Flu Shot or Not? - Naperville,IL

Having just gone through having the flu, myself (this was my first year NOT getting a flu shot since about 2002), I would do it. I have always gotten it for my babies once they hit the 6 mos mark. My husband is an MD with a Masters in Medical Microbiolgy and Immunology and each flu season he insists that we get the kids flu shots as soon as we can.

Yes.

Both my kids have had it since they were a baby.
And they have never had a problem because of it.

I get it too.

Please discuss this with your pediatrician, rather than taking advice from a bunch of non-medical professionals on the internet. Every time someone asks a flu shot question, it drives me totally nuts to see the tons of comments like, "Whenever we get flu shots, we get the flu!" Umm, no you don't. You get a cold. There's a difference. Uggggh. Or the perennial, "I never get the flu shot, and I've never had the flu!" Yeah, because you're LUCKY or a shut-in or Typhoid Mary. "They're just experimenting on us!" No, they're not. This vaccine is made in the same way all other vaccines are made. No mystery about it.

Anyway.

I spoke with our pediatrician about this when my oldest was an infant, and we did always vaccinate for the flu, every year, both kids. I had the flu so badly when I was in college that I was hospitalized - I had not received my flu shot because I figured that I'd never had the flu before, and only old people and babies got really sick from it. Boy, was I wrong. I know that if a baby had had the flu that I had, they'd have died. No question. Likewise, although I did not die and did recover, how many tiny babies had I breathed on and exposed to the flu, before I realized I was contagious? (I worked in a campus daycare center.) The fewer people we have who are unvaccinated, the fewer people who will catch the flu.

Please, please, speak with your pediatrician about this and ask the questions that you have. Your doctor has your baby's best interests at heart, and has the scientific training to understand how and why vaccines work, and can explain to you why it's recommended for your baby.

My son has had his flu shot annually since he was old enough. The populations at greatest risk of being hospitalized or DYING from the flu are the very young and the elderly. Half the kids who died of the flu in the 2010-2011 season were under 5 (most under 2) and fully half were completely healthy before getting the flu.

Look at the CDC website for more info and talk to your pediatrician. You can get really DATA - not anecdotes like 'well I never had the flu'. Most of us have never been in a serious car accident either - however that is not good enough for me to stop using a car seat or seat belts as actual EVIDENCE shows these things save lives.

Hi. I'm a medic and give flu shots every day this time of year.

Here is some information about the flu shot: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/children.htm

Please get your child vaccinated. You can request the thermerasol-free vaccine if you are concerned with preservatives. Complications from the flu put babies in the hospital every year.

I get sick of the "I've never had the shot, and never had the flu" crowd. Okay. You haven't had major SYMPTOMS of the flu. That cold you thought you had? May have been flu virus. You're strong and fabulous and have fought it off, no problem. But who did you spread it to? And who did THEY spread it to?

Getting the flu shot helps to stop the SPREAD of the flu to those who can't get the flu shot because they are immunosuppressed. Like infants under 6 months old and those fighting cancer.

To those say "generations survived without the flu shot," please look at child and infant death statistics over the years. In the 1918 pandemic, 10% of children DIED. Imagine. 1 in every 10 children died. 22% of women died. That's 2 of every 10 moms here.

Getting the flu shot slows and stops pandemics.

Again, please get your baby vaccinated.

Angela: "Absurd?" I think not. The last pandemic was in 2009. H1N1. 294,500 people have DIED from H1N1 since the initial outbreak. That's the nearly the population of Cincinnati, Ohio. So no, I don't think we've come so far that we don't need the vaccine.

It is especially important for babies over six months to be vaccinated for the flu. More than 20,000 children are hospitalized each year with the flu, and serious complications are more common in younger children. If your baby does get the flu he can't take the antiviral drugs used to treat the flu, he is too young. The vaccine is the best choice for protecting him.

I never got it for any of the kids and only have had one myself, when I was a surrogate during the H1N1 scare a few years back and the parents of the babies I was carrying strongly preferred that I get one. In my opinion, our babies are subjected to enough toxins thought the standard vaccine schedule so I wasn't about to load them up again with a shot that is unnecessary and not even guaranteed to be effective. For me, I felt better about it because I breastfed so they had pretty strong immune systems anyway. If you are nursing, that might influence your decision. I really don't trust the safety of vaccines in general and certainly don't trust any stats that come from the CDC about safety or efficacy of any shots, particularly the flu shot, which I think is really just a marketing scam from the pharmaceutical companies to make another buck.

While the real influenza virus is awful to have and dangerous to some, I think it's prevalence is way over-reported and many people who say that they have the flu don't, they just have a bad cold. Yes I do know people who have been diagnosed, by testing, with influenza and they were very ill. One co-worker was out for 3 weeks (and he had gotten a shot that season), another was out for almost two. If my child had compromised health, or someone in my family was immuno-compromised due to something like cancer treatment then I would reconsider. But for us, it's a "no thank you" response to our pediatrician year after year.

Babies die from the flu. Worked in pediatrics trust me. My 6 month old granddaughter gets hers next week. Her Mom and Dad and siblings have all gotten it.

Your six month old is more at risk for severe complications from the flu. I can't think of any reason not to get the shot.

My kids both got flu shots at that age. There's no down side to it. They are perfectly safe (unless you're allergic to eggs).

Last year we all got the flu shot (me, husband, two boys) and three of us still got the flu. It was horrible. It wasn't the stomach flu. It was the flu flu. I did not want to leave the couch. Every muscle hurt, and I had absolutely no energy. My husband and I litterally took turns getting things for the boys. I think we ate a lot of cereal and sandwiches so we wouldn't have to cook.

It is possible to get a flu shot and still get the flu, because there are just so many strands of the flu and the strands included in the flu shot each year are a "best guess."

After getting the flu last winter, I never want to risk not having the flu shot. We get them every year!

Because babies and elderly people are the ones most in danger of dying or complications due to the flu, I would say "yes." I never get one, but my 24-year-old daughter, who has asthma, always gets hers because she wants to protect herself because it's much worse for her than normal people when she gets sick. It's much worse for babies to be sick than older kids or adults. Babies need the protection, in my opinion.

We skipped the flu shot for the first time in 7 years. We have both never been so healthy.

My kids are 18 and 15 and never had one as babies, toddlers or older kids - back then (if I remember correctly) they only gave them to kids in high risk categories.

Somehow generations of children, including our own, have survived without them. That being said, I'm not a doctor or health care provider of any type - this is just my "mom" opinion.

Good luck with your decision!

PS: Our kids are not born in the early 20th century . . . before the advent of many modern medical interventions, food safety, sanitation, etc. That argument is absurd imho.

Could there be another pandemic? Of course! There have been pandemics throughout human history. Research the "sweating sickness" of medieval times. Many pandemics of old - if they resurfaced today - would remain unexplained.

PPS: Christy - your original pandemic point was about something that happened in 1918. If your best argument was the more recent H1N1 then why didn't you mention that one first? And does your H1N1 total include the worldwide population? If so that's not a great analogy either. Conditions in other parts of the world are not comparable to here (not that we don't have our own problems because we do).

The OP asked for our opinions and I gave mine (and my own experience). I do not hold myself out to be an expert of any sort, but I am capable of logical thought. :)

It is my *opinion* (again, not a health care provider of any sort) that flu vaccines are not given in a vacuum. There are risks to them, and broader issues to be considered for each individual and/or parent who is considering it. I don't believe in "one size fits all."

We skip it every year. There are so many strains of the flu and each year they just guess at which ones might show up, so half the time you will not even be protected from that years stain. For us the risks of this particular shot outweigh any benefit from it. My boys have gotten all their other vaccines, but I see not need to put extra chemicals in to them every single year when it really does not even protect them from anything.

A couple of years ago I was forced to get my son one or he could not keep attending his school. I took him to the immunization clinic on base where they informed me that the shot for that year had been causing seizures in children. (My son can not have the mist due to RSV). How am I supposed to feel comfortable this year when that years caused serious problems? So not worth the risk.

Get the shot! This is coming from a Mom who NEVER got the shot (except when pregnant) ... but will be starting next year! My house is currently in the midst of the flu bug. My 5 year old got it first (from school) and spiked a 104 degree fever and we almost had to bring him to the ER. He only had the flu shot as a baby. My husband has it now and is layed up, seriously, in bed for the bast 36 hours. My daughter, 1-1/2 is the only one who GOT the flu shot and she's as happy as a lark! I could not imagine her getting this ... we'd certainly be in the hospital. The only reason I think I've been spared, so far, is as soon as I realized my son had it I called my doctor and got the flu-pack pills to help keep me somewhat healthy. But that cost me $100. I'd rather get the $20 shot at the beginning of the season. My husband is totally against the shot .. but I will be getting myself and my kids shots for sure from here on out. Do it. It's way better than the flu. You just don't know how bad it could get ... and it could get really really bad.

Yes, Yes, Yes.
#1, who wants their kid to suffer through the flu?
#2 they can transmit the infection. It won't just infect them, but everyone in the household (like grandpa.) Influenza can cause death from secondary infections. What about other students?
#3 Renew your flu shot every 6 months. They actually have duration. The virus is always changing.
I personally have scar tissue in my lungs due to rampant flu infections that led to pneumonia. I will always be at risk for bronchitis with every URI.
#4 Do you bother to expose your child to the chicken pox? How is this any different, barring egg allergies?
#5. Many smaller tikes are not subsequent to the same viruses we are. My youngest had the chicken pox twice. He had just a small fever and two poxes, each time. My oldest had strep throat twice at two years old. That is almost unheard of- he was documented by the WHO. Persisitis kills children as young as your son. Better safe then sorry, but that is rather young.
#6 Ask your pediatrician. They can give you better advice then anyone with a response.

It's up to you, but we do not do the flu shot here, or any vaccine actually. But def. not the flu shot. They are just guessing on what strain will be around. There is no guarantee that you won't get the flu. I have never had the flu shot and I've only had a positive flu test once in my life.

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Not for me, my babies, my big kids, no one in our family..ever! Never had it, my grandma died because of it, no, no, no. None of my doctor friends do it either, just extra vitamin d in flu season and other things that bolster the immune system.

My daughter is 22 and has never had a flu shot in her life. Has had the flu twice.

I stopped taking them over a decade ago. Got sick every year I took them - stopped getting sick when I stopped taking them. Not saying they MADE me sick - just that I stoppped getting sick when I stopped taking them.

As for taking them so that I don't make someone else sick if I get a mild case - sorry, but you're SOL. I won't take medication I don't need in order to keep YOU from getting sick. Keeping you well isn't my job, it's yours.

I got it for my son when he was 6 months old and I regret it. My husband and I get a flu shot every year. If your son is immuno suppressed, has asthma or other issue that would make the flu deadly (besides his age) and you are not nursing him either, then consider it.

This is a question that you will need to ask annually for yourself and your . You may find your answer may change from year to year for any one of the members of your family for whom you are making the decision so I recommend you do your research and be wary of hype and bias. You need to fit your research findings with your own particular situation. If you have a child that refuses to hand wash, wont use tissues, eats almost exclusively processesed foods, or if the child has low Vitamin D status or will be in regular contact with newborns or infirmed or immune-comprimised folks, the POTENTIAL benefits of a preservative-free flu vaccine will outweigh the risks. If you are able to encourage and incorporate the health practices for your family that boost immune health and minimize exposure, you may decide the potential benefits of the preservative-free vaccine are not worth the known and unknown risks. Never give yourself or your family member a thimerosal (50% mercury) preserved flu vaccine (they come in a 10 multi-dose vial)--these are just not worth the neurological damage. Most pharmacies use the multi-dose mercury contaminated kind--I believe more advanced pediatricians stock the single dose preservative free kind but if they run out they will generally switch to the multi-dose form with the mercury. I recommend you become a Thinking Mom. Here is an excellent current article to get you started on making an intelligent and informed decision about when flu vaccination may be right for you, providing a more balanced view of the potential benefits with direct links to the research that evaluates these benefits: http://thinkingmomsrevolution.com/flu-shot-clinic/
I would suggest you don't take anyones advice, not from a website, another mom, or even from a pediatrician, unless you have done your own research to back it up. In attending a financial investment class, the instructor cautioned us not to hand over the decision making to a paid financial investment broker because "No one has more at stake and thus no one has more interest in ensuring the best performance of your financial investments than you". I would say this advice applies even moreso to managing your health and the health of your loved ones.

Our ped never asked us to get one for our baby.
We didn't get them ourselves.

Our teen has to get one for school.

I think I'd be more apt to get one for myself than give one to my infant or toddler but I don't. There are so many different strains that we are surely never able to protect ourselves from all of them.

I don't think I'd get one for my baby until they start start school.