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Hello, world. It’s still flu season. According to the CDC, 5-20% of the U.S. population gets the flu each year, with a higher percentage of that number being children. That translates into around 15-60 million people. This is my favorite description of a sick family thus far.
…the children’s school holiday activities have mostly consisted of barfing, coughing, wiping snot on their pajama sleeves, tossing phlegm-soaked tissue balls into waste baskets and profuse night-sweating.
Aaaaah, yeah.
I’ve often wondered whether those flu vaccines really work, but I get one every year because I live with a three-and-a-half-year-old little girl. And what if there are crazy-whack-funky side effects like this from Crystal?
I took the girls for flu vaccinations this afternoon. Last year after Madeline got hers, she got shingles. (Yes, 3 year old kids can get shingles, who knew?) Evidently the shot had re-activated her chicken pox vaccine. We caught it early enough (within 72 hours) that she was able to take some medicine that stopped the progress and they vanished pretty quick.
On the other hand, when my daughter gets sick, she gets sick, she gets really, really sick. And if I’m out there buying organic milk, forcing her to eat fruits and vegetables and bundling her up against the cold, shouldn’t I be boosting her immune system, too?
It’s a hard call. It seems like getting a flu shot is good, but then you hear all that stuff about how the shots don’t even cover all strains of the flu, etc., etc.
The CDC says kids between the ages of six months and five years old should be vaccinated. And actually, if you live with them, you should, too. If your baby is younger than six months, then you should definitely get vaccinated, unless you all live in a cave and have your meals delivered in a sanitized, vacuum-sealed pack.
Apparently 200,000 people are hospitalized each year due to the flu. That’s a lot of people. I don’t know about you, but my daughter eats food that fell on the ground and licks drinking fountains when I’m not looking. I’m not saying spray Lysol in a 50-foot radius everywhere you go, but hey, a little help to the old immune system probably isn’t a bad idea.
If your child does get the flu, here are some signs from medical doctor Sheila regarding when to take him or her in to the doctor.
Seek medical attention if:
• There has been a fever present more than three or four days.
• A cough has been present for more than 2 weeks.
• A cold or upper respiratory infection has been present for more than a week to 10 days.
• There are focal symptoms such as ear pain, throat pain, chest pain or tightness.
• There is persistent vomiting or diarrhea.
• There is a fever greater than 100.4 Fahrenheit in an infant less than 3 months of age.
• There is a fever > 102 in an infant less than 2 years of age particularly if there are no other symptoms. This could mean they have a urinary tract infection.
• If you have any questions or concerns.Go to the emergency room if:
• A child looks very ill or lethargic or is difficult to arouse.
• A fever is accompanied by a rash. Particularly if it looks purple or like blood under the skin.
• There is difficulty breathing and drooling.
• An infant/child’s lips are blue or they appear to stop breathing.
• You child has a seizure.
• Your child has a fever and stiff neck and/or severe headache.
• Your infant’s soft spot is bulging.
• Your child is inconsolable.
I won’t tell you what the little angel’s flu status is for this season because I’m afraid I’ve jinxed our household with this very post. I’m thinking I should call the pediatrician now and schedule the little angel for a flu shot, stat.
