Well, the moment has come. I am officially paranoid about influenza.
H1N1 specifically, of course, but the flu in general as well. Because, really, my paranoia knows no bounds.
None of us have our flu shots yet, which is part of what is making me panic. Our pediatrician is on the “call us every couple days to see if we get it in” plan, which stresses me out, and Andy is supposed to get one from his doctor but hasn’t done so yet. I have only gotten one once, when I was pregnant with Sam, but I am planning to get one this year. Sometime. Of course I didn’t bother to go get one the day they were giving them out at work for $5 – that was before my freak-out began, and I didn’t see it as a priority. But now I do.
And the H1N1 vaccine? I want my kids (and my diabetic husband) to get one yesterday. Not coincidentally, I read this article entitled “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Swine Flu” yesterday.
I won’t even tell you what my friend told me yesterday regarding the flu and the end of society. Thanks, Gina, for keeping me up at night.
However, on a less hysterical front, I also came across this yesterday – “A Parent’s Guide to H1N1 Influenza.” This is a really good article about how to prevent H1N1 and what to do if you or your kid does get it.
So tell me… on a scale of 1 – 10 with 1 being “H-what?” and 10 being “As paranoid as Emily,” what’s your level of freak-out-ish-ness about the flu this year? What are you doing to prepare?
Put me down as a 4 hovering on a 5. I am much more scared to put those flu shots in my and my child’s body.
OK Emily now I am starting to freak out. We are going to WDW in a month.
But, I am still scared of those shots. What to do?!
We are just getting over the swine flu at my home. It was pretty miserable for my husband and I, but significantly less miserable for my children (2 and 4 mo). Our worst problem was the secondary infections that came with our weakened immune systems. My husband bordered on pnemonia until he got on an anitbiotic and my 4 mo old got an ear infection. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be and we are all alive and almost healthy now!
I’m about a 2.
I’m more worried about the junk in the vaccinations and praying it doesn’t come to the point where I *have* to give them to my children/family. We do not, nor will we ever get flu vax’s (regular or otherwise).
We wash hands all day long, esp. when coming back from being out (grocery, park, etc…), stay home when we’re feeling even slightly “off” & take cod liver oil daily.
You can’t live in fear over it, but you can be smart to protect yourself (you general) 🙂
I am a 4. Never having been affected by the flu, I’m in the “Can it Be That Bad?” camp, which of course, I know it can be, but ignorance is bliss.
I am doing nothing to prepare. Yet. Eek.
I’m a 1 on the freak out scale! I did get my free Regular Flu Shot on Monday when they were dispensing them at work. And if the H1N1 shot is ever available to everyone they’ll be dispensing those at work too and I’ll be getting another shot.
Hope your paranoia subsides soon!
A bunch of people I know have had it or their kids have it and they say it is relatively mild based on the regular flu. Don’t let the media freak you out.
We are just finishing up a bout with it at our house too. Out here in Arizona, it is running rampant. About 1/4 of the school kids are out with it. It seems like the reason it is spreading so much is that you are contagious a full day before you have any symptoms and contagious for up to 3-7 days after fever breaks. So, people are infecting everyone else because of this. Anyway- we have a 3 y.o. and a 10 month old. The fevers were high, but lasted only about 24-30 hours and were manageable with OTC meds. No vomiting or diarrhea- just respiratory stuff, fevers, aching. So, yes, it was yucky. The flu is never fun…but the media makes it sound so scary.
Well, ‘no one’ wants to hear “Little Johnny in Florida is running a 104 fever…and Sally Jo in Arkansas has the chills and congestion…h1n1 is here!” No, they have to have the “best” stories they can find (sensationalism at it’s best!) So, if they can shoe 3 stories (as CBS did last night) of children in the hospital who haven’t so much as opened their eyes in weeks, they’ll show it …and top it off with, “Go get YOUR flu shot.” Yes, unfortunately there are serious cases out there, but, there are mild cases too, you’re just not going to see that on the news.
I’m about a 1-2. I don’t freak out about the flu, and I’ve never had any kind of flu shot, even when I was pregnant. I’m more worried about getting the flu from the vaccination than I am about contracting it from a person.
Well, my house is just getting over the swine flu too. It really wasn’t any different that the ‘normal’ flu besides the fact that it seemed to last 2-3 days longer. My 10 year old son and I had it the worst.
I have to agree that the media is putting a lot of paranoia in our souls. I think I read that 50000 people die each year of the ‘normal flu’ but we never hear about that. We do hear about every single swine flu case though.
I liken it to airplane accidents vs car accidents. You hear about every single plane crash and it makes your paranoid to fly but car crashes? You don’t hear about all of them and we all drive every single day and don’t give it a second thought.
Be aware of things around you. Use hand sanitizer. Stay in if you’re sick…especially stay away from the doctor as that’s where a lot of it is. Just use common sense and we will all do fine.
I think all will be ok! Just wash your hands regularly, carry your purell and use it and most of all STAY CALM!!! I know for you that is easier said then done, but like I said last night, don’t let the media take control. See all those people above have made it through to tell their story. You are a good Momma, remember that, you will do whatever is right for you and the family! 🙂
I am a 3, we’re getting the vaccine, because I’m exposed to everything at work. In NC about 90% of flu this year is H1N1. Healthy, normal people are doing fine. My advice, just like any other flu season, is wash your hands, get your vaccine, hydration and tylenol to make you feel better. And please please please stay home from work/school/grocerystore/church if you’re sick. And for you preggo ladies out there, its very important to get vaccinated!
(Jenny’s note: this comment is from my cousin on the OTHER side of the family (the Uncle Paul side) and she is a doctor. Just FYI. 🙂 )
im about a 3. i do not want to give my daughter the h1n1 vax but may give her the reg one???
This is why I’m becoming MONK…I no longer shake hands, I “bump”.
UP
I’m at about a 1.23682.
We get seasonal flu shots. Have ever since Mike caught the flu from KT about 6 years ago and he ended up with pneumonia.
We already got ours at Walgreens. They had them, we got them. Even though our insurance wouldn’t cover them that way.
As for the H1N1…..I’m not concerned. Mike is seeing 20-25 patients PER SHIFT that have H1N1. This has been going on for about 6 weeks now. He’s only had to admit one kid who had a bad history of asthma and was having complications.
I haven’t read all the comments, but did want to say one thing…..you cannot GET the flu from getting the flu shot. Yes, some people have flu like symptoms, but they do NOT have the flu. The vaccine (as with any vaccine) is given in at attempt to jump start your immune system to protect against that disease. So they give the shot….your immune system kicks into gear. What are the signs that your immune system has kicked into gear? Well….muscle aches, fever, chills, blah feeling. The same SYMPTOMS you get with the flu (or with other diseases) but it is NOT the disease.
You also do not hear about every single case of H1N1 flu. If you did, you’d realize that thousands of people are getting it, living through it, and moving on. That doesn’t make good media stories, does it? I guarantee you that if something big happened in our country right now (a terrorist attack, a school shooting, or a tsunami hitting California) you’d think H1N1 was wiped off the face of the earth. There’d be no time to report on something as “minor” as H1N1.
Keep your kids away from germ pits (play places, McDonalds play areas, other coughing kids, school–ha ha!) Purell your hands. A lot. Stay away from anyone hacking up a lung or who is otherwise sick. Teach them (as much as possible) to not touch their eyes, pick their noses, etc.
And keep this perspective….ONE pediatrician, in ONE urgent care, in ONE city is seeing 20-25 cases of H1N1 every single time he works. 20-25 cases of H1N1 in a 6 hour shift!
Well I was going to say I was about a “8” on the worry scale until I read all of the other comments…now I guess I feel a little bit better. We have had our seasonal flu shots and are waiting on H1N1 to come in. I have to get it (in high risk group) but am not sure about hubs or my daughter yet. They’ll probably get it as well…
I’m about 6. I have stocked up on hand sanitizer and I’m trying to make sure we wash our hands with good old soap and water even more often too.
Washing hands more is a great upside of potty training in flu season. 😉
I’m not paranoid, it’s another strain of flu. I’m more concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccines and what that will do to innocent children. One of the ingredients has been directly linked to Gulf War Syndrome. I think government and big media have succeeded in freaking out an entire nation over nothing. But, instead of doing research, people freak out and do what others tell them to do. We’re a nation of sheep…following aimlessly without thinking about the consequences.