Concerns About the Seasonal and Swine Flu

I will not give anyone in my family any flu vaccines. It's just to scary. If I start giving my boys this vacc. at the age of 2 or 3 what effect will that yearly dose of mercury have on their bodies after 40 years of getting it? The flu vaccine, if spilled, is considered hazardous waste that needs a special crew to come in and clean it up. No thanks if we're not high risk!

Taken from the National Vaccine Information Newsletter:
Key points:

It is of interest to note that the EPA considers any material that has greater than 200 ppb of mercury to be hazardous waste. The flu vaccine, as well as tetanus booster, has thimerosal levels that exceed this value by 250 times or 50,000 ppb mercury.

Giving a 3 yr old child the flu vaccine will raise their blood level of organic mercury beyond what the CDC has defined as a chemical poisoning.

The current flu vaccine will deliver a dose of organic mercury to a 3 year old that meets the definition of a chemical poisoning by the MMWR, CDC and HHS. Furthermore, the recommended schedule requires that this dosebe given twice (one month apart).

A 125 pound teenager or adult, who gets a recommended flu and meningococcal vaccination, could be 4-8 times over the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure, depending upon the manufacturers. A teen or adult who got a mercury-containing flu vaccine would have to weigh 551 pounds to be under the EPA limit for a single mercury exposure.

The Manufacturer’s inserts, the package labeling, do not address nor do they warn about the dangerous levels of organic mercury being given.

http://naturalhealthblog.healthegoods.com/flu-vaccine-con...

http://www.nvic.org/

There are non-mercury vacc's but they are fewer and you have to ask for them.

3 moms found this helpful

Oh my gosh you and I sound so much alike. It would be great to talk.

It sounds like you are already doing things that prevent the flu. The Swine Flu is no different than any other flu.

If you want to read about side affects with the Swine Flu shot go to http://mamabearprod.blogspot.com

Email me if you'd like to talk sometime.

1 mom found this helpful

I am in the same group as Linda... Make sure to supply OJ for your house hold and cook with garlic and onions. They are all immunity boosters.

I am soooo against the flu vaccines unless you are in an at risk category... I tend to think that when most people get the vaccines they feel that makes them and their kids immune to it.(It doesn't always) The "flu" vaccines strains are pre choosen the year before and covers about 8 of the possible 18 plus flu strains out there. You can get the flu after getting the vaccines.
I do not get them or have my kids get them. Every one gets the flu at some point. I KNOW we are susceptable and watch for the signs and symptoms VERY closely. Then the good old mom TLC comes into play.

We have not had any kind of flu go thru our house in over 3 yrs... My 3rd grader has missed 2 days of school TOTAL because of illness EVER...:-)

I grew up on a farm and was rarely sick and never saw the dr. My house is clean but I do not insist on sanitizing everything my kids MAY touch. Let them build up their immunities naturally and it will stay with them forever. And if a "super" bug actually does make a showing in our house I have no preconceived ideas of safety because of a shot.

1 mom found this helpful

No way would I give myself or my children the flu shot or the H1N1 shot. I work in health care and they are trying to make it 'mandatory'. I am politely refusing that shot.

Why would you want to expose yourself to some foreign viruses that MAY or MAY NOT be the virus of choice for this year??? And why would you want to inject yourself with MERCURY, which is the second most toxic chemical to man?? And then why would you want to also inject yourself with ALUMINIUM, which has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease and also, Fermaldehyde is in the shot!! That is alot of useless toxins to inject in your body for the CHANCE of it to maybe work for this flu season. I will take my chances and let my body fight off the flu with my own immune system!
VITAMIN D is the answer!! Everyone needs to get their Vitamin D level checked and then keep it at a healthy level. Most people in Michigan have a very low Vitamin D level...so get it checked, take your supplements, exercise, get rest, eat healthy and take care of yourself. Don't expose yourself or your children to harmful toxins and viruses that you don't need.

Vaccines are a $CAM by the goverment!! They are in it with the pharmaceutial companies pushing these vaccines on the elderly and the children and now they haven't made enough money off of them so they have moved onto the health care workers!! So lets immunize everyone!!! And we will charge everyone!! MORE MONEY!! MORE MONEY!!!
That is what it is all about!

Protect yourself, and educate yourself!!

1 mom found this helpful

Heck no, I'm not getting the swine flu vaccine, who in their right mind would inject something untested and unproven into their body willingly?
Absolutely no good will come of this. The swine flu has proven to be less of an issue, both in deaths and in sheer number of cases.
You are going to get sick, the best thing you can do is keep yourself healthy with a good diet and exercise and wash your hands. People try to play God with these vaccines and it just ends up horribly.
The swine flu vaccine of the 70's anyone? Killed, injured, paralyzed, and caused thousand of seizure disorders in tens of thousands of people. Ironically enough, the same ingredients are being used in this round.
Common sense.

1 mom found this helpful

Hand washing, good nutrition (limit sugar!!!!), chiropractic adjustments. avoidance of medications-that's what we do to avoid sickness. We ABSOLUTELY would NOT get any vaccines, let alone the swine flu vaccine. They are using children as guinea pigs with those drugs and poisons, the thought of injecting my family terrifies me!

1 mom found this helpful

There is no way I or my kids will get the flu or H1N1 vaccine. We never got the flu vacc and never got the flu. I know people who get the vacc and get the flu. The risk of injecting yourself with something that hasn't even been tested to protect against something not that bad ( I know people who have had the H1N1 and not been very sick) seems too risky for me or my kids.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi!
Great Topic! I am a mom with similar concerns, and started a boutique to help other moms navigate this topic. Our Ann Arbor store, Indigo Forest ('Bellies, Babies & Family Health') has handouts, holds classes and gives presentations on this very topic (most recently at the Birth Center at Providence in Southfield.) We carry books on health and vaccines, supplements (herbal/nutrient/etc), homeopathy & essential oils for staying healthy, and pregnancy & baby friendly products of all descriptions. www.VisitIndigo.com. Sorry to sound like a commercial, just too long here to get in to the value of vitamin D, probiotics, and Family Health Teas and more. We'd love to help you with your questions!

1 mom found this helpful

No Way. Too Scary. My children nor myself have ever received a flu shot, especially not the H1N1 vaccine that they have just come up with and I feel they have no way of knowing so soon what side effects there will be. Preventive care and prayer!

1 mom found this helpful

My kids and I have never received the flu shot nor will they. I'm not comfortable injecting a live virus into myself or children for a flu based on last season that may not be the active strain this season. No way will they get the h1n1 vaccine. IMO it was pushed way to fast through trials and is being pushed upon us to quickly. We just take precautions as to who we are exposed to and what we eat.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi D.!

My husband and I and our 3 children WILL NOT be getting the flu shot!! We never have and we never will!! The first round of Swine flu shots that were given in the 1970's left my friends dad paralyzed from the waist down. This went on for about 2 years. He did eventually walk again, however, he always had other problems related to it. That flu shot ruined his life!!

I believe that the pharmecuetical industry is behind this all the way, trying to scare us all into getting this shot. Why wouldn't they? They are making billions of dollars on this!!

I work for Usana Health Sciences, and we just had our international convention in Salt Lake city last month. Dr. Wentz, who is an immunologist and microbiologist spoke to us about this very thing. Our bodies were created to be able to defend itself with our immunity system. Therefore, our best defense is to keep our immunity system strong!

I've learned over the past 6 years that we just don't get all the nutrients (which builds our immune system) we need in our foods anymore. Therefore we need to supplement. I NEVER took vitamins/minerals before this, and yes, I was always sick with something! I spent more money on presciption drugs to cure myself than I want to remember!
A dear friend of mine told me about USANA, so to make her happy, I started to take the supplements. Well, I'm here to tell you that in 6 years, I have not been back to the doctor with any sickness!!!! Is my immune system working?? You bet it is!! My husband and children faithfully take theirs every day also! Yes, we still do get colds here and there, but they are much less severe and quite often we get rid of them just by adding more Vit C.

If you want to get more info, you can check out the website. Usana is rated the top nutritional in the US and Canada for potency and purity. Its actually listed in the Physicians Desk Reference, and MANY olympic athletes use these because there is a one million dollar guarantee that they wont be tested positive for any unknown substance. It is the ONLY vitamin company that has such a guarantee!! What it says it has on the bottle IS in the product!! MANY vitamin companies cannot make that claim (especially over-the-counter nutritionals). I never knew that before, but they only have to be safe, they dont have to tell the truth.

Anyway, I'm going on too long but I'm just so passionate about this as I have seen the results in my own family. So don't get the flu shot! Build your immune system instead!!

Hope you have a happy and healthy winter season!!

B. Hooyer
bhooyer.usana.com
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I have three very active (literally every night after school), children. I encourage them to get enough sleep, eat a balance diet and wash their hands. HOWEVER they are teenagers/preteens. They share pop, water, etc. The classrooms are overcrowded, so they will be getting the flu vaccine for sure as will I. Not sure yet on the swine flu vaccine yet.

I think being responsible for your own behavior is great, but in the real world not every child and parent is as vigilant as the previous writers. Therefore I will be taking additional precautions.

Get enough rest. Not just sleep at night, but punctuating the day with periods of activity and periods of inactivity. The non-stop motion many people live is tremendously hard on an immune system, particularly as the holidays come and people add more and more and more without taking anything out, and then eat all that hard-to-deal-with festival food.

I don't actually wash my hands very often --and to that I attribute my extremely healthy immune system. Instead of killing off the weakest germs all the time (and keeping my immune system from having anything to do), I am encountering stronger and stronger bugs all the time, with an active immune system that's used to dealing with lots.

I also eat more long-simmered foods, with herbs like bay and rosemary, at this time of year. Lots of brightly coloured vegetables, like tomatoes and squash and carrots and yams and beets and chicken and beef and lamb. So, right around when the flu starts going around, I'm making sure that we're not only eating a wide variety of foods, I'm ensuring that we're not going to be eating any pathogens left on the 'washed' spinach, because it's also cooked.

I am not considering the flu vaccine, because I am not in an at-risk group, nor do I work with any.

Of course, I very diligently see my doctor every 5 years or so... so he doesn't have a lot to say about my immune system or what to do about it.

My kids ages 5 and 2 will be getting the flu shot. They are in daycare... and I've spent a lot of time taking to my pediatrician about it. We wash hands constantly, eat well and generally live our lives...

I do not plan on getting the H1N1 vaccine right now however. I want to see how it works and what the reactions are first.

I was actually going to post this ? My husband or I have never got a flu shot and we have never had the flu. I am not getting any. I am leaning toward not getting it for my 1 year-old as well. I am not totally comfortable with yet another vaccine esp. since he does not go to daycare. I will talk with his Ped but I do not think I will get it for him.

My kids, now 7 and 5, have been getting the flu shot every year since they were old enough to receive the shot. This year we also plan for them each to get the H1N1 flu shot. I guess that will be given in 2 doses. Unfortunatly, my kids doc doesn't talk too much about diet etc to stregthen immune system, but I educate myself on that and my kids always eat good anyway. We boost fluids and vitamins during cold and flu season. Always wash hands before eating. They always wash hands when they get home from school and I lysol spray their backpacks and lunch boxes when they get home. I'm not freaking out about the H1N1, but I think I will definetly be taking extra precautions this year and keeping a closer watch on sickness.

D., the Michigan Chiropractic Pediatric Assc. is hosting Mary Tocco (an independant vaccine researcher) and Dr. Andrew Moulden, MD, PhD to speak on vaccines. They are doing a 4 city tour in early October. Their website is www.mcpakids.org. You can go there for more info.

Dr. Rick Semlow

I think these are all great suggestions, and I'm happy to see so many thoughtful parents taking the time to actually think about this. On October 5 Dr. DenBoer is giving a talk about flu vaccines and H1N1. I dont work for him I'm just a patient and think it will be an excellent talk. Here's his website, you can call for more info.
http://www.drdenboer.com/events/

I am not getting the vaccine and I hope my children and grandchildren won't either. I think the vaccine has mercury in it...something none of us need. I would stay away from sugar in your diet. It brings down your immune system, leaving it unable to fight things off. Eat lots of fresh veggies, vitamin C, vitamin D anmd echanacha (sp) are good to give your system the boost it needs. All the washing and keeping hands away from your ears, nose and mouth. We all need to be careful.

my kids will not get the h1n1 vaccine. I work in a health related field and vaccines are a bit scary to me.. ( I know too mcuh)

my kids do not have any health issues, they are not overweight so they are not in a high risk group.

they have had the normal childhood illnesses... colds which they get often.. but they are just colds and they dont turn into ear infections or anything else.

My kids have each had 1 ear infection in their lives so they are pretty healthy.

We do wash hands but nto to excess and they do go to preschool which is just a germ factory.. so we are definatley exposed to every germ going around.

What I did was I mad sure I cleaned in the smallest corners. I even moved the fridge and cleaned under there. I would even accept the vaccine. You should at least clean everything in the house

Hello, I have been educating myself on these issues as well- and I wanted to share what I have found as it helps to provide another perspective I don't see reflected here yet in the responses... The elevated risks this year especially for young children and pregnant women, which have lead me to be vaccinated when I usually am not.

Seasonal flu- Each year, more than 200,000 are hospitalized from its complications and about 36,000 people die. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. One study found that out of every 10,000 women in their third trimester of pregnancy during an average flu season, 25 will be hospitalized for flu related complications. I realize that the vaccine doesn't provide 100% protection, but as a pregnant woman with a 3 year old child, and a husband that works with the public all day, I feel that I should do whatever I can to prevent what risk I can.

It is also important to note, that not all vaccines for seasonal flu contain mercury, usually single-dose options do not, versus multi-dose vials which often do. Also, the FluMist (inhaled) option does not contain mercury. For a specific list by manufacturer and dosage see: http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/ABOUT/QA/vaxsupply.htm#table

H1N1 flu- The number of reported cases (so far) per 100,000 population was highest among people in the 5 years to 24 years of age group (26.7 per 100,000). This was followed by those in the 0 to 4 years of age group, whose case rate was 22.9 per 100,000 people. The reported hospitalization rate per 100,000 people was highest among children in the 0 to 4 years of age group. The hospitalization rate of children in the 0 to 4 age group with novel H1N1 flu illness was 4.5 children per 100,000. CDC studied the hospital records of 268 patients hospitalized with novel H1N1 flu early on during the outbreak. The number of deaths was highest among people 25 to 49 years of age (39%), followed by people 50 to 64 year of age (25%) and people 5 to 24 year of age (16%) This is a very different pattern from what is seen in seasonal influenza, where an estimated 90% of influenza-related deaths occur in people 65 years of age and older.

So far this year, rates for flu are at or ahead of rates for previous years, especially in younger age groups due to the H1N1 virus continuing to spread during the summer (regular seasonal flu often is not active during the summer). For this reason, I believe it is safe to predict that the rate of flu, and therefore flu related hospitalizations and deaths will also be at or higher than previous year’s levels once flu season arrives in full force. To see the current rates vs. average for each age group see: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/weeklyarchives2008-2009/EIP... I know this is long, but I hope it helps to inform some other moms about the real risks so they can make an informed decision about vaccination.

I am not afraid! In addition to washing my hands, I am on an optimal health regimen of dietary supplements that are 95% absorbed in 5-10 minutes because of the isotonic delivery system (that means I drink them and they are scientifically designed to enter the body at the same pressure as our body fluids ~ so they by-pass digestion and are readily absorbed by the body)! I have never felt better and am amazed every day about how much energy that I have. My body is fighting off sickness with a new strength! (And I work in an elementary school so I need that!) I love to talk about this as I also work with health care professionals introducing these products to their patients.

If you want to know more, let me know!

S.
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Healthy diet, vitamins and elderberry syrup to build immunity(you can find it at Vitacost.com). No way will we immunize!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4SmFxyust0&feature=pl...

We do yearly vaccines and plan to be vaccinated against H1N1. It is a new virus with the potential to cause very serious illness; I'm not willing to risk serious illness when there is a safe way to prevent or reduce the severity of illness for me and my munchkins. By the way, I don't consider immunizations drugs - they build your immunity to a particular illness thereby letting your body/system fight it off. And - the H1N1 is made the SAME way as seasonal flu vaccine; it is not a totally new process or vaccine. Look for more information on your local health department website or the CDC's website.

My four year old son and I are getting our seasonal flu shots tomorrow at U of M. My son started preschool last week, caught a cold bug and had to miss school yesterday. The doctor's office did not recommend the swine flu shot for my son. No one suggested any kind of other methods other than immunizations.

My family has never gotten flu shots and I have no plan to this year. But unlike all of the other responses...I do not feel certain about what the best course of actions is with the flu shot. I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of giving it to my children (and so I won't), but I am also not sure that it is absolutely-positively the right move. Seriously, how can any of us know "for sure"? I know of a family who lost their 5 year old daughter a few years ago due to a spiked fever from the flu, and the whole thing terrifies me quite frankly.

My theory, however, is that during the school year especially, we all go into a more intense 'prevention' mode. My children are not allowed to share any food at school. They are not allowed to eat on the bus (gross).They have their own hand sanitizer to use throughout the day and wash their hands/or use the sanitizer always before they eat at school. I have taught them that touching their faces may get them sick because your eyes/ears/nose/mouth are the places thast germs will make you sick. A huge lesson I have taught them is that every time they wash their hands (right when they get off the bus, after they have done homework/touched their schoo bags, after they have played outside with kids, before they eat)...to always leave the water running until you have dried your hands and THEN turn the faucet off at the handles with the paper towel they just used. After all, aren't those the same handles you just touched with dirty hands?? We never have hand towels to dry our hands this time of year, but use paper towels instead.

I am not a big chemical user unless the flu is in the house (then I am a nervous basket case and use bleach-water). I feel like chemicals create a whole other host of problems that weaken the immune system.

During the summer months, we don't carry hand sanitizer and we share snacks, etc. We use that less-threatening time to actually LET our immune systems work on the less scary germs. But during the school year (especially with a vulnerable 21 month old at home), we are very cautious.

A probiotic is a fantastic thing to give to your children every day. It will absolutely strengthen their immune system along with all the other common sense things (good rest, quality multivitamin, healthy eating/minimal sugar, eat organic if financially able). And we stay away from antibiotics (unless we happen to contract strep one day) since they will destroy your immune system. If you have given a child an antibiotic, absolutely give them probiotics!

I always have some motrin in the house too just in case because that seems to bring the high fevers down better than tylenol. But I try not to use anything on the lower fevers so the body can better fight the virus.

Wishing you good health!

Myself, my husband, and my 2 preschoolers have all gotten our seasonal flu shot. I work in health care and am already seeing many influenza + cases. Personally I cannot imagine not getting the flu shot.

I am also getting the H1N1 shot when it comes out in October. I am also planning on getting my kids immunized as well.

Other than the vaccines, I am hoping all the preschool parents are vigilant about handwashing, teaching their kids good hygiene, and keeping their children at home if they have a fever.