All 3 of my kids had swine flu...even had they not gotten it, we would not have had them vaccinated. No regular flu vaccines, no Gardisil vaccines.
My kids all had 103 - 104 degree fevers, headaches, and lethargy...but kicked it in 3 days and were back to normal in 5. The one child with asthma went on Tamiflu the day after she spiked a fever. The other two kids' doctors did not give them Tamiflu because there was no asthma or other conditions that could make them more susceptible to complications.
My kids had the standard polio, MMR, Dtap, tetanus...all that stuff, but we drew the line at the chicken pox vaccine. They got chicken pox and now I don't have to worry about boosters and all that other stuff...or them having serious complications from contracting chicken pox as adults.
Hope this was coherent ~ I'm REALLy tired. LOL
Two and three years ago I got my kids the flu vaccine. They got the flu.
Last year - no vaccine. No flu.
That's not due to the vaccine because the vaccine uses a killed virus, which means it's impossible to contract the flu from it. That was just bad luck being exposed to a different strain than you were immunized for.
They got the flu a couple of months after they got the shot.
Just meant that means you were exposed to a different strain of flu than the vaccine was for.
TexasRoase-your kids sound WAY sicked than mine were. That sounds terrible! My kids were just kind of lethargic, but didn't have the muscle aches. I wonder if they just had a bad cold.
Yeah, they have bunkbeds and Valerie couldn't make it up the ladder because her legs hurt too bad. She slept on the couch for the whole week because she was too shaky and sore.
mbelgard - 25-65 is the riskier age group for swine flu. younger kids and the oldies seem to be less affected by it, and if they get it, it is not as serious.
i forget who posted about the gardasil, but i gather its the same as the uk version. in which case it is not an hpv vaccine - it is a cancer vaccine. it targets the hpv variations that cause cancer, not all hpv variations.
xx
Well for those of you talking about the Gardasil vaccine,
you might want to take a look at this article where the lead researcher said at a major medical conference that its basically a big waste.
Of course I was stupid enough to get it 2 years ago at the age of 26
http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/10/25/top_stories/doc4ae4b76d07e16766677720.txt#at
I just received mine. I likely wouldn't of gotten it but I work at a hospital and am exposed to WAY too much stuff on a daily basis. I am also concerned about being healthy for my kids (who will also be receiving it).
It is not supposed to be any more dangerous than the regular flu vaccine, and seeing our Doctors, Pharmacy heads, etc... in the same line up brought a (perhaps false) sense of security that I was making the right decision.
I received the vaccine but the whole H1N1 thing doesn't frighten me...yet! I just don't want it to turn serious and it be too late.
mbelgard - 25-65 is the riskier age group for swine flu. younger kids and the oldies seem to be less affected by it, and if they get it, it is not as serious.
xx
You have it backwards. Low risk populatoin is healthy adults. High risk are the young, old and adults with chronic medical issues. There is some thought that some older adults may be less affected by H1N1 if they either had swine flu in the '70's or received the vaccine in the '70's due to partial immunity, but htis is speculation.
One of the highest risks groups are pregnant women. It is not understood why this flu is more virulent in pregnant women but it is. There is a pregnant woman who is very critical in the ICU at the hospital where I practice...very scary.
I have spent the several days treating hundreds of kids in the ED that should never have been brought into the emergency department. Only a few have had bad asthma or other issues that make them high risk and thus need treatment. It is a terrible waste of resources and the media just continues to feed the panic. The first thing most parents say is "I'm sorry doctor. I didn't want to be one of those paronoid parents who bring their kids to the ED at 3am for nothing, but I really worried about what they are saying on TV about the flu."
I got my vaccine yesterday but immunity takes about 2 weeks. Given how much I have been coughed and sneezed upon by all these little walking petri dishes at the Children's ED I will probably get sick before then.
There is always a risk any one could be the one... have you guys seen this? Maybe one day we will get to a point of pre-screening in order to make better decisions about our health options. Until then everything is a risk. It's like we are the experiments and hopfully everything goes well. What if it doesn't?
http://www.casttv.com/video/rfsrjv1/very-sad-cheerleader-gets-a-swine-flu-shot-now-she-can-only-walk-backwards-video
There is a lot of controversy re: the flu shot cheerleader and her disorder. I have no idea what the true story is and we may never know, but there is no evidence this is related to the flu vaccine and may be conversion disorder.
You're right that everything has risks and much is unknown about life and medicine in general. People die of flu every year but many more people live through flu every year. People get bad reactions to vaccines every year but many more have no reaction at all. There are no absolutes and you weigh your risks and benefits to make the right decision for you and your family
What pisses me off is the people that don't want the vaccine and then get mad when there is nothing I can do for them when they get the flu. You can't have it both ways. It also amazes me how many people are terrified of the vaccine yet want Tamiflu, a medication with some serious but rare side effects of its own, at the first sign of a sniffle.
My view is biased because I am overwhelmed with the people who want a quick fix in the emergency department. They believe all the media hype, don't think things through for themselves, and yet still want someone else to magically fix everything for free. BTW these are the same people who believe that you can make a cake in 1 hour (because the TV shows them this is possible), want 6 tiers covered in gumpaste figures for $50, and then blame you for ruining their party and want a refund. Unfortunately I can't refuse to see a PITA patient or add a PITA charge to their hospital bill.
A bit off topic from flu, but this is a great article written by an EM doc and brings up some very good points. His description of the patients he sees is spot on. I have seen all of these as well and yes, many were brought by ambulance.
http://www.docshazam.com/2009/10/suck-it-up-america.html
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