Fears of H1N1

We had it. My 10 year old son got it first. 2 days of fever and two more days of not feeling well and he was fine. My 15 year old got it next. He was actually very ill. He had about 5 days of very high fevers and felt just awful! He spent 11 days in bed and slept for most of those days. My husband and I also got it. He had a mild fever one day and I didn't have any, but the dry cough that lasted afterwards was the worst part of it. It lasted for weeks! I'm not scared of the flu anymore since we all had it, but it wasnt' fun for my one son. Definitely worse than any other flu he has had in the past. For the rest of us, other than the cough it was mild.!

Dont let fear take control.be cautious and wash hands often and i stay out of public more than i used to.just take percautions.you will be fine.C. swanson

I agree with most of the previous advice given, except for the advice of getting the vaccines. I have 3 children, and my daughter (we think had it) and know others that have, it was pretty much like the flu. It was not as bad as made out to be. My daughter's started out with aches and pains similar to flu, but only with a mild fever. She didn't get a higher fever until a couple days later. We did not get Tamiflu, which is causing many problems for people...most cases, worse than the H1N1 itself. I also went to a health food store and got her some echinacea and goldenseal--you can get kid's doses. Some ways to stay healthy are to make sure you get plenty of vitamin D, sleep, olive leaf extract also works well...lots more good info on www.mercola.com.

Unfortunately the government, mainstream media and pharma companies have blown this so called "pandemic" way out of proportion mainly due to the big $$ to be made, and power. mercola.com also has some powerful interviews exposing these falsities.

The truth is coming out that most of the H1N1 claims were people with either respiratory or simiar problems to begin with, and many of the so called H1N1 cases were really instead bacterial infections. Whatever you do, I urge you not to get the vaccines for you or your children. They are filled with poisons and causing many problems for people receiving them, including becoming paralyzed, getting Guillan Barres syndrome, and many other terrible things. First and foremost, the H1N1 vaccine has not been accurately tested. It's fact that many vaccines can have detrimental effects that may not show up for years later. Although in some cases, people are having immediate problems from this vaccine. To clarify someone's earlier post, there a 2 types of the vaccine--the shot, which is in fact a dead virus, but many have preservatives such a thimerosol (which is a high level of mercury) which can damage your brain and is linked to Alzheimer's Disease. Even if the shot is preservative free, there is no proof that the H1N1 is completely safe...all around the world, there have been cases that different batches of the vaccine have been contaminated and people are DYING after receiving them. Again, even if they are not contaminated, they are not guaranteed to be safe. The second vaccine is the H1N1 mist, which IS A LIVE VIRUS, and is sprayed up the nose. In addition to being the live H1N1 VIRUS, it also contains MSG, which is an excitotoxin - an ingredient known to cause nerve damage by overexciting nerves...this is being sprayed directly into your head, where your brain happens to be. The government came into my children's schools against many of the parents wishes and most that got this mist, ended up being sick with fevers, etc..and in addition to this, anyone who receives the mist is contagious for 21 days afterwards.

Some good resources for more, trustworthy info are:
www.mercola.com
www.drtenpenny.com
www.flupandemic.com
www.russsellblaylockmd.com

Hope this helps,
J.

Instead of listening to everyones opinion about the vaccine and how safe (or not) it is I would suggest talking to your childs pediatrician. In my opinion, if you trust the pediatrician enough for them to care for the health of your child you should trust their opinion about the vaccine as well.

As previously stated, H1N1 is simply another strain of the influenza virus. Several strains circulate every year and those of us who are vaccinated receive an inactive version of what they anticipate to be the biggest problem each season. H1N1 has received so much media because it was active outside the typical flu season. The strain has remained fairly constant and has not mutated into different strains as originally predicted. It's worth noting that decades ago, there was another H1N1 spread that did not cause the pandemic they are expecting. (This is why they feel that many of the older generation has built up immunities: they have been previously exposed.)

As an ICU nurse, I can tell you that they have been prepping us for a pandemic that has not yet occurred. Not to say that there have not been cases of H1N1, because there certainly have, but as pointed out in the media, it seems to be more of a risk to people with preexisting medical conditions.

That being said: be sure your child is getting a healthy diet to boost his/her immune system. Wash hands regularly. There has been a lot of controversy over receiving the H1N1 vaccine. I, personally, received it a month ago and my son just received it. It is engineered in the same way as the seasonal flu vaccine and if you get a shot, it's a dead virus. Many people say the get the flu from the vaccine, but this is just coincidence...the vaccine takes 3 weeks to reach it's full effects, so it stands to reason that within those three weeks, you can still be exposed to the flu and your body hasn't produced enough antibodies to protect you yet.

One final note...if your child has any symptoms, go to your pediatrician immediately because antivirals (Tamiflu) can only be given within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms...fever is usually the benchmark symptom, but on rate occasions is not present, so keep your eye out for any behaviour that would suggest your little one is under the weather.

My child had H1N1. While nervously waiting for the vaccine to be available in our area, my 9 year old came down with H1N1. I expected the the doctor to give her Tamiflu. He said since she is an otherwise a healthy child, no asthma, diabetes or other problems the flu would just run its course with fluids and rest. He explained that the kids who go to the hospital or die mainly have immune problems like kids on chemo. Well, he was right. She started with a sore throat, the next day flu symptoms of aches and fever of 101.5, chills nausea and tired for 2 days. She didn't take any medication because it wasn't that bad and the fever never went over 101.5. She slept a lot and stayed out of school for a week though she could have gone back sooner. I wanted to play it safe and make sure she rested enough. After it was over she commented that it was not as bad as the regular flu which she had last year. Another child on her soccer team had it as well and recovered just as quick. No one else in either family caught it. I hope this helps ease your worries.

Have her google to look up the difference between a cold and the flu. The flu (H1N1 or otherwise) hits suddenly and is an all over ache, fever, etc and is different that the common cold. I know several people who have had it-- several of them children. Seems that the only person not able to get over it within a week was the one (adult) who refused to take it easy and rushed back to work too soon so it took her nearly 3 weeks to fully recover, including getting pnemonia.

A., protecting yourself and your family from swine flu is very important especially at this time when virus is spreading around like wild fire.

However there are tons of articles on bad side effects from vaccinations and antibiotics.

Watch this video to A Safer Alternative To Vaccinations and Antibiotics! http://321earn.com/i/YE11817/video2.html

My advice would be to make sure that you get your child vaccinated. Most healthy children can fight off the virus, but sometimes that is not the case. My son is in daycare and always seems to have something going on- runny nose, cough, etc. The main symptoms to look for with H1N1 are flu-like- fever of 101, runny nose, etc. I have gotten myself and my son vaccinated to prevent us from getting the virus and to also prevent the spread of the virus to others.

I also want to make a statement about the individuals who posted incorrect information regarding the vaccine. First, the flu mist (live virus) does not make an individual contagious for 21 days. Even though it is a live virus, it is such a small amount in the dose that even pregnant nurses can administer it without problems. You can read about it on the CDC website on the VIS (vaccine information sheet). Second, if you receive the seasonal flu vaccine, there is absolutely no reason why you would not receive the H1N1 vaccine. Every year a new strain of flu vaccine is manufactured, and the H1N1 vaccine is manufactured the same way as the flu vaccine has been for years. Third, any vaccines you receive have the likelyhood of leading to the neurological disorder GBS. The H1N1 vaccine is not the only one that could potentially cause this disorder.

You need to do what is best for you and your family- vaccinations or not. Please do not base your decision on the misinformation that some people have posted.

I will try and stick to just your question... real examples . My MIL babysits three children (7,4 and 20 months) M-F during the day while the parents work. The oldest two both came down with H1N1. They both had a horrible cough and there were two days worth of high fevers. They were back to themselves within a week and the youngest never came down with it. I believe the only meds they took were Tylenol and Motrin for the fever. One of my coworkers and his 14 month old daughter had H1N1 about a month ago. It took him a couple of weeks before he felt back to normal. His daughter was fine within about 4 days, he said. He shared that she had one day of high fever but overall, she handled it A LOT better than he did. He told me (and I am just repeating) that their family doctor told him that in his experience, the children seem to often have a milder case than the adults, as he has seen with his own daughter. I know of two other adults who have had it within the month. One took a week to feel 100% and one less than that. Everyone that I know who has had it told me that the biggest difference between this and "normal" flu is the severity of their dry cough.

H1N1 will be just like the regular flu, no other signs or symptoms. If he gets the flu, starts to get better, then gets worse, get him in. If he becomes dehydrated (won't take fluids, urine output drops...) get him in. If he has a high fever (over 102) that you can't break with tylenol and motrin, get him in. If he has difficulty breathing, or rapid shallow breathing, get him in. If he is really sick and you aren't sure, call his doctor's office and they can advise you.

Some of the children in my daughter's class have already had it, and it wasn't any worse than the regular flu, so try to relax. The media really has this hyped up and has the whole nation scared.

Just an FYI for you, it's normal for toddlers and small children to get 10-12 colds per year, so if he gets the sniffles alot, he is normal!

Based on sheer numbers, the regular flu is 10 times more likely to make your child sick than the swine flu. The regular flu is also 10 times more deadly (it kills almost 40,000 people per year whereas the swine flu has killed around 4,000.)

The wild media and political hype surrounding this illness is just that...hype.

Statistically swine flu kills very few people, and almost always those people have a primary underlying health issue. If your son is otherwise a pretty healthy kid (no auto immune system issues, asthma, congenital lung defects, etc) then getting the flu is simply an inconvenience requiring fluids, fever management and bed rest.

The good news is that if you allow your child's body to naturally build immunity to such things, his overall immune system will continue to improve and mature. Naturally gained immunity (from getting sick or from being around others who have been sick) is always stronger than vaccine immunity...and naturally gained immunity lasts a life time, not just a few months or years.

I just want you to be aware that if your child comes down w/ symptoms and you go to the doctor right away, that does not mean they will test for the flu or give you meds for an "otherwise healthy child". I think it may depend on where you live, but I took my child in October when he had symptoms and they said it is very likely some type of flu, but no test and no meds, as they had to "conserve". So, $50 later, we went home. He was fine after two days, but I didn't know if I should keep him home or what, so I did anyway. It was frustrating as the news tell you to take them in right away, and then the doctors say they can't test everybody that comes in w/ symptoms. If I would have known that, I would have just kept him home.

All three of my boys got H1N1. Zach (5yrs old) and Nick (3yrs old) had similar cold/flu symptoms with the exception that they had a 104 fever for days. Basically we kept them on tylenol every 3 hours and then alternated with motrin. My youngest was affected a little more. He had the same as above but he ended up needing to be on a breathing nebulizer because he had fluid in his lungs. Honestly, the H1N1 is more hype than anything else. This sickness was just like a really bad cold. And from what I've heard about the vaccine, I'd just as soon take the real virus and be done with it.
Best of luck!
Jen

My 18 month old son had it in the beginning of October. He had a low grade fever (99.9) one night and a runny nose. The next day he woke up with no fever and acted fine. So of course I sent him to daycare thinking he was okay. The sitter called at noon to say he had a fever of 102. I took him to the dr. They were not even going to test him for the flu (even though thats what the dr. thought he had) until I told them that he is around his Great Grandmother who was in chemo for breast cancer. Sure enough he had it. They gave him tamiflu to help with the symptoms bc he has what they call "asthmatic episodes". But trust me when I say this, it was not that bad. He ran a fever for 2 days and acted just a little tired. He was fine within 5 days.

i've read that it first comes with fever, low grade and dry cough, barely noticable. it is advisable to take him in and have his ped. test for the flu.
i am in th same boat. i carry hand gel everywhere with me and we try to avoid crowded areas. did not and will not vaccinate though. it feels like a russian roulette
ps I just want to reply to Dana's post. My kids have always gotten the flu shot, mercury free vaccine. This year the ped's office didn't have it, and since i was not going to get the H1N1 vaccine I agreed to the flu mist. The flu mist has the weak live virus and my child did end up getting the flu from the mist. Our pediatrician confirmed that is what happened, so Dana looks like you need to read up a bit more.

It's the flu. It is like any other flu but with a special name to it. You will have the same symptoms as any other flu: fever, chills, aches, fatigue, nausea, etc...
And just like all flu symptoms, it can be mild or it can be severe. H1N1 is not a death sentence, media hype will just have you believe that. There are several people I know whose kids or grandkids had the H1N1 and got over it in just a few days.

My 9 month old daughter had H1N1 about a month ago. It honestly was not to bad. Day one I took her to daycare in the morning and they called me about two hours later saying she had a fever so I was there within about 15 minutes. I took her home and called the Dr. because she had been acting very sleepy the day before. The next appointment was about 4 hours later, so we went home. She had a 101 fever so I gave her some tylonal and a bottle and she went to bed. She slept most of the day getting up only to eat. By the time I was getting her ready to her Dr. appointment her fever was up to 104.5! That was scary. After a couple hours at the office a catater (sp?) blood work and other tests they finally tested for the flu and it was confirmed. They said she was the youngest case they had seen. They gave her Tamiflu and honestly she was back to 90% by the next day and back to her normal self within 2 days. We still kept her home from Daycare for 5 days like the Dr. reccomended but there was no fever after that one scary day. She was back to crawling and playing after being sick for one day. I know adults and kids that reacted much worse from the vaccination! Just make sure you wash your hands, and wash your toddlers hands vigilantly!

I am a mother of three and I am really scared of the swine flu. I do not have any advice for anyone about it, except for Pray to God to keep us all safe.

God Bless us all.

We haven't caught it. but here's whatwe do to stay healthy. We take an elderberry supplememnt, usually SambuActin from Solaray (found at healthfood stores) or another chewable version. We take mulit-vitamins too. We take probiotics (friendly bacteria found in yogurt or in pill or powder form at healthfood store). Yogurt with lots of sugar in it does not help though. Keep sugars to a minimum because sugar weakens your immune system. Keep dairy intake to a minimum to avoid stuffy noses. Wahs your hands throughly in public.