to hearing or ready something, they are often willing to listen. True anti-vaxxers don't want to hear anything that contradicts them.
If I get an opportunity to talk to them more about vaccines I do so very carefully. Simply telling an anti-vaxxer the facts about vaccines doesn't work, so you have to move slow and ask them what their concerns are and try to answer them thoroughly.
99% of the time it doesn't work, so I fully document their refusal and then move on to the next patient. I just don't have time to sit and talk to someone for an hour about something they are ignorant about and are refusing to acknowledge.
The worst one recently was having to tell some parents that their 14 year old died from meningitis. They had declined the vaccine at school 3 months earlier.
Still Believes
Surprisingly the only time it was an issue was when I was a medical student, an Anti-vaxx mother refused the Vitamin K injection for her newborn due to anti vaxx propaganda.
Newborn had an intracerebral haemorrhage and is now a vegetable for life. Completely avoidable if the mother had accepted the Vit K injection.
Worst part for me was she didn't accept that it was preventable and still firmly believes she made the right call by refusing the Vit K.
Playing The Long Game
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I've had several patients who didn't vaccinate any of their kids. While many practices turn these people away, I consider it an opportunity to respect their wishes and gain their trust, but on every visit I ask them to compare data and have an open conversation about what they know. I do this in as non-confrontational and as genuine and helpful a way as possible. I've converted a number of anti-vaxxers in this way, while turning them away likely would never have resulted in the same outcome.
Forging Records
My father is a pediatrician in California, where you can't send your child to school if they're not vaccinated.
During a physical, my father asked the mother of two children when the last time the children got vaccinated. She answers " I don't believe in vaccination. It causes autism." She then proceeded to ask him to forge the vaccination records.
Long story short, he presented the facts declaring her claim to be a myth, she cursed him out, and then he responds with "Ma'am, you're an idiot. Now get out of my office."
The family moved to Nevada so the children could go to school unvaccinated.
Ye Olde Photos
Keep the talk of whether or not the vaccines themselves are dangerous to a minimum; presenting facts to someone coming in with an argument based largely on emotion is a losing effort.
Instead, focus on the negative outcomes of actually contracting the diseases vaccines are designed to prevent (eg, immunosuppression, SSPE, ADEM, encephalitis, etc. with measles). Old pictures of little children suffering from the disease can put an exclamation point on the discussion, too, and help redirect parents' focus to the real source of potential harm for their children.
911 Dispatchers Share The Most Ridiculous Calls They've Ever Received | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Invested But Misguided
As a pediatrician, this is my bread and butter. In all honesty, most of the anti-vaxx parents are that way because they have done some research and want to protect their kids.
Just because they don't have the training or inclination to separate real science from fake science isn't their fault.
It's my job as their pediatrician to make sure they know we both want the same thing, their child's health and safety. Once you develop a trusting relationship I've found a good 90+ percent of my anti-vaxxers will convert. I'd much rather have invested but misguided parents than parents that don't give a sh!t about their kids.
Told You So
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Yeah they happen
It's disappointing, but you ask a few questions, see what stage they're at (disinterested, defensive, paranoid, sheeple) give a bit of information and move on: If your mums group and 20 minutes of googling makes you that confident if your decision making so be it.
What does make me feel righteous is when I get to say "This happened because your kid was not vaccinated" and yes that might sound sad or evil but it's true, and deep down no matter what they say they know it's true - and the vast majority ensure their other kids are vaccinated.
- raftsa
Past Life Punishments
I did, but the scenario was so bad that I didn't have the mental energy to get angry at the parents.
Their 12 year old daughter presented with diphtheria, which doesn't exist anymore in my region thanks to a National Immunization Schedule. Their explanation for not vaccinating her was simple.
"Vaccines are drugs given to make people infertile to stop population explosion."
I couldn't explain to them in a way they would accept. I knew things were hopeless when they started saying God was punishing their child for doing something wrong in her previous life. Thankfully, the child could be saved - this time.
Disadvantaged
I'm a medical professional working in a very disadvantaged community. We deal with anti vaxxers constantly. In my workplace they are typically anti-vax for some religious reason or "just because."
I'm never happy about it but it only really upsets me when a parent denies vaccines for their child or when the IV drug users and addicts refuse them. It's like "Sir you inject crazy dangerous sht into yourself every day. What's a vaccine gonna do?"
Very In Depth
My brother is a doctor. He's told me and my family that when he encounters patients like these, he sits them down and goes very in-depth as to the possible dangers of remaining anti-vaxx or raising their children anti-vaxx. He says that in a fair amount of cases, this works very well and they decide to go ahead with vaccinations. A lot of the cases he sees that involve anti-vaxxers are people who are just scared and misinformed.
However, there are the occasional patients who absolutely believe they're right. Some of these are helpless, and he definitely feels exasperated by them, but he's got a job to do. As for some, the trick is done by naming and explaining many of the terrible diseases/consequences of remaining anti-vaxx, and sometimes there are success stories :)
I can only imagine how frustrating it would be, though. I definitely look up to him as I am seeking to enter the healthcare professions in the future as well.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
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When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.