Will you or anyone in your family get a Flu shot this year?
Will you or anyone in your family get a Flu shot this year?
Lynette-Homeschooling SAHM of boys ages 4 and 8 and a baby girl born 1/14/09 at home. Living in WI.
Come join me in LDS Homeschoolers and Kids' Health Center
Not a chance. My daughter had H1N1 in May of 2009; my spouse had it this past January. It was the flu!! 3 days of fever, a few more of cough and congestion, one really gross bloody nose.
IWe are focusing on prevention. You can adjust your lifestyle a bit to build up your immune system. Not getting enough sleep can lower your resistance to disease. So can being dehydrated, so be sure to drink at least 8 8oz glasses of water a day. Alcohol, meat, dairy, highly processed foods like white sugar and white flour all weaken the immune system. Foods that build up the immune system include: fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes.
If you choose to get the H1N1 vaccine, I strongly urge you to (at least for small children) have your health care provider order the single dose preservative free vaccine. The H1N1 vaccine will has Thimerisol/mercury. As with other vaccines, the H1N1 vaccine is expected to be 60-80% effective. For all of us, those who choose to vax and those who don't, prevention is key. Here is what Dr Sears is saying about the vaccine: http://www.askdrsears.com/thevaccinebook/ . if you read through the comments, you will see that he is not getting the vax.
You catch a virus by coming in contact with it; this is why hand washing is so important. Did you know that viruses can live on paper money for 9 days?
I had been resisting supplementing with probiotics until I read this:
With all the hype about the upcoming flu epidemic, and the pros and cons of vaccination, how can we protect our children and ourselves?
According to the results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled study reported in the August issue of PEDIATRICS, probiotics may be useful to prevent cold and influenza-like symptoms in children.
Of 326 healthy children three to five years old, 104 were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 110 received _Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM_ and 112 received a combination of _L acidophilus NCFM_ and _Bifidobacterium animalis subsp lactis Bi-07_. The children were treated twice daily for 6 months...
Read the rest of the article here: http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/707328
Robin in Chicago
My kids usually do get the flu shot. Last year I declined the H1N1 for them. This year I'm not sure what I'm doing. I don't get the flu shot but that is because I hate shots lol!
Yes. All three of us will receive both the regular flu shot and the H1N1 shot. I really would prefer to avoid the combined shot - I'm not so excited about that.
The first reported cases of H1N1 last year were in our area. My husband works in law enforcement and comes in contact with people who, well - let's just say that they don't have the best health and hygiene practices. My son attends a great daycare, where I know they practice handwashing, etc., as we do at home. However, I can't be certain that the school-age siblings of his classmates are as diligent. I'm actually the most insulated of us three because my job doesn't require public contact. Again, however, I work with other people who have kids that attend schools all over central Texas and there are a lot of tourists in and out of places near my office where I go on a daily or weekly basis.
For us, it's just a matter of precaution. None of us have ever become sick after having a flu vaccination, and my son has been receiving the vaccination since he was an infant because of his birth circumstances.
MEMORIAL DAY
- Lynette
on Aug. 31, 2010 at 11:37 PM