How up-to-date are your immunizations? If you are a parent, you might respond that your child is good to go—or, in some cases, that you don’t support immunizations—but what about yourself? If you are a parent with young children, you especially need to get vaccinated to prevent yourself from spreading infectious diseases to your baby; but all adults can benefit from keeping up with their regular immunization schedules.

The thing is, once we’re out of our parents’ homes—and out of the public school system—we often neglect these medicine schedules. Why? It’s likely because we’re not reminded. Nobody hands us an immunization schedule when we get our diplomas. Do you know which shots you need and when you need them? I don’t, either, so I decided to look them up.

You can actually print out your own handy-dandy vaccination chart here. I figured that I would be due for one or two shots—but it looks like there are a whole bunch of immunizations that are recommended for adults! Without being reminded to get these, I wonder how many adults get really sick—or even die—due to not obtaining them? It would be an interesting research topic, that’s for sure.

So onto the immunizations! A new one that many of us are becoming familiar with is the HPV vaccine that can help protect against cervical cancer (isn’t it scary how women can get cancer through sex?). This shot immunization is recommended for females from adolescence to the age of 26. We all need a Tetanus shot every ten years; I made plans to get one last year and wasn’t able to make it, so I know I’m definitely due for that. Most of us can get these from our local health clinics; if not, check with your doctor to see what it will take. Even with our insurance, I discovered that our immunizations would be around $50 each for my husband and myself. It’s a pricey investment, but it might be worth it.

We all also need a measles, mumps, and rubella shot—one to three more times in our lifetime. Older adults may need to get a Zoster immunization for shingles—I’ve had two relatives come down with the disease before age 50 and know that they were both in much pain—and an annual influenza shot is also recommended. Depending on lifestyle and workplace, people may also need to get immunized against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and meningitis.