Will you get the flu shot this year?

I will get the flu shot.

I got the flu while breastfeeding my first son. When I get the flu, it's awful - at least 24 hours of vomiting and the other, too. It completely wiped me out AND shot my milk supply. My milk never really recovered and I dried out soon after that.

So, I guess for me, breastfeeding is all the more reason to get the shot. I'm the sole food source for my son, and I'm the sole care provider for two children. I need to be able to care for them, and I'll take my chances with the flu shot and any potential side effects.

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Already done - me and my twin 4-year-olds at the local community center along with 800 old folks! My husband gets them free at work too.

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http://www.parentdish.com/2007/10/19/jennifer-garner-want-everyone-to-get-their-flu-shots/

I don't see the point in purposely giving myself the flu. Everytime someone in my family gets a shot, it gives makes them sick within the month. Thankfully I've never had a bad case of it to worry about needing a shot.

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I have no reason or explanation but I don't get the shot. I'm not afraid of shots and I do agree with vaccinatons for children, I just don't do it for no good reason.

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Nope. We don't get the flu shot here. We're home most of the time. I'm not missing work if someone happens to get sick and needs taken care of. So, nope. No need for them here.

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The injected vaccine in 2007 is made from a killed virus and cannot cause influenza. Please check your facts.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/composition0708.htm

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I am a little confused by the logic of being "generally opposed to putting anything into [your] body, especially while breastfeeding", but at the same time having no qualms injecting that same substance into your child. If your child has already received the vaccine, what is the harm in you receiving the vaccine while breastfeeding?

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I've been told by my pediatrician NOT to get the flu shot specifically because I am nursing and that my baby should be at least 6 months old. I have only gotten the flu shot once and I did not get as sick as if I had gotten the flu, but I was sick for almost 3 months. I prefer the flu, it's horrible, but much shorter. I would check in with your pediatrician and/or family doctor before getting one yourself.

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I'm nursing my 15 month old, and he and his nearly 3 year old brother are getting their vaccination on the 1st, my husband will get his this Thursday and I merely need to schedule my own. If there is anyway to get around not having the flu I will try to avoid it, especially with one wheezy little kid who has a hard time breathing with any cold and the other contracting bronchitis with a cold this June. I don't need them getting pneumonia and ending up in the hospital, or God forbid, dying (kids and geriatric patients can succumb to the flu). And, I sure as heck don't have the ability to be flu sick taking care of two toddlers.

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BTW, for you needlephobes, this year I (and about 800 other people in our county) got the flu "shot" with a new needle-less device that injects it directly through the skin with air pressure.

It actually doesn't feel much different from a regular flu shot, but if needles cause you anxiety, you might check it out.

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We will not be getting the flu shot in this house. I welcome the flu, I could use a day or two in bed and I'll happily watch my MIL chase around my kids for a few days. lol
I dont really have a good reason NOT to get it. I just dont feel comfortable with it.
AND, my son has a sensitivity to eggs, and there is something in the flu shot that is egg related, so we have been cautioned by his pedi and his allergist NOT to let him have the shot. He is 3.

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The flu shot is one of the only on the market still with trace amount of mercury in it.

See: http://www.nvic.org/Diseases/influenzafacts.htm

Ask your Doctor to see the product insert and review the ingredients with you prior to vaccination.

And watch this comedy sketch which is accurate: http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=18211

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I got my flu shot last week. I usually wait until the last week in October to get stuck but DH talked me into going the first day. I have gotten vaccinated every year and have never had any symptoms whatsoever, but I was advised awhile back by an RN to take some Advil an hour or so before getting the shot to avoid any feelings of minor discomfort.

This year I forgot my routine and didn't take my Advil because as I said, DH talked me into it at the last minute. Well, if I wondered whether or not that Advil before the shot made a difference I know now that it does. I was slightly achy for about a day where I never had been before. Nothing extreme, but I felt the difference.

Glad I've got the shot behind me and I hope that it covers whatever bugs are out there this winter. Our littlest one can't have it because of the egg allergy, but the rest of us get it as a precaution. Did anybody else hear that the stats say that the flu shot has not decreased the number of flu deaths in the elderly. Yesterday a friend told me that she was not going to get the shot this year because of that report.

Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/

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Jan here is a link to one of the articles on that story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/14/health/main674098.shtml

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And http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-1023_health_flu_roct23,1,4226728.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

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Nope. I'd rather keep my immune system in shape.

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Good comment Erin, I was thinking the same thing. We aren't getting the flu shot, my family has a lot of autoimmune disease and my older son has a lot of sensory and behavioral issues while my younger son has a history of developmental delays and severe food allergies. We stopped getting shots when my younger son was a baby.

Jen
http://www.squidoo.com/safecleaning

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Normally I would not and neither would my husband or our daughter (29 months) since none of us have compromised immune systems or any other reason the flu could be potentially fatal to us (just an inconvienience) - however this year I am due to deliver my son sometime around Thanksgiving who at his very young age during flu season will be at higher risk of complications of the flu. I got the "mercury" free one from my midwife already, and my daughter should get hers next week. My husband just got his today from his employer. Next flu season, as long as my son does not have any medical issues we will be back to no flu shots...

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