H1N1

Angela - posted on 10/15/2009

Thank you to everyone I have been a stay at home mom but fixing to go back to work and my mom will be watching my daughter my husband works construction and I will be working in peoples mouths all day so I think Ill get the flu shot for the first time this year but I agree I dont think they know enough about the H1N1 to subject my child to it thank you for all the opinions and facts yall made my mind up!

Rachael - posted on 10/13/2009

Quoting Leita:

I am an ICU nurse and while I cannot give you advice, here are some things to think about:

#1- What is your baby's risk of exposure? Are you a stay at home mom with no school aged kids? Do you or your husband work with the public? What if any child care do you use and what is the exposure risk there?

#2- What risk factors does your child and family have? Some possible risk factors could be: asthma, severe allergies, other lung disorders, prematurity, other diseases or disabilities.

#3- Which risks are you more comfortable taking? Would you rather risk the complications potentially associated with the vaccine or the complications potentially associated with the virus? There are definitely risks for both.

PLEASE WEIGH THESE CONSIDERATIONS AND TALK TO YOUR PEDIATRICIAN!

As for my family:

I work with confirmed and possible H1N1 cases on a daily basis. In the ICU, I also tend to see the worst case scenario for these infections. My husband works in a restaurant and is exposed to large numbers of the public. My 7.5 month old son has no significant medical history, but is babysat by a family with 3 school age children.

Therefore I consider our risk of catching H1N1 to me moderately to very high. I will be taking the H1N1 vaccine as will my husband. I would rather take the risk of complications for myself than risk giving the virus to my son. I have not decided whether I will get him vaccinated yet, I'm still trying to learn more as well.

What I can advise you is to practice good hygiene particularly when out in public. This means WASH YOUR HANDS or use ALCOHOL GEL frequently. Wipe down public objects like shopping carts with alcohol gel or disinfectant wipes. But also remember these are poisonous if ingested by your child. COUGH/SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW OR SEVERAL TISSUES. Encourage others to do likewise and wash your hands afterwards.

H1N1 is a droplet spread disease this means it can stay in the air for approx. 3 feet. It then settles on surfaces where we touch and then bring it to our eyes, nose or mouth. Thinking about this mode of transmission may help you think about when and where you could become infected.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Thank you for this.  It was helpful to me.  I've got 3 kids: 6 1/2 (step-daughter), 3 1/2, and almost 3 months.  I think we're all gonna get vaccinated.  My 3 1/2 year old has never had a negative reaction to the regular flu shot & she gets it ever year.  However, my husband & our oldest child get sick very often...it's almost cause for concern at how often they have colds.  If they can so easily contract colds so darn often, I think making sure they are vaccinated is a safer choice since we have an infant.

Leita - posted on 10/13/2009

I am an ICU nurse and while I cannot give you advice, here are some things to think about:

#1- What is your baby's risk of exposure? Are you a stay at home mom with no school aged kids? Do you or your husband work with the public? What if any child care do you use and what is the exposure risk there?

#2- What risk factors does your child and family have? Some possible risk factors could be: asthma, severe allergies, other lung disorders, prematurity, other diseases or disabilities.

#3- Which risks are you more comfortable taking? Would you rather risk the complications potentially associated with the vaccine or the complications potentially associated with the virus? There are definitely risks for both.

PLEASE WEIGH THESE CONSIDERATIONS AND TALK TO YOUR PEDIATRICIAN!

As for my family:

I work with confirmed and possible H1N1 cases on a daily basis. In the ICU, I also tend to see the worst case scenario for these infections. My husband works in a restaurant and is exposed to large numbers of the public. My 7.5 month old son has no significant medical history, but is babysat by a family with 3 school age children.

Therefore I consider our risk of catching H1N1 to me moderately to very high. I will be taking the H1N1 vaccine as will my husband. I would rather take the risk of complications for myself than risk giving the virus to my son. I have not decided whether I will get him vaccinated yet, I'm still trying to learn more as well.

What I can advise you is to practice good hygiene particularly when out in public. This means WASH YOUR HANDS or use ALCOHOL GEL frequently. Wipe down public objects like shopping carts with alcohol gel or disinfectant wipes. But also remember these are poisonous if ingested by your child. COUGH/SNEEZE INTO YOUR ELBOW OR SEVERAL TISSUES. Encourage others to do likewise and wash your hands afterwards.

H1N1 is a droplet spread disease this means it can stay in the air for approx. 3 feet. It then settles on surfaces where we touch and then bring it to our eyes, nose or mouth. Thinking about this mode of transmission may help you think about when and where you could become infected.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Stefanie - posted on 10/13/2009

I was thinking the same thing well I spoke with a personal friend of mine who is also a pharmacists. She gave her opinoin as it is a brand new vaccine and no one knows anything about it and she doesnt feel comfortable with new vaccines until enough research has been done and there are credible reports of it working.

Heather - posted on 10/13/2009

Quoting Heather:

Well I'm training to be a Nurse and this is just MY opinion. They havn't really worked out all the "kinks" in the vaccine because everyone has been freaking out about it and my some in 6 months and he hasn't been sick once thanks to God and I'm not going to get him the shot or get the shot for myself. I think I'll just take my chance! I've never even had a flu shot before. Its just a thing you need to talk to your doctor about.

I mean my SON not some

Heather - posted on 10/13/2009

Well I'm training to be a Nurse and this is just MY opinion. They havn't really worked out all the "kinks" in the vaccine because everyone has been freaking out about it and my some in 6 months and he hasn't been sick once thanks to God and I'm not going to get him the shot or get the shot for myself. I think I'll just take my chance! I've never even had a flu shot before. Its just a thing you need to talk to your doctor about.