Swine flu - question for those of you with children

[AdoreMyDogs]

At Vince's last doctor appointment which was August 26th, his pediatrician and I talked about swine flu. The conversation came up because I found out the very exam room I was in, 5 hours earlier, had 2 kids with the flu in it . I asked her if it was the "swine flu" and she said, "no, and actually it would have been better if it WERE the H1N1 strain, as it's less painful and shorter lived then the other flu bugs out there now. The H1N1 strain has life span is shorter and it goes away a lot quicker. My sister-in-law had swine flu and she's even a heavy smoker and she was all better in just 2 days. She said it was annoying as every time she laid down she started coughing. I've had the flu before in my lifetime and it lasted a lot longer then 2 days, so the swine flu is not as bad as some of the other flu strains out there. My babies' pediatrician (I just absolutely adore her, by the way) said that she never, ever suggests flu vaccines for anyone. She and I both are in agreement when it comes to over vaccinating our kids.

[wolfsoul]

Honestly I don't want to vaccinate my baby for anything (hubby does, so we're compromising and delaying vaccines and choosing which ones to do and which to leave out).

The way I look at it, the regular flu kills 500,000 people per year (with 3-5 MILLION severe cases where people are hospitilized). The swine flu has killed 3,800 people this year. Yes, there IS a chance it could mutate into something worse -- but there is a chance that the regular seasonal flu could turn into something worse too! If we look back in history, there was an H1NI flu that killed 1 billion people -- that was a mutation of our regular flu. Then the Asian flu, and the Hong Kong flu, that killed millions. I think the people that are freaking out about a pandemic need to take a look at the bigger picture. Every virus has a possiblity of mutating and creating a pandemic. I wouldn't vaccinate myself for anything that has such limited testing. They only just started human testing last month and they plan to have it out this month. For all we know this vaccine itself could wipe out millions of people. Too scary for me.

I'll take my chances -- limit vaccinations, eat healthy, breastfeed my baby, keep away from anyone who is sick, practise proper hygiene (everyone remember to wipe down grocery cart handles! Ick!), and avoid certain places (I'm sorry but our hospital bathrooms are so disgusting I can only imagine what is hidden in the "clean" rooms -- once I have baby I'm outta there!).

[sirrahbed]

Good thread Pam thanks for posting - this has been on my mind also. My doctor will likely remind me to get my own flu shot because I am a kidney patient. Some years I do so and some years I don't. I have only had the flu once in my life and that was many eyars ago after a flu shot. Of course I read all the stuff about how the newer vaccines are safer and all.... but like you I am worry more because of my grandbabies and the fact that the vaccine is so new. I have in the past refused vaccines for my children - not a popular thing to do but oh well. The H1N1 - I am also reading and wondering. Like Leslie above, my undertsanding is that the swine flu is not that serious in itself but the danger lies in it becoming so widespead....our parish nurse explained the difference between endemic, pandemic and epidemic.

I think it is a pretty hard thing for a parent to decide but the better informed we are - the better able we are to make the right decsion based on that information and not to agree to fear or refuse because of stubborness or whatever.

In the meantime, we are all washing our hands more than ever and longer than ever. I am keeping fun soap dispensers in each bathroom for the grandkids and us and little bottles of hand sanitizer in my purse and in our car.

[wolfsoul]

Just wanted to add a little tip for some people -- when cleaning ourselves and the things around us, be careful what you're using! Lysol and similar products are scary in that they (similar to antibiotics) are starting the rise of superbugs (plus they are harmful to us!). So when washing to kill viruses, simple bleach is the best way to go, or other old-fashioned cleaners like alcohol, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide. There are alot of good hand sanitizers that just use alcohol to kill viruses and bacteria, and you can buy baby wipes that have alcohol added to them (not to use on baby, but to wash surfaces like grocery cart handles).
Also, antibacterial soaps have chemicals that are very harmful -- regular soap is all that is nessecary!

[Cataholic]

We have sanitizer in the car, wash our hands frequently, and I remind J constantly not to touch his face! That last one is so hard to get across.

[Karen]

Okay - I heard a scientist today address the concern in the original post. And the article is wrong. This "swine flu" vaccine is NOT based on the Vaccine that caused such problems in 1976, and caused Guillan-Barre syndrome, paralysis, etc.

This "swine flu" vaccine is being based on the normal "seasonal flu" vaccine that has been used for years and years, and has undergone lots of testing. They are using that "formula" and just stripping in the specific data for this swine flu.

That makes more sense, and sounds a lot more practical, and much safer.

As for me, I will do whatever my doc advises. I trust her.

[Pam]

Okay - I heard a scientist today address the concern in the original post. And the article is wrong. This "swine flu" vaccine is NOT based on the Vaccine that caused such problems in 1976, and caused Guillan-Barre syndrome, paralysis, etc.

This "swine flu" vaccine is being based on the normal "seasonal flu" vaccine that has been used for years and years, and has undergone lots of testing. They are using that "formula" and just stripping in the specific data for this swine flu.

That makes more sense, and sounds a lot more practical, and much safer.

As for me, I will do whatever my doc advises. I trust her.

Karen, I am not trying to scare anyone...just sharing info for what it is worth. The complaint with this vaccine, from those I have heard in the media, is that there hasn't been enough time for proper testing. I too, trust my doctor. However, they pass out drugs to all of us that their reps bring in (I work for a doctor). Sometimes those drugs get recalled. Remember Bextra? My doctor put me on that briefly and I took it because I trusted him (still do by the way ). The bottom line is that we need to be careful and informed and maybe just ask more questions when it comes to our health.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Right now I stay home with Lyra, so we are planning on vaccinating ourselves (my husband and I) so we don't inadvertently bring it home to her. If our situation changes and Lyra has to attend daycare then probably I would get her the vaccination rather than risk her getting ill.

In general I believe the medical community knows more about disease control than the general population and the CDC is recommending that children are vaccinated as they are an at-risk population. A lot of so called "evidence" that vaccinations are harmful is based on popular myth and not real science.