NEED HELP>>> FLU SHOT....YES Or NO

Kristine - posted on 01/10/2013

yes my 15 month old had one but dr did not tell me about the 2nd and now they're out and wont give me a script! I am extremely upset about this cuz they wont help me and its their fault... Does anyone know if i can go to a clinic and get one without a script since the flu is so bad?

Tammy - posted on 01/25/2010

I have a 9 year old, 7 year old, 2 year old and a 6 1/2 month old. Everyone got their flu shot and H1N1 except my 6 1/2 month old. By the time he was 6 months they ran out of H1N1. They don't except to get anymore in. All of mine were breastfeed and I am still breastfeeding my 6 1/2 month old. I did it just because my older girls are in a public school.

Lindsay - posted on 01/24/2010

Neither of my kids got either of the flu shots. DS (2.5 years) has had some severe reactions to routine vaccinations so we don't give him anything extra and we delayed all of his routine vaccines. Because of this, we decided to follow a delayed vaccine schedule with DD and not include the flu vaccine.

Brandy - posted on 01/24/2010

We do not give our children the flu shots because of the preservative that is put into it if it is from a multiple vaccine vial. It has mercury in it. Our oldest son was getting all vaccines as the doctors told us to. At 15 months (after getting 4 shots and having an ear infection), he started regressing. While they told us that it wasn't from the shots it seemed like a huge coincidence that it happened at that time. Because we don't want our children to get extremely ill from a deadly disease we do continue to get their regular vaccines. However we only get one at a time (going back once a month to get shots) and never when a child is sick. Since there is controversy about the MMR shot and our first child had his at 15 months we have also put off getting that shot until after 2 years of age. I have read that the immune system is better able to handle the MMR after 2 years of age. Since the MMR used to have the same preservative we are very cautious about vaccines and so avoid the flu shot.

Sherry - posted on 01/24/2010

just to weigh in....we did get both our children the seasonal flu shot and our 2 1/2 year old the H1N1 shot. I know this is a personal choice and I am not trying to insult anyone who did differently. I am a big supporter of doing what you and your family feels is the best for your children and this is what we thought was best after a lot of research. My 2 1/12 year old is in day care. she was bringing a lot of stuff home to the 6 month old. We decided we would rather deal with some of the minor complications that are rare, than to have one of our children end up with the flu or worse - both have allergies and markers for asthma. If they ended up getting the flu and landed in the hospital because I was too afraid to take a chance on the shot I am not sure I could forgive myself.
Neither child had any complications, though I do know of a few friends whose children did - nothing serious though.

Ally - posted on 01/23/2010

i didnt get it for her...thank all you moms for you advice!!!!!!

Nikki - posted on 01/14/2010

NO!

Christina - posted on 01/14/2010

i did not give my son a flu shot. We live in Ohio and although it is "flu season" where we live, I just didn't find it necessary...if, God forbid he were to catch the flu, which is highly unluckily because I stay home with him so outside contact is limited, the treatment for the flu is WAY less harsh then the actual vaccine.

This is the way I am...I hope you just do what is best for you!! :)

Sarah - posted on 01/14/2010

I didn't have my son get one. I don't really want him getting anything other than what he needs to go to school. We don't really believe in getting vaccines.

Terica - posted on 01/14/2010

I was skeptical about the shots but I went on and let her get both and she got both her boosters Tuesday. I made the decision because it is cold and flu season and she has been battling a small chest cold.

Jamie - posted on 01/12/2010

Just because she is breast fed doesn't mean she has protection unless you have had the particular strain of flu that is going around. You WON"T have the antibodies unless you have had it! I definitely got my daughter both flu shots. There really is no reason to worry about the H1N1 shot. It is made EXACTLY the same way as the regular shot and neither of them will give your child the flu. Children are often hospitalized from the flu but never from the shot. And of course the shots only are about 75% at preventing the flu, but 75% is good enough for me!

Jessi - posted on 01/10/2010

Ryan turned 6 months on June 16th, and we got him both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 at our doctor's appointment last week because he was a preemie and at risk to have worse complications if he gets either one. I can report that we had absolutely NO reactions to it that you wouldn't expect from any vaccine shot (a little bit of fussiness the day of that was soothed with a small dose of tylenol every 6 hours). I also got both shots for my three year old and also had absolutely no problems.

Brenda - posted on 01/10/2010

my 6 month old girls got H1N1 shot but not seasonal because they were out at the time. They'll get the H1N1 booster and the seasonal flu shot later this month. They are triplets and were born 8 weeks early, so even a little cold could put them back in the hospital so we are taking every precaution to reduce the risk of getting sick. I live in Washington State and the shots for kids don't have preservatives in them.

Naomi - posted on 01/08/2010

I struggled with it as well, at the time the H1n1 shot came out he was too young anyway, so I ended up getting it. I figured my body could handle any reactions better than his and since we're breastfeeding he does get the antibodies from me. I was so thankful I decided to not give it to him, cus I had quite a strong reaction to the shot, I had a high fever the next day, huge headache and my arm wasn't just a little sore, it was excruciating! the day after that, all but the sore arm were gone! I'm glad I got the shot, because now we are both protected, but I will not be giving it to him until we are not breastfeeding anymore, maybe not even then, I think he's too little to be able to deal well with whatever is in the shot and he gets protected from me. best of both sides!

Alicia - posted on 01/08/2010

My son just got his 6 mo. old shots yesterday, and I was stressed when they asked me about the flu shot. I felt like I might potentially sound like a bad mom if I said no, but I didn't want him getting any more shots that day, either, because 3 is enough! I figured I might do it later, but then talked to my friends w children, and none of them ever had their kids get the flu shot, and only one of them got the flu, but ended up being fine. I WOULD get it if he were in daycare, though, but that's just me. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't do it.

Kate - posted on 01/08/2010

I just got my son the seasonal flu shot (7 mo). I had reservations but I trust my dr and he recommended it, and we all had H1N1 in my household and I really do not want a repeat of anything like that... Good luck deciding. It's hard!

Lauri - posted on 01/08/2010

No I have not gave my 6mth old either shots and is not planning too.

Ashley - posted on 01/07/2010

We have had some cases of swine flu in our extended family and so I didn't want to chance it. My daughter is exposed to lots of people because we have a huge close knit family. Our pedi suggested the flu shot, I was concerned and had to think about it because I am allergic and our pedi explained that she has a 50% shot of being allergic as well. She does great with her shots at her well checks and has never had an issue, or even cried, so my fiance and I decided it was worth the extra poke. She did fine with it, and has her booster in about a week. If your baby goes to daycare or is often around other kids, you should really get the flu shot. I am a college student and have a high risk of bringing it home to my baby... *knock on wood* she has yet to get sick.

Melanie - posted on 01/07/2010

Go with your gut instinct, getting any vaccination is a personal choice. For me, I will not ever give my baby the flu shot (or a majority of the vaccinations out there). Have you read the list of ingredients in them (and other vaccines as well)? I don't care how minute the traces are, I don't want that stuff being inected into her blood. If you think about it, most infectious diseases are caught through the nose and mouth, so why on earth would we inject a virus directly into our bloodstream (along with foreign animal DNA, heavy metals, formaldehyde, etc)? The immune system isn't built to handle that stuff being injected into the blood, which is why we are seeing the rates of autoimmune diseases skyrocket. Further, the infectious disease rates declined significantly when basic hygiene and water treatment facilities started becoming more commonplace, well before the vaccines were ever introduced. I think that for most of the vaccinations out there, the risk is not worth the perceived benefit. But, like I said, its a personal choice. I would just make sure it is an informed choice. Dr. Sears has a good and balanced book about vaccinations that I read (he is a proponent of them), that includes what the vaccinations are for, what disease they are for, ingredients, manufaturing process, and potential risk of catching the target illness.

Anita - posted on 01/06/2010

If there were yes n no, it means that u're not sure about it. trust your gut instinc. My first son got flu shots n still he got flu. ...
what his doctor say is that there is too many strain of flu viruses. And that's it.
If she's breastfed i think she will be okay. a little flu wont hurt her.I say NO flu shot for my little one(6mo) .

Tiffany - posted on 01/05/2010

I'd base it on whether or not your child is surrounded by other children or many adults often. My son stays home with me all day so basically the only people we need to worry about him getting the flu from are me and my husband. We did end up getting him the regular flu shot however I don't believe they did enough research on the H1N1 flu shot yet so we said no to that one. My doctor actually said the regular flu poses more of a threat than the H1N1 flu anyways. If your child is in daycare I'd strongly suggest it:)

Katrina - posted on 01/05/2010

my son was given both the flu shots and seems to be doing fine.

Staci - posted on 01/05/2010

As a nurse who cares regularly for patients with know H1N1, I chose to have all of my family vaccinated. Allthough I breastfeed, I felt that the risk of exposure was so high that the vaccine was a safer alternative to getting the virus itself. The decision whether or not to vaccinate your child should be an made on an individual basis with advice from you doctor. Good luck!

Myranda - posted on 01/05/2010

my doctor recommends the flu shot and gave my daughter her 1st dose today and she has to have a booster in a month, but her pedi is against the H1N1 shot though.

Carmen - posted on 01/05/2010

My son got the regular flu shot. They didn't have any of the H1N1 shot available at the time.

Judy - posted on 01/05/2010

I have a 7m, 4.5yo and a 7yo. I was very concerned about the Swine Flu situation and we all got the H1N1 shot when the baby was younger. When she was 6m she got both flu shots and we are going tomorrow for the second set. Both older kids got the regular flu shot also. Our pediatrician highly recommended it as well as friends who are drs and they all had their kids vaccinated. My 4.5 yo has a history of heart issues and the baby is so young I was more concerned with flu exposure than with the shot. Good luck with your decision.

Clare - posted on 01/05/2010

Quoting dianne:

I initially was going to give my son, but he had a cold and it was too many shots at his 6 month visit, so we scheduled his flu shots for the 6th but after much discussion with my hubby and sister who is a nurse we decided against it. I rarely go out and he is breastfed so his risk of exposure is minimal. That being said the decision is purely yours based on your circumstances and level of exposure plus I was not just comfortable with him have 5 shots in one day - its a bit much on the babies I think, plus another 2 after a month. Good luck its always tough either way

Im starting to rethink myself now... Oh wot to do!!! My husband is a bit synical about the h1n1 shot because there hasnt been alot of research into it... and apparantly the Irish government has given out compensation to people that had bad reactions to it... Im really confused now...

Dianne - posted on 01/04/2010

I initially was going to give my son, but he had a cold and it was too many shots at his 6 month visit, so we scheduled his flu shots for the 6th but after much discussion with my hubby and sister who is a nurse we decided against it. I rarely go out and he is breastfed so his risk of exposure is minimal. That being said the decision is purely yours based on your circumstances and level of exposure plus I was not just comfortable with him have 5 shots in one day - its a bit much on the babies I think, plus another 2 after a month. Good luck its always tough either way

Lauralea - posted on 01/04/2010

My 7 month old got both flu shots (regular and H1N1) last week. Personally I felt that because he is in daycare and I am a kindergarten teacher that his risk of exposure was higher and I didn't want to regret not having him get the shot. From what I understand about the H1N1 virus it is highly contagious and can be very rough on infants, if not fatal. That is a risk I am not willing to take. The shots went fine and he will be getting the follow-up in four weeks. Good luck with your decision.

Jennifer - posted on 01/04/2010

I have an 8 year old and a 6 month old and they both got the H1N1 shot and my 8 year old got the regular flu shot!!

Clare - posted on 01/04/2010

its tricky... im from dublin Ireland and we have swine flu here at the moment... its scary coz my 6month old has a heart condition i have a 3 year old too... but despite that ive booked us in for the flu shot next monday apart from my 6 month old... ill let his cardiologist decide for him.... hope this helps a little...

Sooz - posted on 01/04/2010

We chose not to again this year - my son whose 3 has never had one and the little miss who could have one now but I am just not comfortable with that on top of all the other shots she's getting. If you are truly on the fence talk with the dr some more and if you still aren't comfortable don't do it.

Mandy - posted on 01/04/2010

I say no. I have three kids and only got the flu shot once with all of them... That was the only time we got the flu. I have a four year old, two year old and a 6 mo old, never got any of them either shots.

Amanda - posted on 01/04/2010

Well, if Ella is breast fed, there should be no need for a flu shot because you provide her with all the antibodies necessary to fight colds & flues. If she's not, then it comes down to your instincts as parents & how much you trust your doctor. You'll both do what's right for you & Ella.