flu vaccine

We don't get the flu vaccine, by choice, for several reasons, firstly, for a
healthy person, flu is usually unpleasant, not dangerous, secondly, it's
only 70-80% effective and thirdly it just hasn't been around long enough for
anyone to have evaluated any long term consequences of yearly vaccines, so
I'd rather have flu once every 10 years, then a jab every year.

Recently DS has had a virus, not flu as far as I know, but something, it's
been going round, but it seems he's had it an awful lot more severely than
others, verging on hospitalisation at times. Temp went above 105F, he had a
fever for 6 full days, we're on day 9 now and he's still a limp rag, he also
had what the doctor called an allergic reaction to virus, as in, he broke
out in hives allover and the virus is the only possible source, they
appeared before he had any medication.

Obviously I don't know yet how the rest of his recovery will go, but it does
have me wondering, even though there is nothing tangible that makes him
unhealthy, what would the affect of flu be on him. He doesn't appear to have
a weakened immune system, as he only has the normal number of other
infections, possibly less than normal considering we moved in the fall. The
only possible issue is his weight, but I can't see why that would make him
have the virus so much worse than everyone else, only that it might now take
longer to recover as he's lost weight and really has no reserves left.

I haven't seen any ads for the flu vaccine in the last month or so, but I
expect it's still possible to get this years, do you think that would be
worth it? I'm torn about next year, but at least we have 6+mths to figure
that out. Is there any tests that we could have done to see if there is any
underlying reason why he was so ill?

Cheers

Anne

On Mar 30, 2:54 pm, "Anne Rogers" wrote:
We don't get the flu vaccine, by choice, for several reasons, firstly, for a
healthy person, flu is usually unpleasant, not dangerous, secondly, it's
only 70-80% effective and thirdly it just hasn't been around long enough for
anyone to have evaluated any long term consequences of yearly vaccines, so
I'd rather have flu once every 10 years, then a jab every year.

Recently DS has had a virus, not flu as far as I know, but something, it's
been going round, but it seems he's had it an awful lot more severely than
others, verging on hospitalisation at times. Temp went above 105F, he had a
fever for 6 full days, we're on day 9 now and he's still a limp rag, he also
had what the doctor called an allergic reaction to virus, as in, he broke
out in hives allover and the virus is the only possible source, they
appeared before he had any medication.

Poor little guy. I hope he gets better fast. It could be RSV - we saw
an awful lot of that this year (how old is your DS?). In adults we've
seen a ton of strep pneumo, quite lethal strains. We're not sure why
yet, we're just working with the state to look into it further. But we
haven't seen any kids with it. We have had 2 flu deaths in kids
locally. It's not usual, but it happens.

Obviously I don't know yet how the rest of his recovery will go, but it does
have me wondering, even though there is nothing tangible that makes him
unhealthy, what would the affect of flu be on him. He doesn't appear to have
a weakened immune system, as he only has the normal number of other
infections, possibly less than normal considering we moved in the fall. The
only possible issue is his weight, but I can't see why that would make him
have the virus so much worse than everyone else, only that it might now take
longer to recover as he's lost weight and really has no reserves left.

I haven't seen any ads for the flu vaccine in the last month or so, but I
expect it's still possible to get this years, do you think that would be
worth it?

Across the US, flu season came late this year: Sporadic cases until
Feb, then hit hard in Feb, and now is mellowing out. While my region
usually gets it a bit later, this was the general pattern across the
country. Most local health departments purchased a ton of flu shots,
and because it was a mild year no one got them, and now they're giving
it away. I would consider getting it still, although not for your son
as he's already got fever in which case it's not useful (nor safe).

I'm torn about next year, but at least we have 6+mths to figure
that out. Is there any tests that we could have done to see if there is any
underlying reason why he was so ill?

Well, he *could* have an immune disorder, or something else, but
influenza - if indeed that's what it was - can attack different people
differently. Some get hit hard, some not. Likely there's some
immunological component (ie genetics), but could also be the virus
itself has mutated slightly. Generally those who get it later in the
season get less ill (generally, that is not always the case) because
the virus has mutated to become less lethal. Also, there are many
different upper respiratory infections floating around, each one will
affect a person differently. So while the symptoms two people have may
be similar, they may have totally different viruses. FWIW - it's
often that DH and I will get sick around the same time - not flu, just
generic Upper RI, I get wiped out, he coughs a bit and that's it. I
don't have an immune disorder (altho it has been much worse since
being pg and now BFing), or any underlying health issues.

My job is to encourage people to get the flu shot. That said, my DH
won't. I argued it was to protect DD because she was too young to get
it, but he's opposed. Fortunately it wasn't a bad flu year. I've
gotten flu multiple times, so I get the shot now. More importantly,
though, I wanted to protect DD - if I get flu, there's a good bet she
will. Unfortunately I do have a horrid cough that I've had off and on
for months. It's great giving a presentation about how to cover your
cough (using your arm, not your hand!) and basically coughing on
cue ;-) Anyway, I digress.... I recommend getting the shot for the
whole family because flu *can* be deadly, you don't know how much
until you're on the bad end of it.

..

Poor little guy. I hope he gets better fast. It could be RSV - we saw
an awful lot of that this year (how old is your DS?). In adults we've
seen a ton of strep pneumo, quite lethal strains. We're not sure why
yet, we're just working with the state to look into it further. But we
haven't seen any kids with it. We have had 2 flu deaths in kids
locally. It's not usual, but it happens.

It's not resipratory tract infection, which I thought RSV was, he's almost 4
and when we first saw the doctor he said they are seeing an awful lot of
mystery viruses that don't affect the respiratory tract just now. It
initially looked like chicken pox though with a higher than usual
temperature, but the spots turned out to be hives, not early pox. We think
we all had the same thing, but the difference was dramatic, DH and I felt
hot, but never actually had a fever, DD did have a low grade fever, but no
other symptoms, maybe a little more sleepy, but she didn't even to the
floppy, lethargic thing. We both had headaches and muscle aches, DH has
started with a cough today, but I think that's something different. I'm
working on it not having been flu, I don't know enough about it to know
whether that was a possibility, but given how ill he was (is), it does scare
me.

Well, he *could* have an immune disorder, or something else, but
influenza - if indeed that's what it was - can attack different people
differently.

I think, once he's better, it wouldn't be unreasonable to see the ped, just
to discuss it, see if there is any tests that would be adviseable, I think
we'll also need to watch his weight very carefully, he'd already lost
slightly before this, having been gaining slightly for a while, he must be
about 27 pounds now and he's not desparately short and his head is average,
which means he's very thin, which seems to have made his joint pain worse,
he can hardly bare to be touched, he often needs to be carried, but is
crying out in pain once picked up.

My job is to encourage people to get the flu shot. That said, my DH
won't. I argued it was to protect DD because she was too young to get
it, but he's opposed. Fortunately it wasn't a bad flu year. I've
gotten flu multiple times, so I get the shot now. More importantly,
though, I wanted to protect DD - if I get flu, there's a good bet she
will. Unfortunately I do have a horrid cough that I've had off and on
for months. It's great giving a presentation about how to cover your
cough (using your arm, not your hand!) and basically coughing on
cue ;-) Anyway, I digress.... I recommend getting the shot for the
whole family because flu *can* be deadly, you don't know how much
until you're on the bad end of it.

well that's your job, it's not enough to convince me that a healthy,
affluent family should be doing it, maybe I'm a bit nervous, but it's scary
the number of seemingly good things that once you've done them for 50 years
do have a health impact. However I would have got one had I been your DH,
with your child, you don't want to be testing her lungs with flu just yet!
It's been a scary 10 days, at first you think your kid is just tired after a
bad night and suddenly they have a temp of 105F, thankfully we were able to
have a doctor visit at home, DHs work have decided to trial this, to see if
they can cut down ER visits and improve general health, otherwise with a
temp of 105F we'd have had to go in.

Anne

"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
...
We don't get the flu vaccine, by choice, for several reasons, firstly, for
a healthy person, flu is usually unpleasant, not dangerous, secondly, it's
only 70-80% effective and thirdly it just hasn't been around long enough
for anyone to have evaluated any long term consequences of yearly
vaccines, so I'd rather have flu once every 10 years, then a jab every
year.

1) The Spanish flu outbreak of 1917-18 killed healthy and unhealthy people.

2) 70-80% effective at eliminating illness, and effective at preventing
deaths, too (I don't know the percentage for that one).

3) Yearly vaccines have been around for over 10 years. Every year, the CDC
publishes reports about how well the vaccine matches the flu viri that are
going around at the time (the reports are up-to-date within a few weeks).

Recently DS has had a virus, not flu as far as I know, but something, it's
been going round, but it seems he's had it an awful lot more severely than
others, verging on hospitalisation at times.

Most viral infections are not the flu. It drives me nuts when people confuse
viral infections with the flu, something I am glad that you are *not* doing.

Temp went above 105F, he had a fever for 6 full days, we're on day 9 now
and he's still a limp rag, he also had what the doctor called an allergic
reaction to virus, as in, he broke out in hives allover and the virus is
the only possible source, they appeared before he had any medication.

Actually, it is called a viral exanthum. I don't think it is really an
allergic reactions. But it is similar in many ways.

Obviously I don't know yet how the rest of his recovery will go, but it
does have me wondering, even though there is nothing tangible that makes
him unhealthy, what would the affect of flu be on him. He doesn't appear
to have a weakened immune system, as he only has the normal number of
other infections, possibly less than normal considering we moved in the
fall. The only possible issue is his weight, but I can't see why that
would make him have the virus so much worse than everyone else, only that
it might now take longer to recover as he's lost weight and really has no
reserves left.

The bottom line is that the flu can be really bad, even deadly, in a healthy
person. And having the vaccine reduces the risk that people spread the
virus, too.

I haven't seen any ads for the flu vaccine in the last month or so, but I
expect it's still possible to get this years, do you think that would be
worth it? I'm torn about next year, but at least we have 6+mths to figure
that out. Is there any tests that we could have done to see if there is
any underlying reason why he was so ill?

He could have an immune system problem. This is something that you have to
ask the doctor about.

Influenza does kill people if the virus spreads to the brain. In addition,
people often get secondary bacterial infections, like in their lungs
(pneumonia).

It is possible he had a secondary infections.

There are a bunch of tests to determine if your son has an immune
deficiency. And there are a lot of different immune system deficiencies.
They involve testing how well white blood cells react to bacteria and
anitigens and what kind of immunoglobins the body makes. There are other
tests as well. Only your doctor can guide you through all this.

Jeff

Cheers

Anne