Flu Shot-should we get them tomorrow?

[happyWImom]

I know we've had huge discussions over this in the past (last year, I was on here daily trying to decide about the H1N1), but I haven't seen any big debate this year.

 

My dc are going to the doctor tomorrow, and when I called to see if they were due for anything (we do a delayed vaccine schedule) the nurse said "They absolutely need the flu shot, and the varicella, and another Hep B, and your son needs MMR, too". :eek: There is no way I am having him get 4 shots!

 

We have never done the flu shot, and I am still leaning towards not getting it. Also, they had 1 varicella in 2005, when I was basically bullied into it.

 

We are all healthy (knock wood), no compromised immune systems, get good sleep, eat right, take vitamins, etc.... Should we have to get the flu shot??

 

And what do you all think are the important ones? Hep B? I don't think we are required to get any other Hep vaccines, in our area.

 

So, help me out.

[flobee76]

I vote "no".

 

Since you say that you are all generally healthy and do not have compromised immune systems, I don't see the need for the flu shot.

 

Our 3 got the stupid shot last year and 2 of them got 2 strains of the flu virus during the fall/spring.

 

We've all been exposed to H1N1. wheew.

[Lilymax]

I think my decision would be based, as you said, on general health, but also on how much time spent around big groups of people.

 

We're involved in two homeschooling groups, church activities and the kids play with neighborhood kids who go to PS...and both of them play softball. So we're around a lot of potential sources of infection. Plus, we have a baby in the house and I have an autoimmune disorder. So we're all having the shot this year. (Well, the ped said my older two can get the mist instead.)

 

As far as I know, none of us have been exposed to H1N1 yet, so we might as well get the shot (we didn't last year).

[Tabrett]

My dd and I got a flu shot once. That was enough for me and my dc to never get one again.

 

I MADE me have the flu. I ran a temp and felt bad several days after the shot. If the shot is going to make me sick, I might as well take my chances and get the real flu.

 

I have stopped getting all shots for my kids and me. My kids and I always run fevers after shots.

 

I once got the depovera shot as bc. It whelped my leg for 2 WEEKS!

 

I vote no.

[Dana]

Ds and I both got the flu shot last week. Sore arm for the day, but then we were both fine. Dh got his as well.

 

Last year dh got the swine flu (officially diagnosed) and was out of it for a couple of days, so he had a pretty mild form. I probably had it earlier but it presented without a fever.

 

You may want to spread out the vaccinations... but I get the flu shot every year and haven't caught the flu (apart from swine before shot was available) since high school.

[Sputterduck]

I vote no, too. I don't get vaxs for my son unless there is a clear need.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Of all the vaccines, the ones I'm most likely to be for are the Hepatitis ones. These illnesses (esp. B) can lead to chronic life-long illnesses and I don't want to chance it.

[DianeW88]

Peds nurse here. I'd get them all. You can space them out, but in my opinion, they are all necessary shots. We've all gotten this year's flu shots...and have gotten them in the past.

 

And, you cannot get the flu from the shot. It is a DEAD virus. You may have been exposed to a flu-like illness that coincidentally became symptomatic right after your shot (including the flu itself), and the vaccine itself does take several weeks to build up enough immunity to prevent the flu.

 

If you have gotten the intra-nasal vaccine, there is a SLIM chance that you might come down with some flu symptoms, since that is made with a weakened, but still live form of the virus. That generally only happens in people with a compromised immune system, however.

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[MaMa2005]

We are passing this year. As DianeW88 says, I know it is a dead virus. However, DS and I have always gotten so sick from getting the shots. I guess it is just coincidence, but we have had it happen for three years in a row. This year we will see what happens without the shot.

 

BTW, DH is a HS teacher and college professor. He has never gotten the flu shot and never gets sick. He is certainly around enough people to be exposed. So sometimes it just makes me wonder.......

[Stacia]

We don't always get a flu shot, but I was at the dr. last week for something else & they offered a flu shot while I was there. I decided to do it because 1) my mom has asthma & if we pass the flu onto her, the flu complications hit her much worse and 2) we have an immuno-compromised friend that we see fairly often.

 

My arm was sore for a few hours. Nothing else. I haven't grown an extra head or anything.... ;):tongue_smilie:

 

The dc will probably get flu shots in the next few weeks too.

[nd293]

We're in Australia, and heading into summer. I'm not sure if we get your cast off flu from last year, or if we start a new batch that you Northerner Hemispherites will catch soon, but pretty much everyone I know has been really sick in the past month or so. Ds3 ended up with antibiotics for a secondary infection - this is very rare in our household.

 

That said, it came up in conversation that the only two people I know who did get the flu shot (a friend who has asthma and was very ill in December, and my husband who was offered it free through work) have not been ill, despite being surrounded by sick family members. I'm not saying it's definitive evidence, but if I had a do-over I'd probably have got the flu shots (and we haven't had them in about a decade).

 

Nikki

[Mergath]

My dd is fully vaccinated, and we are very pro-vax, but I would think that in your case, your kids would probably be fine without it. From what I saw, none of your kids are under five, and from what I've read, that's when the flu has the potential to be the most dangerous. Obviously, it can be dangerous to anyone and there are no guarantees, but if getting them the flu shot is going to keep you up nights, I'd just skip it.

 

As for the other vaccines your kids haven't had... well, you can probably guess my opinion on the importance of those, so I'll just leave it at that. :tongue_smilie:

[May]

No, I never get it nor do my dds. We haven't had the flu in years.:001_smile:

[BigMamaBird]

We've never gotten the flu shot before, but last year we all got hit really hard, four of us at the same time. It was wretched! So this year we're giving it a shot (ba-dum-dum-ching!) The kids got the nasal spray, I went to a clinic at Wal-Mart and dh's work is offering them in November. I'm TTC and don't want morning sickness on top of the flu.

[happyWImom]

I always agonize over the whole vaccination thing, and have since they were born! Now that they are older, I feel a little bit better when they do get shots, but it's still always "Do I get this one and not that one? Do I get them all at once, or one now, the others later?"

 

Here's a question: I was reading on Dr. Sear's site, and she suggests that if you are getting the flu shot, don't get any other shots at the same time. So, do I do the flu shots, and wait on Hep B & MMR??? (Both dc have had 1 Hep B, and ds has had 1 MMR already)

[Gwenhwyfar]

kids and i got the regular and the H1N1 shots last year and didn't have any problems (it was our first time doing any "flu shots") ...nobody got the flu, nobody had any flu-shot issues aside from slightly sore arms. dh didn't do either of them and also did not catch the flu. (just in the interest of full disclosure)

 

we'll get them this year as well - i believe the H1N1 vax will be "included" with the seasonal? i think that's what i heard last year...

[happyWImom]

I went on our state website to read more about the seasonal vaccine, and H1N1, and I feel less reassured now. Yikes!

 

And, when I went on Dr. Sear's site, reading all of the language "Here is where we are flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak. The product inserts make it VERY clear that the “swine†flu versions of these vaccines have NOT undergone any testing to demonstrate whether or not they are safe and whether or not they even work. They are relying on the fact that they are so similar to the regular flu shots that they should work just as well." That doesn't make me feel good at all!

[Guest ME-Mommy]

Just thought I'd throw this out there as food for thought:

 

My sister works at the local hospital and told me that this year the H1N1 vaccine has been rolled into the "regular flu shot".

 

Now, I'm the first to admit that I have NO experience with flu shots -- never have done them, probably never will. ;)

 

It just seems scary to start "piggybacking" that many vaccines. *IF* I was going to do all of them (and that's a big *IF*) I'd probably space them out a little.

[sbgrace]

I've got one child who can't get the flu shot but for whom flu would potentially be very dangerous. For that reason the other child and my husband and myself do get the flu vaccine. Child without the vaccine doesn't do social stuff in flu season. If we didn't have the medically complicated child I don't think I'd do a flu vax with my other kid because studies haven't convinced me they are very effective with kids and most kids handle typical flu without complications.