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Well, honestly if you are that concerned call your pedi back up and talk to someone you know is a trained and trusted medical profesional. I know there are plenty of medical bees but on the internet it is hard to tell those who know what they are talking about from the crazies.
@chasesgirl: I've gotten pretty good at weeding out the crazies! ;) I've already spoken with the pedi and his nurse, but wanted other opinions too. This site can be a good source of perspectives that I've overlooked for the most part.
There's tons of reliable informaton at www.cdc.gov/flu/ and www.flu.gov
The flu vaccine is especially recommended for children under the age of 5, but arm yourself with the information and make your own educated decision.
There is formaldehyde in quite a few vaccines. The CDC says the amount is "safe"
I've never gotten the flu vaccine, even when working at the hospital, and I've never had it.
@amnystik: Your hospital didn't require it? All our clinical sites do.
@chasesgirl: Nope.... I was a phlebotomist so I was around alot of patients and in every department... it was optional if we wanted it.
I had never had the flu (still never had it) and saw more co-workers out sick after getting it, then those who didn't get it... so I chose against it.
The only thing we were "required" to get was a tb test every year.
@amnystik: I've decided that the risk from formaldehyde is minimal compared to the diseases other vaccines prevent. But I don't want to continue to expose him if he doesn't really need the flu vaccine. His pedi is going to argue for, so I wanted to listen to some against as well. (or for)
Not to threadjack, but does anyone know if formaldehyde builds up in the bloodstream over time? Like, if my kids gets a flu shot every year for his/her lifetime, will the formaldehyde build up to dangerous levels over time, or is it something that will just be expelled from their system in a short period of time? I don't know much about this, so I'm curious.
My pede recommends the flu vaccine until at least age 6 (if you're already considering a stopping age) although she said every year is best. By age 6, your kids should be washing their hands more often, and not picking their friend's nose. Mostly it's about risk. Very small children have weaker immune systems which may not be able to fight the flu appropriately. They may not die, but they may become deaf, experience brain injury, or partial blindness from complications from the fever.
I've had the flu, and I would rather get a shot every year then ever go through that again. EVER. My kids will be getting the flu shot yearly.
@jjmomma: so much controversy about vaccines!
Here are 2 websites with a lot of info. Inform yourself!
@Not Blushing: Is there a reason you created an account just to come into every thread on the site talking about vaxing and promote your website?
I agree with MightySapphire its funny you have 7 post and they are all about vaccines.
There was a good discussion about annual flu shots here that you might be interested in (http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/spinoff-annual-flu-shots) but it wasn't children specific.
Personally, I don't get annual flu shots and wouldn't unless I am in a high risk group. Young children (under age 5, I think) are considered particularly high risk so I would likely give my young children the annual shot.
@skibobrown: That's along the lines of my concern, too.
@MightySapphire: "not picking their friend's nose"... lol! He stuck his finger in my nose yesterday, as a matter of fact. This leads to another question. Does everyone in the home need a shot as well, for his sake, as everyone else is at least over 10 yrs? (Thanks so much for you input on this and the other thread about shots)
@Mrs.KMM: Thanks, hon! :)
ps~ weeding, weeding... ;)
My son (6 mos) got it last Wed. I had a cold that week and my son started getting sick Thurs. I can't tell what he got sick from, but I'd much rather deal with this relatively minor sickness than the flu. (He's had no fever, just congestion, coughing and now he's pretty hoarse). I get the flu shot each year and haven't gotten sick from it, even this year when I got the nasal vaccine which if i'm correct, has the live virus in it. My husband, a teacher, got it last year and is getting it this year, but he usually doesn't get it.
@jjmomma:I think that can be a very personal choice, but I told my DH that he will be getting his flu shot to protect DD. That is because he is going to school right now and nothing spreads germs faster than a school. I may also make him get some other shots that I know he is out of date on to protect her.
My personal feeling is that if someone in the house is immunocompromised, then it is to their benefit if everyone else in the house gets their shots. So if my grandmother is living with us, or while our DD is very young, I prefer to have everyone in the house vaccinated. But before we had DD and it was just DH and me I didn't care if he had all his shots. He is an adult and it is his choice up to that point.
Children and the elderly are considered a high risk group for the flu, meaning if they do contract it, they have a higher chance of death. I think that our generation is very ill-educated about the flu and vaccines in general, but the truth of the matter is that historically, a big flu pandemic breaks out approximately every 30 or so years. The last significant flu in the US was the Spanish flu in 1918 which killed 50 million people, so we are WAY overdue. And even though there has been a lot of hub-bub in recent years that has people rolling their eyes, there is a reason why the CDC and WHO have flipped over the recent flu outbreaks, because there is a serious chance one of them could take out a huge part of the population.
So I say protect your kids in any way you can. There are no long term side effects for flu shots (the same technology has been used to over 60 years so plenty of tiem to study it) and the amount of formaldehyde in it is so minute, it's less than is produced by children's bodies naturally. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm187810.htm
I have been personally a little freaked out by the whole vaccine thing lately. DH decided not to get his this year either, because he was just so grossed out by what we've been seeing.
I'm not resolved 100% on what we're going to do for all vaccines, but I think flu is one of the things we're going to skip. Its my personal belief we push way too many shots on our babies from way too young an age. Even if we do vaccinate, I'm very interested in the slower schedules.
One thing I AM sure about is breastfeeding for as long as possible. The best way to strengthen your baby's immune system is to breastfeed, so whatever I can do naturally, that's what we're going to do - even if I have to sit in my office and pump all day long!
@chasesgirl - I work in a hospital too. I've worked here 3 years, and our flu vaccine policy has changed immensely. 1st year, flu vaccine was encouraged but optional. Last year, we had to wear masks in patient areas if we didn't get it. This year, we get fired if we don't get it.
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I wanted to pull this out of the other vaccine threads and address it directly. I've never gotten the flu vaccine for my other children (it wasn't mentioned for the older ones), but my 2yr old's pedi asked if I wanted him to receive it at the last check-up. I opted for the preservative free variety and didn't worry about it, until the vaccine posts began.
Today I called the nurse and she talked with me about it. There is formaldehyde in the shot he was given, but the nurse commented that having seen patients die from the flu, she believes the benefit outweighs the risk.
Can anyone provide insight or info on this to either educate or reassure me that I didn't just expose my son to something unnecessarily? I'm considering not doing it again in the future. Is the flu vaccine really necessary?