I’m by no means an anti-vaxxer. All my children have been vaccinated on schedule with the exception of Sugarplum whose back and forth babyhood put her on a hybrid Irish/American schedule and Honeybun’s Varicella booster that was delayed a year due to the timing of Doodle’s arrival.
But there is one area of vaccinating where I’ve started declining: annual flu shots.
For many years, we all went to get them. It was a lot of drama for everyone and the last time the girls got them, Honeybun actually had to get poked twice because the nurse messed up the first one (she was using some kind of guard and hit the guard so most of it ran down Honeybun’s arm even though it did puncture Honeybun’s arm and it didn’t sit well with me not knowing how much she actually got between the two shots but didn’t want to raise a stink since Honeybun was already worked up and terrified.)
So we haven’t been back for flu shots. We’re lucky that my kids have mid-year birthdays so our doctor can’t pressure me into when they’re in there for well checks (not that he would force it anyways, one reason I drive an hour from our new house to still see him).
But there are a lot of other reasons I’ve decided to forego kids’ annual flu shots:
- My kids are not high risk. They are very healthy, rarely getting colds, and are not in a school or childcare setting so their exposure is limited to places like gymnastics and ballet or the grocery store.
- My kids are almost always with me. This of course won’t prevent them from catching the flu but it means that I always have eyes on them so if they start to get sick, I will notice right away and then can get them in for Tamiflu if necessary.
- I don’t believe in the flu shot’s efficacy. Last year just proves what a crapshoot the flu shot really is. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around how it is decided which strains to include and while I understand that even the wrong strains in the shot can lessen the severity of symptoms from all strains, it just doesn’t seem worth it to me.
- I’ve weighed the risks. I understand that the flu can be a serious and dangerous illness, especially in young children but the vaccine also carries risks and one has to actually get the flu or flu shot before they can have a complication from it so I put my bets on us not getting the flu, therefore avoiding complications rather than choosing to put them at risk from the shot.
- We’re healthy. We’ve never had flu in our family, any of us, hubby and I included. (I read a stat not too long ago that says most children get the flu once every 2 years and adults twice every 10 years but we are WAY below those levels!)
That is, flu has never hit our family until now. Hubby came home Saturday morning after a horrendous and looooong journey back from Dublin and with it, he brought back the flu.
Unfortunately, this weekend didn’t go as we planned, enjoying the short time we get to have him home before he’s off on another work trip. Instead I ended up alone with 5 babies to take care of (not that hubby was in any way acting like a baby, he’s actually been very good at taking care of himself and not asking much from me, he just hasn’t been able to help me with the kids!)
We went to our neighborhood Target clinic yesterday morning (yes, Target even has doctors now!) and he came home with Tamiflu prescription and loads of other symptom controllers. Plus the kids and I came home with vitamin C and Airborne.
The goal, of course, over the next few days is for none of the rest of us to get sick! Here’s what we’ve been doing to try to stay healthy:
- Hubby is keeping his distance. He hasn’t been holding the baby or sitting too closely with the other kids. It sucks having another adult around that can’t help with any of the childcare tasks BUT I definitely don’t want to be stuck alone this week 4 babies and the flu!
- A lot of cleaning is going on. We’re all trying to be better about washing our hands frequently and hubby is disinfecting things as he goes (like the baby’s chair he accidentally coughed on and the sink handles).
- He is wearing a mask. Whenever he is close the kids for whatever reason (getting them dressed for bed, reading books), he’s wearing a surgical mask.
- We’re not being good sharers. Hubby’s been using a separate towel for handwashing and blankets for snuggling on the couch. ALL these things and more will be going into the wash straight after he leaves! Plus we’re not sharing cups, food or utensils either.
- We’re being healthy. In addition to upping our Vitamin C intake, we’re also trying to stay healthy by continuing our healthy eating habits and getting exercise.
- We’re getting fresh air. Even though a cold front moved through this weekend, we enjoyed the cooler temps with the windows open most of yesterday in order to encourage air flow instead of all being cooped up in a germy incubator!
- We’re letting daddy rest. Hubby’s been extremely tired (understandably) so we’ve been trying our best to let him rest on his own. This not only will hopefully help him feel better but also keeps his germs away from us!
So, I’m sure you’re wondering: Do I regret not getting my kids the flu shot now? Not in the slightest. This doesn’t change the reasons I chose to forego the shots to begin with. Our exposure is higher but our risks are still low, I’m still confident I will catch it early if the kids do come down with it and little Pipsqueak who is most at risk is still too small for the shot anyways plus we all would have still been exposed to the germs even if hubby hadn’t gotten sick (and we wouldn’t have known to watch closely for symptoms!)
I’ll keep you posted on how the rest of us fare! What tips and tricks do you have for staying healthy during flu season?
