All the propaganda, all the pushing in school to encourage our children to come home and peer pressure parents into taking our little darlings in to get shots or the mist. And dad and I doing a little dickering on whether or not our son is getting it and now its a mute point!
The immunization is still not widely available in my city. Unless you are pregnant or an at risk child under 18 you still can't get the immunization and now my son is home getting his immunization the old fashioned way. He's suffering the symptoms and building his own immunity to the virus.
Whether or not dad and I would have settled on getting our son the immunization I am feeling very snotty and I want to go down to the school district office and blow them a rasberry then sue them for all the posters and propaganda in the school about getting an immunization that isn't available and based on current projections isn't going to be available in my area until the wave has passed. Even as a high risk diabetic I can't get the immunization. I have been told I am group 2 and they aren't going to even consider us for another 3 weeks. Usually I can use my status to bump both myself and my son as I have to care for him to the top of the list. Well with busy boy down and out I'm thinking I too am going to be naturally building an immunity before the immunization is available to me.
Well CDC guess we aren't going to need the immunization now.
My son's school hasn't had anything posted on their walls and only sent one flyer home about the health department holding a clinic to give vaccinations this past weekend. They are giving them to children age 5-18, the did hold a clinic two weeks prior for at risk children, babies and pregnant women. We haven't been pushed into getting it for our son and I am not sure if I want him to get it. I know too many people getting sick after getting the vaccine and hearing too many negative things about it. So we're just gonna go with the flow and he's been having a pretty strong immune system.
My area has the same vaccine rules as the OP's, only for the highest of risk and pregnant women. Luckily there have only been a handful of cases in my kid's school, and my kids haven't gotten it yet. Our local health department says that we've already experienced the peak and we are now on the down side with fewer and fewer cases being reported. I wasn't planning on getting the shot for my boys and am happy that it was no big deal in my area. I'm sorry for those who have been hit hard by it though.
Our school only handed out flyers of were to go nothing else And a ton of posters on how to wash your hands
My daughter had H1N1 in May. It was the flu!! 3 days of fever (the highest was 102.5), a few more of cough and congestion, one really gross bloody nose. Neither my husband nor I contracted it.
We 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
Stock up on Elderberry syrup. The FDA criticized the manufacturer of Tamiflu for "overstatement" of claims of efficacy, since blind studies comparing it to a placebo only resulted in a 1.3 day difference. A study on Sambucol (Elderberry) found a 3-4 day difference in duration of symptoms.
Robin in Chicago
I'm guessing it has to do with where you live because I just took my son lastnight to get his second dose, and I asked when it would be available for my age group, 27, to get the shot. She said NOW. Do you want it? I said yes, and I filled out the form and got myself one as well. SO idk where you're going, but It was at the local health department where I got mine. Call around.
The County Health Nurse came to our school to give my son (he has asthma) his first shot and she gave one to my daughter and myself too. They've been having clinics in the nearest big town and thousands have gotten their shots already. Our news here warns that this is only the first wave, they expect that the flu will hit again later - especially since it hit so early this season. Is it true or just propaganda? I have no idea - I heard a report that over 500 children have died from complications of this flu in the U.S. now. That could be propaganda too, I prefer not to take the chance with my kids.
I am sorry that your son is sick and that you weren't able to get the shot in time - I had fears of that happening to us, and I still have to get them the second one. I don't think our health department handled this as well as they should have - but then again, I have no idea of what all is involved to deal with something like this. It sure does not make me very confident in our ability to handle any wide-spread epidemic.
Please post again when your son has recovered and let us know how the entire illness went. I've heard that the "big" problems usually occur towards the end of the illness, just when you are starting to think that you're out of the woods. Keep him hydrated and keep a close eye on him.....hope it passes uneventfully and that he is healthy again soon.
____________________
Barb Stork (Mom to 2 boys, ages 6 and 3)
DECIDE TODAY to take CONTROL of your financial future for ONLY $1 !!!
http://www.workathomeunited.com/barbstork
Sister's kids' parties and events....too much...need advice
- mnwintercritter
on Nov. 24, 2009 at 5:19 PM