Flu Shots...pros & cons?

[kimwim8]

I'm not trying to start a debate, just looking for some advice/opinions/help.

My DS5 is a wheezer in the winter. The doctor has never said "asthma" to us, but basically once he gets his first cold of the season...it lingers. I can't hear the wheezing, but the doctors can with the stethescope. Yesterday he was promoted from a nebulizer to an inhaler. The doctor also asked if he had a flu shot. I said no, he's never had one (DH, DD7 and I have never had them). The doctor said that if wheezers get the fllu, most likely it will go into pnemonia...so wheezers should definitely get a flu shot.

Anyone else hear this? I was pretty surprised by that.

I'd just love to hear from you guys, as to why you either get or don't get the flu shot for yourself or you kids. I'm not sure what we're gonna do and I honestly haven't done much research on it. I just figured we have never gotten them and we've been ok...so I was leery to get one and end up with the flu (as I've heard is possible).

Thanks again for any info you can share!

 

[N&B'smom]

We all get it here in our house. DH, myself, DS7 and DD3. My son was diagnosed with asthma when he was 2. He had pretty bad allergies until he got his tonsils and adenoids out when he was 6. He still has a tendency to get wheezy if his allergies are an issue (which isn't as often as before). We have been told that he should indeed get a flu shot each year so we will abide by that.

Shelby

 

[Christine]

My son has asthma. He also didn't get the "label" until he was about 5 or 6 years old. Just like your son, he would get a cold and it would linger, etc. Once we treated the asthma, all of the rest got MUCH better.

Anyway, he has been getting a flu shot since he was 4 years old (he's now 12). We've been told that it could be *deadly* for him if he gets the. "Wheezers" don't need to get any kind of respiratory illness.

 

[Galahad]

Young kids should definitely get it. Unless they have an egg allergy there really aren't any cons. People do not get the flu from a flu shot. If they get the "flu" shortly after getting the shot they had the virus before the shot and it was already incubating.

 

[Christine]

Young kids should definitely get it. Unless they have an egg allergy there really aren't any cons. People do not get the flu from a flu shot. If they get the "flu" shortly after getting the shot they had the virus before the shot and it was already incubating.

Just a mention on this: My son has a documented egg allergy and he still gets the shot. His first-ever flu shot was performed at the allergists office and was given in small doses over a period of about an hour and a half. He had no reaction whatsoever and now just walks in and gets the shot like everyone else.

I've always heard about the egg allergy warning but wanted to say that you can possibly still get the vaccine if you do it properly.

 

[DawnCt1]

Your doctor is correct. There is no down side to the flu shot unless he is allergic to eggs.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

We don't get the flu shot because a close friend of ours came down with the Guillain-Barre Syndrome after having had the flu shot. It's a rare but serious side effect, and watching him be in pain and be paralyzed for nearly a year was enough to scare us off the shot for good.

Ironically enough, I'm recovering from the flu as we speak-I was VERY sick for about 2 days, tired for another 2, today I'm pretty much ok-I took Tamiflu within about 4 hours of the flu onset and had it prescribed prophylactically for my husband (reduces your chances of catching it from a family member to almost zero if you're on it). I caught it from both my kids, who had it at the same time and were both sick for about a week. We all popped positive for Influenza type A.

Neither kid has a compromised respiratory system; if they did, they'd probably get the shot since the risk of secondary complications is a lot higher than the gillian barre for kids with respiratory issues.

 

[kimwim8]

REALLY great info, guys. Thank you SO much!

 

[mrsmom]

two of my four kids get the flu shot because of asthma, and have been for a couple of yrs. my one dd does because she had a allergic reaction when she was little and drs won't give her it anymore. my other dd is 20 yrs old and refuses one.I get one every yr too.

kim

 

[H&Hmommy]

My kids get the flu shot every year for that very reason. So far this is our third year in a row that we have not needed to get out the nebulizer!

On the flip side. My mom had a very bad reaction last year to her flu shot. At first they thought it was Guillain-Barre Syndrome but, now they think her body's created antibodies that are now harming her and can become cancer.

I will still get the shot for my kids. Once they start wheezing it is so hard to get them over it.

Good luck to you and your little one.
Kim