I was wondering what you ladies think about giving little ones the flu shot. My son is ten months old, and I have heard VERY conflicting things.
We saw my pediatrician, and he said he recommends it from ages 6 mo and up. But then we saw a different dr (he was filling in for our regular) and he said babies as young as mine shouldn't get it unless they are at risk for the flu. And every mother I talk to says they aren't going to get their baby one because the shot can be hard on babies. I don't know what to do!

By Audreyj on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 01:43 pm:

Our babies did not get flu shots, they were premies and our doc. advised against it.

AJ

By Kernkate on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 02:47 pm:

My DS who is 10 does get the flu every year just because they consider him high risk with asthma and allergies. DD has never had one. And she probably won't.

By Emily7 on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 03:15 pm:

My son was premature & not only got the flu shot but also synagist(sp! the RSV shot, they were both reccomended by the doctor.
\The shot is not hard on the baby, he will have to get a booster 1 month after he receives the initial flu shot.

By Emily7 on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 03:17 pm:

Hopefully this link works
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/flu_vaccine.html

By Mommyathome on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 06:28 pm:

Our pediatrician recommends babies under one year to get the shot. They are at high risk for developing complications from the flu.

By Brianna on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 07:30 pm:

Our daughter got a flu shot and she wasnt considered high risk . The Dr. asked if she would be spending a lot of time in daycare or around kids (not a whole lot to start with i said)
But he was concerned b/c i am a flight attendant and i am around people ALL the time who have everything from sniffles to all out colds/flu.(people hand me their dirty kleenex! yuk!) The doctor thought i would be more likely to bring something home. so she got the shot.
Thank goodnees we did!

p.s. the first two days after she got the shot she got a little cold b/c that is what the shot is. but after that she was cold free for the whole season!

By Rayanne on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 09:04 pm:

My daughter is 10 months old and her doctor recommended it for her, so we had it done. She was fine.

By Boxzgrl on Sunday, October 3, 2004 - 10:03 pm:

I think its unnecessary but thats my personal opinion. I've never had one, I dont see the need for DD to have one since shes not in daycare or around a bunch of other kids very often. Besides, everyone that i've seen get one in the last 2 years has gotten sick off of it, after all it was only last year that they were vaccinating against the wrong strain of flu. That alone is not comforting to me!

By Kittycat_26 on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 07:55 am:

Timmy was a preemie and he was recommended for the flu, synagis, and pneumonia shot. He's still considered high risk at two years old because of going to preschool.

If you keep you kids home and are not around alot of people during flu season, I'd think you could skip it. However, if you are going to be out and about and your kids go to preschool, you're asking for trouble by not getting it.

By Colette on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 08:03 am:

My youngest got the pneumonia shot because of asthmatic tendencies. My dr recommended the flu shot for her and myself but I am passing on it.

By Lauram on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 08:20 am:

Both of mine had them last year. The toddler was 19 mo and in daycare and my oldest had asthma/croup issues. EVERY time he caught a cold it was a major ordeal. It's a very personal decision. When the benefits outwiegh the risks, I feel it is warranted. Have you ever truly had the flu? My dh, ds and myself had it one year. Mine turned into pneumonia (coughing up blood). It was truly awful!

By Dawnk777 on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 02:36 pm:

I'm on the frontlines with people getting the flu, since I work in a clinic, so I got the shot last year. By the time I thought maybe my kids should get it, they were into the shortage and my kids really aren't high-risk at 12 and 15.

This year, I'm still undecided about the kids, but I will be getting one.

By Monicamomof3 on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 04:00 pm:

I don't get the flu shot, but then again, I don't immunize my children at all! I believe it is very hard on little babies. I guess the harsh ingredients that go into the making of the shot (and every shot) is what concerned me. Every parent should do what they feel is best, and make an educated decision. This is the route I chose and obviously it is not a poplular one! LOL!! Mommy usually knows best... good luck with your decision!

By Cheerio on Monday, October 4, 2004 - 04:34 pm:

We did the shots last year for the first time. They were 2 and 4 then and I will have to say it was our best winter ever as far as illnesses go. Maybe just a coincidence, but we didn't have anything more than the average cold and none of them turned into ear infections either. I'll be doing it again this year.

By Fraggle on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - 01:29 pm:

The only one able to get one last year was my husband, and he was the only one who did not get the flu last year in our family. I had it the worst (I pretty much missed Christmas because I was so sick and it took me 2 weeks to recover). My oldest DD took over a week to recover and luckily my youngest had a very mild case. The daughter of a friend of mine developed a very serious kind of pneumonia following the flu, and it was completely missed by the doctors because they kept sending her aways saying it was just the flu. If we can all get a flu shot this year, we will.

By Emily7 on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - 02:09 pm:

We all got our shots yesterday! The kids are just fine, my arm is a little sore though .

By Fraggle on Tuesday, October 5, 2004 - 02:10 pm:

Uggh, it looks like we may have another flu vaccine shortage. I just read this on yahoo news.


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041005/ap_on_he_me/flu_vaccine_suspension