# Who's got one of those giant immunization scars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404 "2005-09-06T20:40:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/1 "2005-09-06T20:40:00Z")
When did they stop disfiguring people with those things? No wonder needles make me woozy. I was born in Georgia in 1969. My scar is up high on my left arm and about the size of a nickel. My brother has one, too. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1974. Ditto my mom (PA, 1948) and my dad (California, 1942). What’s the cutoff age for these? Who’s our youngest disfigured Doper? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/2 "2005-09-06T20:50:41Z")
Giant? It’s a little smaller than a dime. Not my largest scar. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/3 "2005-09-06T21:01:50Z")
**Mrs. Cliffy** got one in the mid-'70’s, but only becasue of a trip to China. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/4 "2005-09-06T21:05:36Z")
I was born in 75, and I don’t have one. Don’t know if that helps, or if it matters that I was born in North Carolina or not. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/5 "2005-09-06T21:16:11Z")
Only the smallpox immunization left such scars, if I’m not mistaken. So, the cut-off age would be whenever they discondinued smallpox vaccination, I would assume… ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/6 "2005-09-06T21:17:39Z")
I think the scars that I’m thinking of were polio vaccinations, no? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/7 "2005-09-06T21:20:13Z")
Looks like I’ve been wrong all this time. For whatever reason, I always thought they were polio vacs. Learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/8 "2005-09-06T21:21:54Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > I think the scars that I’m thinking of were polio vaccinations, no? I don’t know what it’s for. Anybody know? FWIW I never got polio but I did get chicken pox twice. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/9 "2005-09-06T21:25:57Z")
I got Chicken Pox twice two! Like, 1 month apart. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/10 "2005-09-06T21:26:51Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > I got Chicken Pox twice two! Like, 1 month apart. Does “twice two” equal four times? ---
**Author:** ![BlackNGold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BlackNGold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackNGold)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/11 "2005-09-06T22:55:52Z")
> [@davmilasav](#): > > I was born in Georgia in 1969. My scar is up high on my left arm and about the size of a nickel. My brother has one, too. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1974. Ditto my mom (PA, 1948) and my dad (California, 1942). What’s the cutoff age for these? Interesting. Both I and my brother don’t have them, born in PA (1969 and 1972 respectively). My dad does (PA 1943), and I swear his is the size of a quarter. I don’t think my mom does (also PA 1943). Was there _any_ rhyme or reason to this? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/12 "2005-09-06T22:56:23Z")
My friends from asia whom were born no earlier then 1983 have the ‘fob shot’ scar. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/13 "2005-09-06T23:48:19Z")
They “disfigured” people with those smallpox vaccinations because the disease that caused it disfigured people much worse if you were lucky enough to survive in the first place. Better a scar on your upper arm the size of a dime or quarter than to be dead. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/14 "2005-09-06T23:56:06Z")
Look at [this](http://www.cwru.edu/artsci/dittrick/smallpox/corlett.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/15 "2005-09-07T00:22:59Z")
Wow. I just realized that I have a hard time even _finding_ my vaccination scar. (b. 1970) It is about the size of a dime, but it’s faded so much that it’s nearly invisible. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/16 "2005-09-07T00:27:38Z")
Born Pennsylvania, 1971. I have no smallpox scar. Either I was naturally immune and never “pocked” or I never got vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Carm6773](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/2bfe46/32.png) [@Carm6773](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carm6773)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/17 "2005-09-07T00:29:29Z")
My Mom (the youngest of 5, born 1938) has one. She said she had to get it before entering Nursing School in 1956. My Uncles (born 1921 and 1930) had/have them, but they were Military. My Aunts had them, and Mom said they had to get them before they were allowed to enter public school (they were born in 1923 and 1926, so they entered school in 1928 and 1931). All of them were raised in Ohio, and only my 1930 Uncle and my Mom are left :(. My husband (born 1965) has one; he had to get it when he went into the Navy in 1983. He lived in New Jersey until he was 12, when he moved to Arizona. He moved to Florida when he was 15. Instead of the crater that most people get, his kinda feels like a pimple. I was born in 1973, and I don’t have one. Most of my friends (other than the Military ones) don’t have one either. I was born and raised in Florida. The Aunt born in 1926 had the scar on the inside of her thigh-it was barely noticeable. When my Mom got her shot in 1956, she requested the same placement. The Dr. refused, because of the proximity to the reproductive organs :eek:. Hers in on her left arm. The scar actually comes from the scab formed by the shot. If the scab comes off, it has to be placed back on the skin. If it doesn’t reattach to the exact same site, then the scar enlarges. The 1923 Aunt had a scar that kinda looked like an 8, because the scab was knocked off and reattached below the original mark. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/18 "2005-09-07T01:05:29Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Look at [this](http://www.cwru.edu/artsci/dittrick/smallpox/corlett.htm) Jesus! ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/19 "2005-09-07T01:16:04Z")
Another person chiming in to say that that is the vaccination scar for smallpox. I don’t know when they stopped vaccinating for it, exactly, but I was born in 1968, and have the scar. My sister, (1972) I don’t think she has it. However, she was born in Canada, which is going to skew the results of this. And I’m with the other posters who don’t view it as a large or disfiguring scar, at all. Also, remember, smallpox, and chickenpox, for all the similarity of name, are not even related conditions. Except that they’re both the result of viral infections. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404/20 "2005-09-07T01:18:25Z")
Hmmm…I wonder what we’re talking about in terms of “giant” and “scars”? I’ve got a white scar on my upper thigh, about the size of a dime (but very irregularly shaped – I personally always thought it resembled a skull :eek: ). I always figured it was a vaccination scar, since that’s where I’ve seen babies get their shots. But I’m too young for the smallpox vaccine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-got-one-of-those-giant-immunization-scars/320404.md?page=2)