Will H1N1 change your plans?

[snickerboo]

Honestly, I think by Christmas this thing will have mostly run its course. I wouldn't cancel the trip now. I would make sure you have trip insurance just in case.

 

[EagleFlyer]

The CDC has set up a great web page with lots of information about the flu, both seasonal and H1N1, including a page about flu myths.

http://www.flu.gov

 

[Royalpine]

As a few people have mentioned, the H1N1 vaccine is the same as the seasonal flu shot, it just has a different flu strain in it. All of the additives are exactly the same. The only reason that there are 2 shots this year is because it was too late to get it in. Every year the World Health Organization selects 3 flu strains that they believe will be prevalent in the upcoming flu season and immunize against those. I know a few years ago they got it wrong and there was a strain of flu going around that was not included in the vaccine.
If you've had the vaccine in the past and have not had any side effects you will more than likely be okay with the H1N1 vaccine. I had my vaccinations the other day and was REALLY tired the following day, I've heard a few friends have had the same side effects. After a good nights sleep I was fine.
I would say there is a bigger risk of getting in a car accident while driving to the clinic than there is of having any major side effects from the vaccination (I actually saw a car accident outside the clinic when I was waiting in line, don't know if they were going to get the shot though).
The only reason that we got our shot is because we are going to DL in a few weeks and our son touches everything, I figure the rides and the hand rails will be perfect for spreading germs. We're still going to be really careful and carry sanitizer with us.
(Please note - the information above is what I know for the vaccination in Canada, I'm not to sure if it's the same in the US)

 

[sukhakuli]

jacs1234 - I never thought of bringing Tamiflu with us. Will a GP fill a prescription for it without symptoms? If so, I think I'll be making some calls tomorrow...

Probably not, but you never know what a doc will do. My dh is a physician (pediatrics) and he wouldn't do it. He's had people ask for stuff like that before, and he always says no.

We're not getting the H1N1, but we get the regular flu vaccine. Dh says that over 50% of the patients he sees have it, but they don't seem very sick from it. They usually have a fever and flu symptoms, but get over it with no problems. He said he worries more about RSV season than about H1N1.

And we went to DL last weekend.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Here's the kicker though.........most of those aren't necessarily "confirmed". I have heard of doctors in our area that are considering any symptom that resembles the flu as H1N1. They are not even testing to see if it truly is H1N1.

To even confirm it as H1N1, you have to be swabbed and then it takes 2 weeks to get the results. By then you're over it!

They think all the kids in my friend's family had it, but they didn't test because it wouldn't change their treatment. If it's within the first 24 hours, they would give Tamiflu for H1N1, but it was past the 24 hour timeline.

According to our pediatrician, 100% of the cases tested 2 weeks ago (over a week span) was all H1N1 so they are assuming all cases are since it is too early for the seasonal flu.

I heard this too.

 

[samsmainla]

We just got our H1N1 shots last night, but it takes 10-14 days to reach full effect, and we head out sooner than that. I guess we will just be extra careful like everyone else with the sanitizer and such. My biggest concern is the airplane and it's recycled air.

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, we travelled to DL at the beginning of may RIGHT at the start of the whole H1N1 thing...i have to admit, i was very worried, mexico had been all but shut down days before we travelled and the unknown was there...we chose to take our trip (cool1) and am very grateful...we used tons of sanitizer...there were 7 in our group...my oldest dd brought 2 friends...all 3 of the girls came home with bad colds/coughs ( i was worried they might stop at the border...they were doing this at that point)...the girls were fine, it was colds...

As for the vaccine, it does scare me as it is to new...am on the fence, but pretty sure we are not getting it...i know that on fox news, they said that 60% of americans will get H1N1, but only 25 percent will show symptoms...i also know that here in canada, they are not even testing most cases, they said if they test everyone, the cost will break the medical system...I know there are cases in our small town...i definately worry, but also believe the media is causing more scare and concern and ignores the regular flu...

I do believe you should go and enjoy your trip...use all the precautions you would normally take...

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I'm home right now with my DD3 who has the H1N1 virus. At least her pediatrician says that it's most likely the case. She said that they only do a definitive test if they are hospitilized but that 95% of the flu cases are the H1N1 variety. She fluctuates during the day between a mild temp and runny nose and then in the late afternoon and evening, her temp starts to rise, the coughing increases, and the vomiting starts.

I think that if you have kids who go to the grocery store with you, play at the parks, go to outside activities (school, gymnastics, soccer, etc.), they are as likely to exposed to the H1Ni virus during their normal day-to-day activites as they would be going to Disneyland.

With that being said, we'll be bringing Clorox wipes, Purell, and doing lots of hand washing on our trip!!!

 

[DanT]

Where does everyone get the idea that the H1N1 vaccine is "NEW"?
It is no newer than every seasonal flu vaccine that comes out every year.
Every season the WHO and CDC decide what the most probable flu virus strains will be for the next season and make a vaccine to combat that set of viruses...
So the Seasonal Flu Vaccine you are taking is just a "new" as the H1N1. If they had predicted the H1N1 outbreak, it would have been incorporated into the normal seasonal flu vaccine....

just do everything you can to keep yourself from being exposed. And if you are so inclined, get both of the vaccines, if you qualify.

 

[firefly87]

Where does everyone get the idea that the H1N1 vaccine is "NEW"?
It is no newer than every seasonal flu vaccine that comes out every year.
Every season the WHO and CDC decide what the most probable flu virus strains will be for the next season and make a vaccine to combat that set of viruses...
So the Seasonal Flu Vaccine you are taking is just a "new" as the H1N1. If they had predicted the H1N1 outbreak, it would have been incorporated into the normal seasonal flu vaccine....
just do everything you can to keep yourself from being exposed. And if you are so inclined, get both of the vaccines, if you qualify.

I completely agree with you! My dad told me he was listening to someone from the CDC talk on a radio show program and he said that next years flu vaccine WILL have the H1N1 in it.

My kids have all had some symptoms back around in July which was after our local county fair and after it was over, I heard of a TON of kids who were sick or got sick soon after. I am hoping that they have already been exposed to it and have built up immunity. I want to be cautious and pro-active but the vaccine isn't available in my area yet either. I am not necessarily a freak about germs but on the other hand, I do want to be responsbile.

We are taking plenty of anti-bac wipes and hand sanitizer on our trip down there in 3 weeks! I think we will just take our normal flu season pre-cautions and step them up a bit!

 

[cari12]

"Health Canada estimated that 700 to 2500 deaths may be attributable to influenza" This is the yearly stat

From April to Oct 27, 2009 there has been 87 deaths contributed to H1N1 in Canada. And 76% of them had unlying conditions.

Sarah

New Zealand expected 18,000 deaths from swine flu (they have already had their "flu season") and the actual number turned out to only be in the hundreds.

 

[cari12]

My 4 kids can't get it in Australia yet and I've never had a flu vaccine so we're not getting it. I'm bringing Tamiflu with us though and there will be loads of praying.

There is a risk in too many people taking Tamiflu in that the bugs will become resistant so that it no longer works and then people who really need help to recover will not have a drug that will work. The average healthy person does not need Tamiflu to recover from the flu. Many doctors will prescribe it without you presenting symptoms but they are advised not to as it could lead to the drug being useless.

 

[rentayenta]

I have known a few people who have taken Tamiflu and it made them feel worse than the actual Swine Flu. It's nasty stuff. All 3 of my kids got the Swine Flu about 3 weeks before our trip to Disneyland. neither DH or I caught it and since then he and I have been vaccinated; both of us work in EDs.

I wouldn't let the scare of the Swine Flu change my plans.

 

[jory29]

I would advise anyone flying out to DL to take antibacterial wipes on the plane (small travel size pack) and immediately disinfect chair arms, travel trays, window ledges and blinds, etc., and sanitize hands well. When we were in DL 2 weeks ago, we sanitized our hands after every ride;sounds extreme, and I don't normally like to use sanitizer all the time, I prefer soap and water - but in this case, all of the rides have handles, etc. to hang onto, or seat belt buckles to touch, etc. It was so gross to see all of the kids and adults hanging onto the rails and then sticking their fingers in their mouths, etc. Blech!!

Anyway, also, in the hotel room we sanitized the door handles, remote control, telephone, light switches, etc. What if the person who vacated your room that day earlier had been really sick?? It's good to have things sanitized.

Initially I was very wary of getting the H1N1 vaccine. We have never had a flu shot. After reading more about it, realizing it's the same type of shot as normal flu shots but of course with a different strain, and knowing it had adjuvants in it (reading that adjuvants may help to provide immunization should the H1N1 mutate in the future) and realizing that the amount of mercury in it is less than what is in a can of tuna, I bit, hook, line and sinker. I finally realized that with my son's asthma, with my Crohn's, that I would rather have us be protected if at all possible.

2 days ago we received the immunization after a 2 and a half hour wait (Alberta, Canada) and the only side effects were for my son, 12 years old, feeling stomache achey and of course the usual arm soreness from a flu shot. I experienced tiredness that I took a nap to help, and was achey in the arms and oddly enough, calves. My husband had a mild, very low grade fever. We did get both the regular flu shot as well as the H1N1 shot in the other arm. We have never had the flu shot before, but I think I may annually now after seeing we seem to be o.k. from it. (Knock on wood!!!)

So, OP, whatever you decide to do, have a great trip. Or if you cancel now and have a do-over trip when it all subsides, enjoy your trip then.

 

[jacs1234]

It's not the flu I'm scared of, it's getting the flu while I'm at Disneyland and it ruining our trip

 

[The Orchid]

It's not the flu I'm scared of, it's getting the flu while I'm at Disneyland and it ruining our trip

That's what I was afraid of. My daughter and I just got our shots about two hours ago. It went amazingly fast. We had pre-registered by phone and was in and out of there in 20 minutes. We leave for Disney in 15 days and I feel good knowing that we have had both the pig flu and the seasonal flu shots. I have autoimmune disease and I know the pig flu is bad for people with chronic medical conditions. I would have been so paranoid about getting sick that I don't think I would have had much fun. The incubation for this is only 1-4 days. If I got exposed to the pig flu virus on day one and got sick, half my trip would have been trashed. I don't want that to happen!

 

[Royalpine]

It's not the flu I'm scared of, it's getting the flu while I'm at Disneyland and it ruining our trip

That's exactly why we got vaccinated. I probably wouldn't have gotten it if we weren't going. First we will sit in a plane with a hundred or so other people breathing recycled air, then we will take a shuttle, and then we will hang around DL for a week, touching rides, handrails, benches...etc that thousands of other people have touched. This is just the perfect scenario to catch something, and the last thing I want is to be stuck in bed on our trip to DL. No matter how much sanitizer and disinfectants you use, you can't get everything - especially with a 4 year old.

 

[ChristiJ]

For our recent trip (prior to my daughter being able to get the H1N1 mist) I had plenty of hand sanitizer (small bottles in everyone's pockets and hands immediately cleaned after exiting a ride), hand wipes, Lysol wipes (for tables) and mini bottles of Lysol.

The hotel room got a good dose of Lysol from a full size can I brought with us. Granted, I do this on most every trip, long before H1N1, but I did step it up a little.

I also REALLY stressed to my daughter (and hubby) to NOT be touching the bars, chains or ropes while standing in line. She did a fabulous job at this. There was no shortage what so ever of kids putting their hands, mouths and noses on all those bars in the lines. Eww. Just EWW. Flu or no flu. Don't let your child lick and slobber on bars that tens of thousands of people a day are probably touching. ICK!

We also made sure while in lines that our daughter stood close to and faced us so that if someone was coughing or sneezing, she was for the most part shielded by our bodies. And I had no problem just flat out MOVING if there was someone coughing and sneezing all over, which luckily wasn't too often. Just a lot of common sense things really.

I also made sure to bring along our vitamins and a few supplements with us (that we already were taking), along with a pack of every imaginable OTC medication we could need, and a thermometer, just in case anyone started to come down with something.

We came home two weeks ago, so I think it's safe to say we avoided picking up anything at Disneyland. Woohoo!

 

[seetheworld]

It's not the flu I'm scared of, it's getting the flu while I'm at Disneyland and it ruining our trip

Couldn't have said it better myself!
I agree!

 

[Kiwianna]

New Zealand expected 18,000 deaths from swine flu (they have already had their "flu season") and the actual number turned out to only be in the hundreds.

The official confirmed number of deaths in New Zealand is 19.