Swine Flu. It's Gonna Getcha!

That's right! If you or any of your beloved family members haven't had it yet... you will. Not trying to scare you. Just being honest. NeuroticMom's 10 year old has it, my 39 year old husband has it. I'm no longer afraid of it. I've seen the beast. Now I am prepared to fight.  This is my arsenal of weaponry:

• Ginger Ale.  This is, hands down, the best thing to drink when you are sick.  It's a yummy elixir.  (Kind of how I feel about a McDonald's coca-cola for a hangover- but that's another post :)
• Lysol (or Clorox) wipes.  As soon as someone is sick in my house I grab my wipes and walk through the house wiping down EVERYTHING. Door knobs, light switches, remotes, appliances, telephones, computers... you get the picture.
• Lysol spray.  I follow up with the spray at the end of the day.  I've been known to open the desk drawer where we keep all of our pens & pencils and spray in there too.  Why not?  It's quick, easy & effective.
• Halls Vitamin C drops.  These taste so yummy!  My kids love them.  I keep them in a pretty glass bowl on our kitchen island.  The kids always grab one on their way to catch the bus.  I don't know how effective it is, but it makes me feel proactive.
• Medical masks.  My husband is quarantined to our master bedroom.  I won't step foot in there without wearing one of these.  Excessive? I think not.  The room feels like sickness.  I won't dare breathe that air!
• Purell.  The kids were using this before the swine flu was a threat.  As soon as they walk in from school they Purell.  Lord knows what cooties they pick up on that bus!

That's it.  My arsenal to fight the flu.  It's not 100% effective, but it's all I've got.  If you have any other ideas please share!

Fighting the Good Fight,

TechnoMom

Swine Flu: To Vaccinate, or Not To Vaccinate: That is the Question

I have three children.  They fit into the age group demographic of who should get the H1N1 vaccination.  They are not obese.  They are not prone to respiratory illness.  They are in excellent health.  (Am knocking on wood).

This swine flu vaccination scares me.  I’ve heard too much:  “It hasn’t been properly tested”  “It was rushed to market”   and on the flip-side: “If the strain had been detected earlier it would have been included in the ‘normal’ flu vaccine anyway”  “It is 100% effective” 

Whoa.  My head is spinning.

Do I have my children get it-- and risk a future side effect?

Do I not get it-- and risk my athletic, sports-loving boys lives??

I just read an article in The Washington Post.  This stood out to me:

About two-thirds of the deaths occurred in children who had other health problems. Ninety-two percent of those children had illnesses involving the nervous system, such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, and 59 percent had more than one such complication. Eight deaths, however, occurred among children older than 5 who had no high-risk medical conditions. Two of those children were obese.

That, right there?  That SCARED ME.  Because I know, in the grand scheme of things, there are millions of people who get it and don’t die.  But can you imagine?  Your otherwise healthy rambunctious child gets the flu... fever... under the weather... then hospitalization... then death??

I feel sick just thinking about it.

I won’t be lying awake at night all winter hoping that my children will avoid the swine flu.

I will rest secure in the knowledge that they are protected against it. 

I will be vaccinating my children. 

How about you?

Surviving,

TechnoMom