should my boyfriend and i get a flu shot because i have a 3 month old son

prmenrs, RN · Oct 25, 2006

IMHO, you should ALL get them. Including your son. Talk to the pediatrician for her/his advise.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

BSNtobe2009 · Oct 25, 2006

I understand your concern. I have chosen not to get the flu shots nor for my daughter (whose 2) either. I also, experience a major illness every time I get the flu shot with perfect consistency.

She has been blessed with optimal health and made it through her entire first year without a single illness. She has had strep twice (both times from her nanny), and only 2 ear infections, which both followed the strep. Other than that, she's been great. However, she is also not in daycare.

I don't know if there is any truth to this or not, but I read somewhere on this board awhile back where a nurse had posted that she never took the flu shot because the CDC makes a 'prediction' two years in advance of which strain of the flu will be more prevalent in a given year, so when you take the shot, it's a numbers game on if the strain you are exposed to will be fought off by the shot you received.

Not sure if it's true or not, but it would make sense to me.

twinmommy+2, ADN, BSN, MSN · Oct 25, 2006

If I was in your situation, I and my husband would get the flu shot, but not the 3 month old. I would wait until they were a little older to get the shot (6 months to a year) and make sure everyone else in the house is protected.

That reminds me, I still have to get the kids their shots.

prmenrs, RN · Oct 25, 2006

The "educated guess" is made in the spring based on what flu strains have made themselves available in Asia that winter. That's the closest they can get to the point the manufacturers need to be able to produce the vaccine in time. They can only put a limited # (like ?3) of strains in it, so there's room for a gap between what the prediction and the actual flu strains that happen in a given season.

I still think it's a good thing.

mamason · Oct 25, 2006

I have a14 month old. Last year, her MD recommended that our whole family recieve the flu shot so we don't pass the flu onto the baby. She was not yet 6 months old at the time which meant, according to her MD's guidelines, she was not old enough to recieve the flu shot. The flu can be a very nasty thing for the baby to get, according to our MD. So, the whole family, 2 sisters, one brother, my husband and myself all took the shot. We felt it was a good way to protect our new family member and we were happy with our decision. Talk to your doctor so that you can gain enough info before making your decision.

DRAGRACERMOM · Oct 25, 2006

See my post under the @#$^ flu shot post. However, after being incredibly sick 2 years in a row, and one of those while pregnant. I HIGHLY recommend one. Take some sort of fever reducer prior to receiving injection, and rest the day following if possible.

My 17 month old will be getting one since he has shown my predisposition to "croup" illnesses and the flu about shut down my lungs TWICE!

That's my personal opinion.

Good Luck and Good Health to you all.

Dragracermom

adrienurse, LPN · Oct 25, 2006

Everyone should get the flu shot. Especially, the very young, the very old, those with reduced immunity and chronic illness and the people who have a lot of contact with the above.

All nurses should make scientific based recommendations and should recommend the flu shot as a matter of professional responsibility.

TazziRN, RN · Oct 25, 2006

If you are a stay at home mom, you can probably get away with not taking the vax, but your husband should. Being around children he's much more likely to get the flu and he can stop it in its tracks by getting the vaccine. This will also protect your baby.

BSNtobe2009 · Oct 26, 2006

The "educated guess" is made in the spring based on what flu strains have made themselves available in Asia that winter. That's the closest they can get to the point the manufacturers need to be able to produce the vaccine in time. They can only put a limited # (like ?3) of strains in it, so there's room for a gap between what the prediction and the actual flu strains that happen in a given season.
I still think it's a good thing.

Thank you for the clarification!

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Oct 26, 2006

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=16437500

I'm just not sure how effective the flu vax is for those under 2 years old. I think I would research that more personally because I wouldn't want to administer a med to a child that young without knowing more about it effeciency. Most flu vaccines have the full dose of mercury in it as well which bothers some people, so that might be something you might want to look into as well. I think you can get mercury free flu shots, but you would need to make sure as some nurses don't even know what thimerosal even is. We got flu shots last year and when I asked about mercury/thimerosal the RN had no idea what I was talking about which really surprised me given all the controversy about it.