MOMS FIGHT THE FLU
I hate this time of year for one main reason: the flu. I hate the flu. I’ve always hated the flu, although once I had kids, I learned to hate it even more. Once my son started school, it seemed he was sick every other week with the flu. So yeah, I really hate the flu.
But this year, its different. Its not so much about hating the flu, but actually fearing it. H1N1 totally changed the game for me and my kids, especially when it comes to preventing illness. All of a sudden, there is hand disinfectant EVERYWHERE, we avoid taking the kids to indoor playgrounds and playgroups, and we spend alot more time at home. Yet despite the fear, I still hesitated when it came to getting immunized, and more importantly, getting my children immunized. I was adamant that I wouldn’t do it, and that was absolutely the plan. However, once I started hearing about healthy children dying from H1N1, I became terrified. I’ll admit it, I did a 180 and the very next day, got the children the H1N1 shot. Did I make the right decision? I don’t know really. I just know that at that moment, with everything I had read on both sides, I was more afraid of H1N1 than I was of the shot. Right now, a few weeks in, I’m feeling alot better about it.
No matter what you decide about the seasonal and the H1N1 flu, and their respective shots, the best thing you can do for yourself is to be informed and prepared. Listed below are some great links that will provide you with all the information you need.
If you need updated information about Influenza Vaccination Clinics in Ontario, you can go here:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/h1n1/public/clinics.aspx
If you’re concerned about whether you or your children might have the flu, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care have created two self-assessment tools (one for children under the age of 5, and one for children over 5 and adults) that can be used as a guide to inform. They can be found here:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/h1n1/public/tools/assessment/default.aspx
For additional information, including flu prevention and care, you can go here:
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ccom/flu/
In the interest of full disclosure, please know that I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central and received a Mom Central gift pack to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Thank you for this heartfelt and informative post. I know exactly how you feel! We vaccinate on a modified schedule and I usually never get a seasonal flu shot, so at first I was really torn about having Oscar get the H1N1 vaccine. But I finally decided to do it (and he suffered no ill effects, thank God) and now I feel somewhat better. Of course, the doctor warned us that the shot does NOT guarantee that he won’t get it, so I guess I’m still worried, lol.
In many ways I blame (and am angry at) the insatiable media. The fear mongering is ridiculous.
Here’s hoping we all make through healthy!
You are definitely right in that the most important thing is to be informed. No matter what your final decision is, it is imperative to have all the facts.
The choice was easy for us down here in the US. We all got H1N1 before we could choose not to. And I actually feel better about having gone through it already.
Now. Moving on to a healthy winter. Banishing the thought of all colds and viruses for the rest of the season! HA!
I’m in Australia, and during our winter, we all went thru the same concerns. In fact, at my son’s daycare, they had a number of confirmed swine flu cases. By the time they were confirmed, it was too late to do anything about it, because my 2yr old had already been exposed. But he was fine. And even though we all felt the same stress here about the whole thing, mostly all was well and now it’s summer and has passed and forgotten.
So, I’m not saying don’t be worried at all about it, but know that for the most part, it will pass most people by. And just take care of yourself and your family as best you can. x
I’m with you, Sandy. The 24-hour news cycle here in the States made it difficult to attain and retain accurate information about H1N1 and the safety of the vaccine. We all ended up getting vaccinated after a decision-making process that sounds similar to yours, Maria: from not seeing the need to feeling desperate to get it. My hope is that everyone who wants to get the vaccine is able to get access to it, and that the panic fueled by the media doesn’t prevent people from getting the information they need.
This is exactly what I did. wasn’t going to get the shots for the children (we’ve never gotten ANY flu shots), this year they got two rounds of seasonal and one round of H1N1. The final straw in my decision: when my FIL said to me “imagine-heaven forbid-they got H1N1 and got very ill, and you decided not to immunize them. You’d feel terrible”. So, I made the appt the next day… and it was insane at the pedi office. It was like I was doing a drug deal b/c my kids were fortunate enough to receive one of the first round that the office rec’d. I’ll remember this later on, for sure. Very scary.
Thanks for this post. It echoes EXACTLY what I was thinking, went through, etc. We still haven’t been able to get the shots, so I can’t report on the outcome yet. But I think that the more talk and the less fear-mongering, the better. You RAWK!
So scary…I was adamant against the shot, too, but have changed my mind. I plan to get it for my oldest, as soon as we can. I can hear one more tragic story on the news without trying to do everything possible to prevent it.
I feel the same way. But we have not gotten the vaccination. I was so on the fence, and then my husband and I decided to get the kids vaccinated. Now we can’t find anywhere to get it. Crazy.
I am 8 months pregnant and have decided not to get the flu shot for me and my 3 year old. As a pregnant woman who has given up sushi and coffee, because of them not being good for baby, I am leery about being injected with the unknown. Also I just don’t like the feeling of being scared into doing something I would not have done under other circumstances. There has been a lot of talk and fear about this one. We have all upped our intake of vitamins and supplements and we are washing our hands a lot more, avoiding some public situations and making sure to get enough sleep and keep healthy in general