H1N1

[PhiLandShiR 18]

If given the option, would you turn down the H1N1 shots?

If your wife were pregnant would you insist she get the vaccine?

How wide spread is H1N1 in your area?

[Sprailenes 47]

My son received the vaccine at school today.

[Nessa 23]

yes

no

not sure (voted yes, because i think that's what i'd wind up doing)

[AlHayatZween 2]

Vaccine is not yet available here in Louisiana.

[antda 13]

(As posted on another vj message thread, but it is relevant here too....)

Hi Everyone,

Hmm..Interesting debate here about the H1N1 Vaccine...

While I do believe in vaccinations and in ways of preventing illnesses to be spread (washing hands, not being in contact with those who are sick, covering up while sneezing/coughing, cleaning and disinfecting, etc.)....

However, I don't believe that there is a need right away to get this particular H1N1 vaccine, be it that it is relatively new and the side effects of such have yet to be further studied. Who knows, what side effects could happen which would outweigh the intended benefit of the vaccine (such as it has done before many years ago when the first flu vaccines came out). As well, there is a shortage of this vaccine, so does everyone need one right away? So my take on it is if one is in a vulnerable/high risk population of society that needs such right away, then they should be the ones to get it first, and let the others wait until there is more supply and is proven to be more safe for the general population overall to use.

Though if I were pregnant now (which is one of the high risk groups for the H1N1), I admit, I probably wouldn't be getting such a shot, as I would fear that the side effects of such an experimental drug would harm the baby instead, which is more of a risk there, than the actual risk of getting the flu itself. Heck, I was even afraid to take cold/flu medication, not eat certain foods, and not do certain things when I was pregnant, in fear that it would harm the baby. And if I did get that shot while I was pregnant and something did happen to the baby...Then who would take the blame there? Certainly not the government who promoted the vaccine in the first place...

I understand that there have been people who have been infected and have died from H1N1, so it is a serious concern. Though at the same time, I think the media can go "overboard" with such a story, and blow it out of proportion, which makes people more scared about it than they should be. Instead of scaring people into thinking that they need the shot to cure their illness, why not teach good sanitary habits instead, so that illnesses are less likely to spread in the first place?

As for my family...No, we're not getting the H1N1 shot (or any type of flu shot for that matter). We will though, continue practicing healthy habits and be as healthy as possible so that we don't get sick. Besides, my son (who is about 3 months old) is too young to get the H1N1 vaccine, so even if we wanted to, we can't give them the vaccine. Lol...my son though is going for the next scheduled childhood vaccines (which have been tried and tested over time and proven to be safe and ok to have) when he is 4 months old..And that's enough as it is for him this year (poor kid...I hate to see him get his shots done...but, it has to be done...). We'll see next year as to whether or not he gets other shots outside of the recommended ones for all children...

Speaking of kids and shots...Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to make shots/vaccines easier to tolerate for babies and/or chidlren? As the doctor suggested, I tried infant tylenol after my son's last shots when he was crying in pain for a long time. That sort of worked, but I hate giving him medicine and it made him extra drowsy for a few days. Anything else I can do?

The bottom line: Do what is best for you and your family when it comes to vaccines and/or other medical treatments. Do your research and keep informed yourself. Do keep up with good health and sanitary practices. Do keep well and healthy.

Ok..so those are my thoughts on this topic..What are your thoughts?

Ant

[Scott and Mhay 57]

hmmm i dont get the option to turn it down. USAF makes us take the vaccination. the only way i could have gotten out of it was because of egg allergies or previous reaction to a flu vaccine.

[Nagishkaw 510]

No

Yes

Doesn't apply

[kaffy 2]

I got it at work this week. It was painless

[Mikkel 0]

I just had a struggle with H1N1. The influenza symptoms are extraordinarily uncomfortable, but they subsided fairly rapidly for me. The most annoying part was spending more than a week away from work.

I wasn't offered the vaccine, and I probably wouldn't have accepted it either. Influenza vaccines always get me sick, so I'd rather go without and at least have a chance of staying healthy.

[Mary Lou 681]

No

Yes

Does not apply

[caybee 21]

Yes

No

Yes

My husband and I are primary caregivers of a three-month-old who can't have the vaccine, so we got it, and I'm hoping some immune factors will be passed along to him. The thought of him catching this scares me. Too many babies and pregnant women have died from it.

[HAL 9000 96]

I just had a struggle with H1N1. The influenza symptoms are extraordinarily uncomfortable, but they subsided fairly rapidly for me. The most annoying part was spending more than a week away from work.

I wasn't offered the vaccine, and I probably wouldn't have accepted it either. Influenza vaccines always get me sick, so I'd rather go without and at least have a chance of staying healthy.

Sounds like you have a vigorous immune system. Congrats.

[TBoneTX 45,273]

I just had a struggle with H1N1. The influenza symptoms are extraordinarily uncomfortable, but they subsided fairly rapidly for me. The most annoying part was spending more than a week away from work.

I wasn't offered the vaccine, and I probably wouldn't have accepted it either. Influenza vaccines always get me sick, so I'd rather go without and at least have a chance of staying healthy.

I could have written the first paragraph, si man, and at least the first sentence of the second paragraph, si man. There was no third paragraph, so I couldn't have written that, no man.

Rather hilarious, si man: The wife is from Ecuador, where everybody is absolutely terrified of the "Porcina" (swine flu). After having been diagnosed, I walked out from the doctor, whereupon the wife asked, "What do you have?" Because the waiting-room was full of people who probably wouldn't appreciate being deafened, I said, "I'll tell you in a minute." In the elevator, I said "Porcina," and she screamed, "WHAT?! When do you have to go to the hospital?" I grinned and tried to explain that the Porcina is rather mild in adults who have no complicating health factors. She said, "Didn't they blood-test you? How do they know that it's the Porcina?" I said, "The doctor said that they haven't seen any of the seasonal flu yet, and for the last 3 weeks they've seen what I have, and it's all been the Porcina." Uncharacteristically, she nearly crashed the car twice on the short drive home, uff man.

When we got home, she chiefly ignored me, hopped on the phone and Internet, and never stopped giggling. I asked what was up, and she said, "All of my friends are freaking up [note: she's still learning prepositions] and asking 'Is he in the hospital?! Is he dead?!' I tell them, 'No! I'm not that lucky!'" Hee, man.

Soon, her mother phoned from Ecuador and wanted to speak with me. She jabbered something nervously & excitedly in Spanish. I heard only "enferme" (sick). I said (using most of my limited Spanish vocabulary), "Soy un puerco [i am a pig]. Oink oink oink!" That relieved some of the tension, si man.

All week, the wife kept asking me, "What if I catch the Porcina from you?" I finally said, "Well, if you do, you'll survive it, but if you don't survive it, that means that I can finally find myself a RUBIA [blonde]." She smacked me (not too hard, no man, because I was dying of the Porcina, si man).

My ONLY symptoms were a fever (maximum, 102 F.) and a massively fruity cough, which lingers these 2+ weeks later (qualifying me as a phlegmatic individual, si man). The good news was that I didn't grow a snout or feel an urge to go rooting for truffles, no man.

And that's the lung & the short of it regarding the Puerco Flu, oink man.

True (?) story: The doctor told me to cough three times. I obeyed. He asked, suspiciously, "How long have you had that cough?"

[AlHayatZween 2]

i ended up getting it today, as the doctor strongly suggested...

i don't know how i feel about it... i'm just hoping i don't get sick from it...

they are saying preggo ladies should get it and i work w/ school kids, so... here i am...

[HAL 9000 96]

Has that third arm grown out just yet?