hey guys, I heard on MSNBC earlier today that 4 little kids have died of flu in Colorado. And many more are infected and in hospital. Funny thing is, the ones who died did not show the usual symptoms (kids dont, it turns out) we associate with flu like aching and fever and bad respiratoiry problems.
So, be sure to get your flu shots--it only takes 2 weeks now for it to confer immunity. (Unfortunately, this year's vaccine does NOT protect you from at least one strain making the rounds which is particularly severe.) while you wont be completely safe, it will at least help to receive the shots.
We have had a number of schools with 30 to 40% kids out. A few of them have just shut down for a week at a time. Lots of people gone from work too. It may be a long winter in more ways than one.......
Quote from: MtnCamperWe have had a number of schools with 30 to 40% kids out. A few of them have just shut down for a week at a time. Lots of people gone from work too. It may be a long winter in more ways than one.......
Yes, Gary--and now all we need ts a SARS ourbreak :(
I just saw a heartbreaking interview with the stunned parents of the "perfectly healthy" 8 year old boy who died yesterday. Their remarks haunt me and remind me how unpredictable and uncertain life is.
Be sure to hug your kids often, everyone--I know that everyone here fortunate enough to still have their kids around, makes good use of hugs and "I Love You's". Our two DD's are grown and live far from us with families of their own but I never fail to say I love you when we talk on the phone Yes, even when the little imps irritate me ;) :eek: (and they still do now and then--after all, they are STILL my KIDS! :D
Very well said about the flu shots. Also, to help prevent some of the germs from getting into your system, be sure to wash your hands before meal time and try to stay away from those coughing and sneezing. Hey, those mints in the reach in jar are said to be carriers of lots of germs. Just be careful and try to stay healthy all winter.
Around here, it's whooping cough. Yep, in our county alone, there's been 80+ confirmed cases. Our kid's school has at least 6 cases, but our kids are vaccinated against it.
They give us flu shots at work each fall. This year to save money the state decided not to give us the shots :mad: ...but then the state legislatures got their shots and word leaked out that they had received them so now they have to give them to everyone. Monday at 11 AM I will have mine. :)
Quote from: tlhdocThey give us flu shots at work each fall. This year to save money the state decided not to give us the shots :mad: ...but then the state legislatures got their shots and word leaked out that they had received them so now they have to give them to everyone. Monday at 11 AM I will have mine. :)
Isn't it nice, when some of us are more equal than the rest ? Of course they are in the ligislature, sheeeesh ! Stuff like this makes me so upset !
About the flu, I heard about the little boy last night, all he had was a tummy ache, it is so sad :( :(
Quote from: tlhdocThey give us flu shots at work each fall. This year to save money the state decided not to give us the shots :)
Ah, yes, Tracy, another example of government fairness at work. This is so funny--what genius beancounter came up with this brilliant idea? Does the state of Pennsylvania not provide sick leave to its employees? (Statistics reveal that millions, perhaps even billions, of dollars are lost to our economy each year because of flu and similar diseases. )
Flu shots are dirt cheap and without them the state of Pennsylvania (using TAX PAYERS' MONEY) would probably spend far more on lost work time and compensation as well as people working sick spreading the disease and only halfway doing their jobs. OF COURSE, the Pa Legislators need free flu shots! Everyone knows how important it is to take care of the legislature. State legislatures are the REAL workforce that keeps things running on a daily basis all around the USA, aren't they?--oh yeah, ahh hah, yep. Too bad we dont have an icon for total disgust.
Well, they are off on a particular strain of the flu this year in the shots, but that shouldn't keep anyone from taking the shots that are in the "at risk" group. I would be concerned about the strains that are covered by the shots. Those shots are cheap, so it should help one build resistance and not get so sick. tlhcoc, you are very wise to get your shot and protect your health.
After reading what Nighowl wrote about the 8 year old boy (Man, to close to home!) I'm calling to get EVERYONE thier flu shots tomorrow!
4 deaths in Ontario reported because of flu today, one of them a child :(
If you want to read more about this.....
Click here (http://9news.com/storyfull.aspx?storyid=21375)
That is sad news. I hope everyone will take precautions.
Kids got their flu shot on Monday. I got mine too, except I get a half dose the first shot and then the other half dose a week apart. This eliminates my arm from swelling and pain which is a reaction I get when I get the shot all at once, I'm not sure why.
Wash, wash, wash your hands as much as you can after you've been out in public or carry hand sanitizer in your car so you can use it as soon as you get in it. If you are touching grocery carts, elevator buttons, even pens at the bank or store to write with and someone else has the flu and has used those items, well the virus could be on them, and once you touch it and then touch your eyes or nose to itch them...well you've just given it a highway to travel through your system. I even have no hesitation to pull my shirt collar up over my nose if someone sneezes next to me especially if they are gross enough not to cover their own mouth!
I'm scared to get a flu shot because I know five people this year (from different areas, but all in Oklahoma) who came down with the flu the day after receiving the shot, and now they have a sore arm to go with it!
I know it's a killed virus and doesn't cause the flu - I'm not doubting that. But my theory is that your immune system is down a bit from your body making the antibodies so if you are exposed the virus (or were already exposed at the time of the vaccination but your body unbeknownest to you was busy fighting it) what might have otherwise been a slight case that you barely noticed because your white blood cells had it under control could become a full-fledged flu.
*shrug* I have no idea, but I'm just leery of it at this point. I'm not sure if I'm going to take the kids in to get their shot or not. :(
-Teri
Back in Oct, my 14yo had to have a physical to play on the HS bowling team (seems crazy but rules are rules). Anyway, the doctor insisted he get the flu vaccine since he has numerous medical problems. The doctor also strongly suggested that my other kids get flu shots since he believes everyone in the home of a chronically ill person should be vaccinated. My girls didn't mind so they got their shots too. Now I'm glad, although at that time I received grief from some adults who thought I was going overboard. Now we hear there have been even more deaths and the flu is heading out this way (NJ). I heard PA was just added to the list of states that are infected.
On another note, be safe and if your child is getting worse, go to the doctor/hospital. A couple years ago, my son was fine one minute (watching a baseball game) and the next minute he felt ill and got a 102 fever. Of course, it was 10pm and I didn't want to bother the doctor, gave him Advil, figuring he'd be better by morning. By the next morning, his fever was 105 and rising and he couldn't stand/walk and was incoherent. It was really scary to see him like that and it came on so suddenly. He spent the day in 2 different ERs and finally around 11pm, he was diagnosed with a significant case of pneumonia. He had no cold symptoms or cough or anything so the doctors didn't suspect that... Since then, J has had pneumonia 3 more times but now we watch every cold because it almost always turns into pneumonia.
Diane
Quote from: DiWOn another note, be safe and if your child is getting worse, go to the doctor/hospital. A couple years ago, my son was fine one minute (watching a baseball game) and the next minute he felt ill and got a 102 fever. Of course, it was 10pm and I didn't want to bother the doctor, gave him Advil, figuring he'd be better by morning. By the next morning, his fever was 105 and rising and he couldn't stand/walk and was incoherent. It was really scary to see him like that and it came on so suddenly. He spent the day in 2 different ERs and finally around 11pm, he was diagnosed with a significant case of pneumonia. He had no cold symptoms or cough or anything so the doctors didn't suspect that... Since then, J has had pneumonia 3 more times but now we watch every cold because it almost always turns into pneumonia.
Diane
Di, and Teri, useful points! I bet many of us here have had similar experiences and fears. When Alice was about 4, she had a "common cold" that just hung on. No great rattling cough or high fever ( her temp was elevated less than a third of a degree.) or other outstanding symptoms But she really seemed "different" somehow than when she usually had a cold, although I couldnt exactly say what it was.
Well, it was late on a Friday afternoon on a typical grim, raw March Michigan day. so I decided not to call the Pediatrician. I mean it is embarrassing to take your kid when there is really nothing seriously wrong and you know the waiting room will be full of kids who are really sick and the doctor really needs to get home for supper just like all the rest of us. Right?
Well, at the very last minute, I decided to call and see if the dr. thought we should come in anyhow. They said, bring her in and we'll take a quick look. . I did, and she had a FULL-BLOWN CASE OF PNEUMONIA! The dr, said in just a few hours, we'd have ended up in the ER and then, with a very sick kid in the hospital.
And then she said something that I have remembered ever since and blessed her momory for. "I trust my mothers. They know their kids better than any doctor and they have great instincts! So even if the symptoms arent dramatic, when a mommy tells me 'something is just not right here with my child,' I always listen and I WANT to see that kid! "
Back to the flu. There are 39,000 deaths from it every year in the US alone! And it is not just old people or chronically sick people, but from all age groups and walks of life. It strikes randomly and sometimes no one really knows why someone young and healthy dies from it, BUT THEY DO!
As to Teri's remarks. These bad reactions to vaccines make it really hard to know what is the right thing to do. One year when the flu shots were "flawed" (the government's own admission) a young healthy friend came down with Guilliame Barre syndrome shortly after having her shot--maybe co-incidence and maybe not, although medical authorities at the time suspected a connection These questions leave everyone in a real dilemna about prevention.
Oh, and yes--Camperoo, about the handwashing. There are even ads here on tv now saying this over and over! Like avoiding the "spray" from idiots who cough or sneeze in your face, it isnt high tech or glamorous but it's one of the most effective things anyone can do any time of year to avoid getting sick.
(By the way, wash off your doorknobs, phones, and steering wheel every now and then, too.)
QuoteI'm scared to get a flu shot because I know five people this year (from different areas, but all in Oklahoma) who came down with the flu the day after receiving the shot, and now they have a sore arm to go with it!
I know it's a killed virus and doesn't cause the flu - I'm not doubting that. But my theory is that your immune system is down a bit from your body making the antibodies so if you are exposed the virus (or were already exposed at the time of the vaccination but your body unbeknownest to you was busy fighting it) what might have otherwise been a slight case that you barely noticed because your white blood cells had it under control could become a full-fledged flu.
*shrug* I have no idea, but I'm just leery of it at this point. I'm not sure if I'm going to take the kids in to get their shot or not.
-Teri
DH got the flu shot one year at the Fire Dept, and came down with it almost immediatly. I went to get mine the other day, drive about 45 minutes to old Dr in MA, and when I got there they were about to give it to me and asked casually, "Are you perfectly healthy" It was obvoius to anyone my by voice that I had a cold! Well, they can't give it to you unless your in perfect health because it can make you very sick!! That could be the reason for people getting sick after. No one bothered to mention it to me on the phone when I called them. Wish they had - would've saved me an 1 1/2 hour trip for nothing. And now the kids Dr office finally has more vacination in, they all have colds!! :) :rolleyes: :)