Titre test

[Cristy 4]

Is that what it is called? I asked my dr for it and she said there are tons of them. She wanted to know exactly what I need. I told her it was for immunization.

Anyone know exactly what I need to ask for?

[bucknekkid 0]

Dang, I thought this whole time Karen was saying Peter Test, and I kept saying "you already have!!"

[Aymerlu 3]

Depends which titer you are wanting. There are titers for MANY things. For example. If you don't know if you have had the MMR shot, you can have a titer drawn. If you have had the shot, the titer will show this. A lot of people have titers drawn to see if they have been immunizated for certain things. If you are needing a titer for an immunization, just tell her which one and that can be drawn. Hope this helps!

[Waiting in Vancouver 6]

Is that what it is called? I asked my dr for it and she said there are tons of them. She wanted to know exactly what I need. I told her it was for immunization.

Anyone know exactly what I need to ask for?

I was reading on VJ (and talking to other canadians who went through Vancouver for a K-1 Visa) that I needed immunization for Chicken pox (not sure of the medical term), MMR and tetnis ...

When I visited my doctor I told him that I had chicken pox when I was a kid so he got a titre test for that one ... As for my MMR the doctor just decided that I should get a shot for that ... He also gave me a tetnis shot as they are only good for 10 years and I know the last one I had was definately over 15 years ago ...

I hope this helps ...

Edited April 20, 2006 by Waiting in Vancouver

[Flames9_RN 358]

If you have no record of immunizations you wil require the titre test for the immunizations that you require for USA immigration. That list of required needles is found in one of the packets, or on here or http://www.panelphysicians.com/Pages/Immunizations.htm

I'm from SK as well, I belive I contacted my local doctor who put me into contact with the health centre(centralized location for medical records), not sure its been soo long, but they had a list of my needles that I had as a kid and faxed it to me, and the DR in Halifax acepted that. Cheers

[Reba 2]

I went to my family doctor and said that I was immigrating to the US and didn't want to have all the shots again (which are unneccary if you've already had them, and potentially bad for your general health). My doctor's office has a general policy to run titres before giving any vaccinations to Canadians who have live in Canada their entire life, because most vaccines are required to go to school anyway. Tetanus/diptheria is required by all adults every 10 years regardless, so you might as well go ahead and have that shot after they draw the blood for the titres.

Just print the list (linked by Scott above) and take it to your doctor and have them give you an "official" copy of the results to give to the panel physician. Keep a copy for yourself as well just in case you're asked for it during AOS or by your new doctor in the US for some reason.

[happyimmigrant 0]

Is that what it is called? I asked my dr for it and she said there are tons of them. She wanted to know exactly what I need. I told her it was for immunization.

Anyone know exactly what I need to ask for?

A titer is simply a measurement of something in your blood. So asking your doctor for a "titer test" is like asking him or her to "measure my blood for something."

It this case, it is used to test for antibodies in your blood. Your body produces antibodies anytime it detects an antigen - basically anything that doesn't belong in your body. Each antibody is specific to the antigen it is fighting off. These antibodies (usually) hang around inside you for life, which is why you remain immune to specific diseases once you have had them, such as chicken pox.

Vaccinations are low-dose or killed antigens, or replicas of antigens. Your body generates antibodies to "fight off" the vaccination. That way, if you are ever actually exposed to the real antigen (the real disease), your body already knows how to fight it off, and the infection never takes hold.

The titer that they are doing is measuring the concentration of specific antibodies in your blood - in this case, antibodies for hepatitis, chicken pox, mumps, measles, rubella, and so on. If you either had the disease, or have been vaccinated against it, your antibody titer should show antibodies for the disease.

In some cases, if you had the disease in early childhood or haven't been vaccinated since childhood, the antibody level in your blood may have deteriorated to a point where a new vaccine is required.

Keep in mind that the presence of a specific antibody in your blood does not mean you are immune to the disease. It means that your body has a running start against fighting off a new infection of the disease. If your immune system is compromised, such as in people who are already ill, elderly people, or people who are suffering from conditions which compromise or weaken the immune system, it is quite possible to contract a disease that you have had before, or have been vaccinated against.

Diseases such as influenza are viruses that mutate constantly, enough so that your body must fight each mutation off as a "new disease." However, after you have fought it off, you are then immune to that mutation, and will not normally contract it again.

Sorry for the medical lesson, but I've seen "titer" bandied around here incorrectly quite a bit, and thought I would set things straight.

[Cristy 4]

I have my immunization record. So I guess I just want her to check if they are all still active? Confused lol.

[Freda 0]

From what I have read and been told the only immunizations Canadians need is the MMR and tetanus (mumps,measles,rubella). So you will need to have a titer done for them if you don't have your immunization record and that will determine if the antibodies for each are present in your blood. If you haven't had any immunizations since school then you might just want to go to your local department of health and have your MMR and tetanus updated anyway since they should be done every 10 years and save your self the aggravation. Hope it helps.

[Marilyn. 340]

From what I have read and been told the only immunizations Canadians need is the MMR and tetanus (mumps,measles,rubella). So you will need to have a titer done for them if you don't have your immunization record and that will determine if the antibodies for each are present in your blood. If you haven't had any immunizations since school then you might just want to go to your local department of health and have your MMR and tetanus updated anyway since they should be done every 10 years and save your self the aggravation. Hope it helps.

and chicken pox.....

only the tetanus needs to be updated every 10 years not MMR....

I did the titre test and I got it done to check if I had the chicken pox and another one for ruebella (german measles)... It takes about a week or so to get the results back so I would do it as soon as possible....

[Fuzzness 2]

for varicella all you need is a verbal declaration that you had chicken pox. unless of course you havent then you do need the varicella vaccine

[Marilyn. 340]

I couldn't remember if I had the chicken pox or not and my mom couldn't remember either , so I got the titre test done to make sure.... turns out I did have the chicken pox

[Reba 2]

I never had chicken pox, nor the vaccine, but I still have antibodies to it. My Mum always tossed me into houses where they had chicken pox when I was little, but I never got it. My sister did, but not me.