Swine Flu

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I wasn't planning on getting either but there has been a few people in the county die from H1N1 so my dad decided me and my sister were getting one.
I have to get the H1N1 nasal spray (its only a shot here for the people with severe medical problems) but I don't have to get the regular flu shot because I'm a severe needle phobic. The last time I got poked with a needle, I woke up on a heart monitor and oxygen. So yea I have to get the H1N1 thing because of my daddy

 

[mishellyshel]

Peggy---i was just saying that the other day about parents sending their sick kids to school!
i was dropping my son off and i heard the mom tell her son "if you are still hot and dont feel well go to the nurse" ok if he is hot, then take his temp and if he has a fever please do NOT send him to school!! (btw the kid was coughing & sneezing on his way in!!) I just yelled to my son "dont forget to wash your hands and use the antibacterial in your backpak"!!! Fortunatly i work for my family, so i am able to bring my son when he is ill or i can always work from home. but i try to save that for when i really need it!

 

[Sasha]

I work in a daycare and will be starting Nursing clinicals soon and I got the shot. My arm still hurts but Amandas right, it has gone under he same regulations as seasonal flu.

 

[burritothechinchilla]

I had it in the summer and was really sick. I was out for like a month. But if you take medication and wash your hands, you can get rid of it just fine.

 

[stephysaurusrexx]

i got the vaccination because i had to >.> my stepdad is a fireman so our whole family had to get it before it was open to the rest of the community. i got the nose spray and got the biggest side effects from it. i felt like crap, sore throat, runny nose, i lost my voice, and had constant headaches for almost a week. i haven't gotten sick since i got it, but those side effects were HORRIBLE.
[sorry, not trying to scare anyone out of getting the vaccine or anything if anyone was planning on it..out of the 7 people in my family who got it i was the only one with side effects, everyone else was just fine.]

 

[stephysaurusrexx]

I do find it completely stupid that they will close down for someone to serve a volleyball somewhere obscure in a tournament, but won't close down when illness is sweeping through a school. SD definitely has it's priorities.

actually, a lot of the schools in my area closed for about a week this month because so many kids were out with something, whether it was the flu, swine flu, or the regular respiratory infections going around this time of the year. i guess they're closing down if 25% of the school is out, my brother's high school has been at 23% of kids out for about a week and still won't close..it's making him so mad

 

[Melissa]

Im not getting it myself. Every time I hear about my friends and family getting any flu shot they all get sick after. The shot is "an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus)" why do people still get sick? Because they are getting the actual virus. If they are doing the same thing with the H1N1 Im surely not getting it. A friend of mine got the H1N1 shot and got sick the next week. I work in the casino and people's addictions over power their need to stay at home. We get sick people all the time. Im STILL refusing to get it.

The only way people are not going to get it by washing their hands and practicing good hygiene.

ETA:

i got the vaccination because i had to >.> my stepdad is a fireman so our whole family had to get it before it was open to the rest of the community.

My dad is a firefighter/paramedic and my mother is a medical assistant.. Neither are getting any of the shots. So you didnt HAVE to..

 

[chiquita]

People do not get sick from the vaccine form of the H1N1 vaccine, or any other type of vaccine for that matter. As stated, it is a "killed" virus. You can experience cold like symptoms if you receive the nasal mist because that is a "live" virus.

Being that I work in a Pedictric ICU, I have received both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 vaccines. Neither of them have effected me in any way, other than having a sore arm for a couple of hours.

When deciding what the right decision is for you and your family, it comes down to your exposure to the virus. I too was nervous about getting a newly developed vaccine, but after chatting with my doctor and given my health history, it was more of a risk to not get it.

Half of the patient's in my unit have been diagnosed with H1N1 and we see about one death a week because of this virus. The thing to remember is that everyone dying from this virus is severely immuno compromised to begin with. Your average day Joe Schmo is going to get sick and get over it, just as with any other flu.

 

[3CsMommy]

I never get a flu shot, but now that I live with a pregnant woman, she wants me to get it. I'm on the ropes, b/c I'm not in contact with many people, sick or otherwise. And, I've had some kind of URI since I moved in back on 9/19. Vaccine reaction on top of the URI from the hot place just sounds like a bad idea to me. Thoughts from the medically educated here? Should I get stuck or just keep washing hands and avoiding sick people?

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

IMO, she needs to be protected as much as possible. Hubby does not want to get vaccinated either but he is doing it for me and our unborn. Fever while being pregnant can be disaster. I would get vaccinated if I were you. If not, she definately needs to get vaccinated!

 

[Luci]

so i didnt have time to read each and every response like i usually do (im taking a study break), but i started getting a bit upset by reading through a few of these posts.

get the child vaccinated. its not worth it to risk the child getting sick. so what does it matter if the media is making a big deal over it? in a way, they should be. its already been declared a national pandemic, so getting the $25 shot is a precaution for those who NEED to be protected.

sad story: one of my best friends just told us today that 2 girls she used to babysit got the swine flu. the older one got over it but gave it to the younger one (lets not get into "was the younger one vaccinated-thats missing the point of the story). anyways, the young girl is 6 years old. perfectly healthy and active. she got sick back in september. her lungs couldnt handle it and filled with liquid and she got pneumonia. because of this, she had a heart attack. for lack of better words, she died at the hospital but was revived and put on dialysis to get oxygen back in her blood. when she was stable, she eventually had a stroke and is now paralyzed on her right side. she is STILL sick. my friend told me that here in houston, there are tons of people in the waiting room with sick children. a lot of them are dying.

so lets not say that this isnt a big deal. while this type of case may be few and far between, i dont see why anyone wouldnt get their child vaccinated- especially a premie. take this more as a precautionary step. it cant hurt.

 

[Courtney]

In my place of work, we got word of 5 confirmed cases of swine flu, 2 suspected cases and 3 cases of a seasonal flu IN ONE DAY. It's serious enough that we've established a 1-800 number for staff and students to call if they or a family member has H1N1 or a suspected case of it. Doctor's notes have been waived due to the pandemic situation, yet the vaccine is on hold here in Canada because they fear a shortage. They didn't regulate it properly at first and gave it to every Tom, Dick and Harry that wanted it, rather than focusing on the at-risk group first.

 

[Nancy]

I agree with getting it for children. There have been two completely healthy children die with it here in the past couple of weeks. No underlying health issues and they got sick and died quickly. It isn't worth the risk not to vaccinate.

 

[naturegirl240]

In my high school we have had tons of reported cases. Two boys in my class just came back after being out for more than a week. One day last week there were over 300 kids out over the entire school district.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

School here were shut down here for a week when a man in the county died of it before the results ever came back and the hospital he was in was on lock down (no patients in or out).

 

[nicky]

Well, my two older boys I'm almost positive have the swine flu. My niece (who is at my house just about everyday) was just confirmed. So, I guess it's safe to say all those "cold" symptoms the older two have had probably are Swine Flyu symptoms. I sorta thought that's what it was anyway. My oldest I brought to urgent care today because he has been having very high temps for the last 24 hours (102-103) and they found him to have a severe ear infection in both ears, one so severe it perferated and started to drain this am. Poor kid. He never really complained too much about his ears. As far as the testing for swine flu, they pretty much said it's too early for the seasonal flu and more then likely that's what it is. They said the seasonal flu is out there but in pretty low numbers. The doctor there said that she would guess about 70% of the cases that she's seen here are Swine. Well, I guess I don't need to worry about the vaccination any more. I did hear that the nasal spray is causing more side effects though because it is made with live virus compared to the shot.

 

[nicky]

Oh yeah, and 3csmommy:
You really should probably get the shot. I became very ill with a nasty virus when I was pregnant for my youngest. I had elevated temps and nausea and vomiting for 2 days and was in the hospital. Not too long after that my youngest was born premature. They never said that's what caused it, but I know that it is. You should really get the shot for your friend's sake.

 

[Tiatrack]

The thing to remember is that everyone dying from this virus is severely immuno compromised to begin with. Your average day Joe Schmo is going to get sick and get over it, just as with any other flu.

This is completely inaccurate, and I find it disheartening that a medical professional who works with children is spreading false information.

People are more panicked about H1N1 because it is killing perfectly healthy children at a dramatically higher rate than the seasonal flu. The seasonal flu traditionally has the highest mortality rates amongst the elderly and people with immune disorders. H1N1 is hitting healthy young people and having serious consequences at a rate we don't experience with the seasonal flu.

 

[nicky]

This is completely inaccurate, and I find it disheartening that a medical professional who works with children is spreading false information.

People are more panicked about H1N1 because it is killing perfectly healthy children at a dramatically higher rate than the seasonal flu. The seasonal flu traditionally has the highest mortality rates amongst the elderly and people with immune disorders. H1N1 is hitting healthy young people and having serious consequences at a rate we don't experience with the seasonal flu.

Well, I guess both is true really. Most people becoming ill are completely healthy prior to contracting the Swine Flu, but like any type of the flu it's dangerous. Healthy people (and I say people because it is actually stricking the elderly pretty hard too, even though they thought it would not) are always at risk for developing complications from an illness and having it lead to death as well as the immunocomprimised and asthmatics. Anyone can die from the flu on any given day after developing pneumonia, dehydration, ect. But, people with prior existing conditions are at an even higher risk of developing complications. The Swine Flu is definately worse than the seasonal flu. I'd say probably like 10 times worse from what I've seen with my kids. I called the school that my boys attend today and spoke with the school nurse who said that about half the kids are out with the swine Flu. Why won't they close the school? Who knows! It's really scarey too because it's grades k-5, all little kids. But, anyway, my real concern that lead me to call the school was that in the beginning of the school year I sent in all the supplies for my first grader- pencils, crayons, erasers, glue sticks, ect. Well, they took everyone's supplies that they brought in and made a "sharing basket" with them. All of the crayons and everything were dumped into big baskets and the kids "share" them everyday! And they're still making them share! I was a little mad when I found this out and called to inquire why nobody in the school district has stopped this practice with the swine flu circulating (along with evrything else that's going around) The whole idea of it ticked me off when I found out they did this to begin with, but when Blaze told me they're still making them share it made me mad. You have kids coughing and sneezing all over the place, including their hands, and then touching everything that they're being forced to share. No wonder they're all sick! The principal denied knowing that it was going on and said she'd address it. It's sad that the teachers, school nurse and school administration couldn't figure out on their own that it was a bad idea.:hair:

 

[JennyBug]

My school district has flat-out said "We will be staying open" and we have had several confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus. The hospitals down here are standing room only, and parents KEEP SENDING THEIR SICK KIDS TO SCHOOL!!! For pity's sake, if you child has a fever, keep their butt home!! The reason this is getting spread around schools is because kids don't have the best hygeine/personal habits: they don't always cover when they cough or sneeze, and the don't always wash/sanitize their hands. Even if your kid does, there are about 10 who don't, and eventually your child will slip up and grab something without even thinking about it. We have no subs right now because we have so many teachers who are out sick. If you go to a hospital, you are handed a mask. The situation is serious, but it would be less so if people would take responsibility for their kids and their own health. Sadly, if your child is school-aged, there is really no way to keep him or her from being exposed to this virus simply because not all parents are responsible.