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Pregnancy/ Flumist for kids question:


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I know that Pregnant moms are to have the Flu shot not the mist, however how safe do you think it is for a preg. mom to be around her other kids that have gotten the Flumist? We are thinking of getting 6 of ours the Flumist on Tues and I have not had my seasonal shot yet. Thoughts?

 

I was even thinking maybe I should get my shot first, wait 2 weeks then get the kids their Flumist. ...Then I'm taking a chance that they will still even have the supply which is why I was wanting to get them done now. Should my 1 year old and I "stay away" from them for 24-48 hours?

 

...couldn't find any research on this and thought some of you may have some insight or advice.

Thanks!

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I'm pretty sure the CDC guy talking on Radio Times last week said that pregnant moms should get their shot first, as the Flumist is a live virus and can shed for a period of time.

 

Let me see if I can find the transcript.

 

Ok, no transcript and he's an infectious disease specialist at Penn. Here's the podcast, if you'd like to listen to the segment, though.

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I stared at that subject line for a few minutes racking my flu hazzed head trying to figure out what a flum-ist was and what it had to do with pregnancy. I was just about to reply that I'd had 9 dc and never heard of it, when I opened the thread and saw it was FluMIST.:lol:

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I would not get it for your kids in the mist form until you get it for yourself in the shot form. Even then, I would wait at least 2 weeks after you have your shot to get them the mist. It CAN and does shed in the mist form and it also can cause the kids to have a mild version of the actual flu...which can be passed to you in the not so mild form.

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hmm.. Do you think it would be better if we we all just get the shots and then we wouldn't even need to worry about it? (shedding, spacing time etc) :confused:

 

...ha! sorry about my "flumist" heading and spelling, that is funny!

(I stared at one subject line and thought it said "is your child GLUTTON intolerant" and it really said "GLUTEN") :lol:

 

I listened to the podcast; very helpful! Thanks for posting this!

Didn't catch him saying if Pregnant moms should be around their kids w/ the FluMist or even give it to them, though.

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It's a trade-off. Flu-mist is a live vaccine, but the virus is weakened and changed so it should not cause a full blown case of the flu, although it does frequently cause mild flu-like symptoms. My understanding is that there is a theoretical risk of the weakened virus "reverting" to a virus capable of causing the actual flu, but the risk is very, very low. I could only find one documented case of that happening, although it's possible that there are unreported cases.

 

The official recommendation is that people can get the flumist even if they live in the same household as a pregnant or immunocompromised person, except in very extreme cases (think bubble-boy illnesses).

 

So, there is a very small risk to you if your kids get the flumist. OTOH, by them getting the flumist now instead of waiting a couple weeks for the inactivated vaccine, they are decreasing their chance of catching the flu and passing it on to you. Having them wait for the vaccine is going to increase your likelihood of catching the illness from them.

 

What I would do depends some on the prevalence of the flu in your community. It's hitting us hard here. A high school 30 miles away from us has over 40% of kids out sick. It's just starting in my school district in the last couple days. I suspect by the time the shots are available (at least 2 weeks) it may be too late. If I were pregnant, I'd have my kids get the Flu-mist now if it were available to them.

 

BTW, my husband is a Family Practice doctor and had his Flumist today.

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My son's oncologists agree (that in itself is rare lol) that no one in our household can get the flumist, so there must at least be enough risk or enough potential risk to spread it from shedding. We are not allowed around anyone who has had the mist for 2 weeks either which of course is hard to know, but anyway we try. I would try to get everyone the shot if possible.

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