Flu Shot - Fenton,MI

i have two girls 5 and 17 months neither of them have ever got the flu shot, even though the nurses alwways push it on me to get them for the girls. and again this year we are not getting them the flu shot.

You've gotten some good information here. I'm going to chime in as well.

This is your childs health we're talking about. It is up to YOU to educate yourself about vaccines, or any other medical treatment the pediatrician (or any other doctor) wants to give your child.

There is a TON of information out there. Another excellent source of factual information is Dr. Sears' 'The Vaccination Book'. He has done all the research on each vaccination. He presents the information clearly. Give you his thoughts and also gives you reasons why people in his practice have chosen NOT to get their children vaccinated. (He's a pediatrician) He constantly updates the information in his book (you can find updates online at www.askdrsears.com) as he learns more.

Dr. Tennpenny also has a DVD and book available regarding vaccinations and what the CDC does NOT tell you.

Vaccines carry risks. Period. There is NO 100% safe vaccination. That's just the fact of the matter. Some vaccinations carry less risk then others.

You have to make the decision that is right for your family situation. We have chosen to selectively vaccinate. We were not living in the US when our daughter was born and due to the travel and living in another country we decided to give her the initial 3 DTaP vaccinations. However, I am NOT giving her any more vaccinations until after she is 2.

According to The Vaccine Book, the Fluzone made by Sanofi Pasteur, the SINGLE DOSE vaccine is preservative free and contains no mercury. However, the large 10 dose vial DOES have mercury as a perservative. By the way... both also contain formaldehyde as do most other vaccinations.

IF you decide to give the flu vaccination, you NEED to be sure you know all the facts.

The information often cited to get you to give your child the flu vaccination is that annually about 36,000 children and elderly die from the flu and pnuemonia each year. Did you catch that? Flu AND pnuemonia. They don't tell you the break down or how many were children and how many were eldery. The figure is misleading, trying to scare parents into giving their children vaccinations.

GOOD NUTRITION and good sleep patterns are the best defense against illness. Ensuring your kids are getting all the vitamins and nutrients they need, boosting their immune systemn with natural supplements ... like garlic and echinacea ... that will help them more then loading up their system with manufactured junk.

The National Center for Health Statistics (a lesser known database that many doctors do not read) reports LESS THEN 20 deaths from the flu alone annually in each of the following age groups:

Infants less then 1 year
Kids 1-4
Kids 5-14
Young adults 15-24
Adults 25-34

So...that's less then 100 death per year from infancy to age 34. When you consider there are 34 BILLION people in the United States.... less then 100 is VERY VERY VERY small. Statistically speaking... negligible.

I hope I've given you some good information and inspired you to do some more research on your own. Keep in mind... YOU are your childs ONLY advocate. EVERYONE ELSE HAS ANOTHER AGENDA. EVERYONE.

When you look at the board of doctors who advises the CDC on which vaccinations to include in the schedule... they will either have stocks in the pharmaceutical companies, have worked for the pharma companies, OR have PATENTS on the vaccinations! Bottom line... the people telling doctors which vaccinations to give YOUR child ARE MAKING MONEY (and LOTS OF IT) off of each vaccination given.

That isn't to say all vaccinations are bad. They're not. BUT, you have to look at YOUR situation, YOUR child, and weigh the risks and benefits.

A child who is in daycare 5 days a week will need a different health plan then my child who is with her mommy all day. But, doctors want to give a 'one size fits all' health plan to every child. It doesn't work.

Please.... do the research. Make informed decisions.
Good luck.

Please, please, everyone, do your homework, educate yourselves, and understand the RISKS.

Thimerosal (mercury) in our vaccines has not been safety tested. Yes, you read that correctly. Thimerosal was introduced and used by drug company Eli Lily years BEFORE the creation of the FDA, and when the FDA was created, thimerosal was grandfathered in as safe with no testing. (Eli Lily gave it to a couple dozen patients dying of meningitis, and they all died before any reactions could be noted, and that was considered a real safety test.) Mercury sits next to uranium on the periodic chart of elements--it's poisonous in ANY amount. It is ALWAYS a neurotoxin. ALWAYS. To put it another way, it's NEVER not a neurotoxin. Additionally, most vaccinations EXCEED the EPA"s daily limit of exposure for babies. Please check out the history of thimerosal and safety testing for yourself. And PLEASE google "thimerosal MSDS" or "safety data sheet" as well.

Aluminum is another toxic element in vaccines and also a known neurotoxin. Aluminum is probably the most common element on earth, but is not in any of our vitamins because we don't need it. Aluminum agitates the body to rev up the immune response so that the body will develop antibodies to the organism in the vaccine (in this case the different flu strains).

Here's an informative blog about aluminum:

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-not-ju...

And information that contains delayed vaccine schedules:
http://generationrescue.com/vaccines.html

If, after you fully educate yourself, you choose to give your child a flu shot, please PLEASE make SURE SURE SURE you get a THIMEROSAL FREE flu shot. The drug companies who manufacture them are required to list "thimerosal" as an ingredient in ONLY ONE of three places, the box, the vial, or the package insert, so to be SURE SURE SURE you're getting thimerosal free, you must ask the health dept or your pediatrician to see ALL THREE.

One of my children regressed into autism after her first birthday. I believe her vaccines harmed her. Now we know that she has egg allergies (the flu shot and the mmr are cultured in eggs, although we never gave her a flu shot). I believe she is one who is genetically vulnerable to all the ingredients in vaccines, and right now, we simply do not have a way to test to see which children have these vulnerabilities.

Here's part of what you need to know to be educated: If it's YOUR child and YOUR child regresses, please know from my experience that ALL of the RISK is yours. Your child bears the neurological and developmental risk, and you and your husband will take the financial risk, because autism therapies are NOT covered by insurance and many schools offer what is more like special ed day care than actual intervention. The emotional risk is yours, too. (Call your health insurance company and ask what kind of autism coverage you have.)

Read here about the cleanliness of the egg and the mmr and get an idea about the egg and the flu shot: http://www.fearoftheinvisible.com/

If you do choose the flu shot (or any other vaccination), grab Stephanie Cave MD's book about what your doctor may not tell you about children's vaccinations--she offers a delayed vaccine schedule for parents who still want to vaccinate, and she offers recommendations for what vitamins to supplement with to help your child detox any toxins in the shots.

I tend to look like an anti-vaccine parent, and I AM an anti-vaccine FOR MY KIDS parent because one of my kids was harmed by them. But I'm an EDUCATE YOURSELF and MAKE YOUR OWN decision parent-- this is an intensely personal and individual decision.

Be very careful! My son took a serious downward trend just after the 15 month shots and the flu shot which I was not told at the time had mercury in it! He is 4 1/2 now and has been in therapy and special ed preschool ever since those shots. Boys are effected at a much higher rate than girls. Make sure your child is completely healthy before he receives any shots, but try to avoid mercury and too many shots in one visit.
Hope this helps! C. H.

I am in the boat of why get the flu shots? Unless YOUR child has a health issue that would put him at risk for having the compications you could have from the flu or you live with a parent/ grandparent that could get exposed and have compications I see no reason to.

There are more than 2 dozen strains of the flu circulating the world at any time... Last year scientists choose 4 of them that at that time they thought would be the dominant ones this year. THose are the 4 strains the flu shot covers. So odds are you will still get the flu even with a flu shot. Last year the shots were totally off and only covered one of the dominant strains. At least without the shot you know you are suseptible and you watch for signs more alertly.

Yes, my kids are immunized. (we use the seperate shots for MMR at different times) AND i see no reason for a healthy person to get a shot for the flu... Just my opinion...