Flu Vaccinations. Do You Believe?

We have two pediatricians (one very conservative) and both have strongly recommended getting the vaccine once it is available. On the news last night they said there would not have been any worry about the H1N1 vaccine on the public's part had H1N1 shown up a few months earlier as the strain would have just been added to seasonal flu shots and no one would have been the wiser. I've done shots each year since I was 18 (I am now 41) because at 18 I got the flu so bad I was out of commission for 3 weeks and in and out of the hospital. We're doing the vaccine.

The flu shot is intended for the "influenza flu" not the stomach bug, stomach flu. The influenza flu is upper respitory (big problem for kids with asthma), high fever,chills,sweats, body aches, you name it, it sucks and it lasts like 7days. Are you sure your son had that TWICE last year?

My kids maybe be overloaded with vaccines but I'm very pro-vaccine. Can't wait to get my kids the H1N1 vaccine will be first in line if I can.

My daughter got the real influenza flu at age2 it knocked her on her butt hard. We were in the ER 3x I am still paying hospital bills, She slept for 17hours straight I couldn't wake her, she was a zombie for an entire week. She had problems breathing it was so scary. Did I mention I missed an entire week of work unpaid. I didn't get it that year b/c I had my shot. I should have gotten my dd her shot. I didn't think it was a big deal.

Well she's now 8 and she's had a shot every year since and hasn't gotten the flu since. I just did my baby's 12mo.vaccines 2days ago and demanded she get a flu shot as well. She got poked 4x and I feel relief she is protected. She has to go back for her 2nd flu booster in a month. Then if the darn H1N1 vaccine comes in she's gonna have to do that too. Whatever to keep my kids safe.

N. - personally, no one in my family has every received the flu vaccine and we rarely get the crud that is going around. My children are older, 20 and 16, so they had a lot less vaccinations than what is given today. My daughter (20 years old) has spent the last 4 months in the Southern Hemisphere (winter there) and survived just fine without any additional vaccinations. If they start the H1N1 vaccine in schools, I will not allow my son (16 years old) to get the shot.

Personally, I trust that what we do to boost our immune system (eat healthy, get exercise, take a very high quality nutritional supplement, and get plenty of sleep) and won't be adding any additional foreign substances like the flu vaccine into our systems.

Just one mom's opinion,

I am one that does not believe in flu shots. My loved ones that have gotten the flu in the past ended up with the worst bouts of flu ever in the year they got the shot. I now believe in building up our immune systems with nutrition to ward off these things. In the 3 1/2 years of using nutrition our family of 5 has had one stomach flu (13 yr old daughter last year) and reduced colds in our family by 90% or more! Colds we do get are gone within a day or 2 and usually not that bad.
Each person needs to decide for themselves what is best and I personally choose to stay away from all those shots :) Too much "foreign" stuff in a little childs body can not be good.
Good luck with your decision.
L.

We actually had the confirmed flu at our house twice last year - influenza B and a few months later H1N1. I can't tell you how miserable it was. Especially for my youngest child who was 4. We were dealing with late night visits to the doctor and waking up in the middle of the night to deal with pumping her full of tylenol and motrin to keep the fever down. And this was a very base level flu - no complications. She was down hard over a week with both. She had aches and was limping. It was really awful.

Anyway, I hate additional vaccines too. But this year we're doing them all. The younger the child, the riskier the flu is for them. The other problem is, if you're spreading it, someone immune compromised can get it from you and go on to get seriously, seriously ill. We have grandparents that aren't in the greatest of health we wouldn't want to spread it to either.

Vaccines are a very difficult issue. I have done a lot of research on them and am SHOCKED by what I have learned (contrary to what I was taught in college to become a registered nurse). I would recommend people read this article on the H1N1 vaccine and its use of squalene. Squalene is a chemical used to make your body hyper-react to the vaccine, causing auto-immune diseases in the end. The article also gives additional ways to protect yourself from the flu, without injecting harmful chemicals (antifreeze, formeldahyde, aluminum, etc.) into yourselves and your children.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/0...

This year I am highly against the H1N1 flu shot, and although I've had the seasonal flu shot in the past, I'm a bit concerned about that as well. The H1N1 'vaccine' that will be given out IS NOT the same that was approved by the FDA. It's a long read, but well worth it:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/1...

Good luck! It's going to be a controversial winter.

Like Beth, when I read "...got the flu twice last year..", I had to pause and wonder. Getting Influenza is actually not very common. Too many people mistakely call every cold the "flu" and every stomach bug the "flu". But Influenza is very very different from colds and tummy viruses. I've had it once in 38 years and was so sick for 2 weeks that at times I was really scared I would die. Never again have I tossed around the word "flu" lightly.

That said, me entire family has been through round 1 of flu shots. And I have plans to talk to our pediatrician for the need for a booster sometime during the winter as well as what his recommendation is for H1N1 once it becomes widely available.

If you are feeling iffy about this, hunt around for the thimerisol-free form of the vaccine. I think it is this preservative that gets the most bad press about links to autism.

I'm also interested in everyone's input. I also get vaccines, although my pediatrician has backed off a couple and he's kind of conservative when it comes to getting EVERY vaccination so I have followed his lead.
I had the same experience as Jess. At 30 I got the actual FLU for the first and only time in my life. I was living alone at the time and I swear my boyfriend (now husband) stopping by everyday with groceries and literally feeding me kept me alive. Plus my friend's 36 year old healthy brother died from the flu a couple of years ago. So, my family gets the flu shot.

H1N1 on the other hand...well, I must admit I am a little nervous getting a shot that seems rushed to market. This might make me sound uneducated, but I wonder if in this particular case if it might be safer in the long run to just risk getting the h1n1 virus. I am aware a healthy 6 year old MN boy died the other day. I'm very conflicted about this particular shot and would love to know what other moms are doing.

Hi N., I'd recommend checking out the Dr. Sears website (you can search for vaccine articles). He discusses how the flu vaccine is made and how multidose vials differ from single dose. I believe he said multidose vials have mercury and single don't. In my opinion giving 3or 4 flu shots within a few month period is too many, especially if they contain any amount of mercury or aluminum.
Anyway, it's a difficult decision for parents. Best of luck with your research.

CDC recommends both seasonal flu shot as well as H1N1 so yes we will be getting both. So many people are already getting sick it's not worth the risk to us.

Also, consider that the seasonal flu shot has different flu strains in it every year so it's actually about the same testing process length as the H1N1 has been.

I have gotten my daughter the flu vaccine every year. The very first year that she got it, she also got sick and I was quite upset. My doctor told me the same thing yours told you. Since then however, she has not gotten the flu. I'm not sure if it is from the vaccine, or maybe just because she is a little older...I say go for it. I believe that there are also flu shots out there that are mercury free, if you request them. A lot of the worry behind vaccines is that people think the mercury is what was causing autism and other things. That might be a good compromise to look into as well. I've heard you can request mercury free for most of your vaccines as well (if they aren't already).