All
  • All
  • Products
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • Conversations
  • Social

Flu Shot

Should My Kids Get a Flu Shot?
parenting

Tell the Truth: Does Your Kid Get a Flu Shot?

It's hard to believe, but if you look around you'll notice that in addition to falling leaves, it's also cold and flu season, and just about every pharmacy is offering a flu shot to those who want one.
by

It's hard to believe, but if you look around you'll notice that in addition to falling leaves, it's also cold and flu season, and just about every pharmacy is offering a flu shot to those who want one. With kids back in school, stuffy noses are popping up all over the place — even at my home. While simmering a big pot of homemade chicken soup and offering my daughter orange-juice-filled sippy cups, calling the pediatrician to schedule a flu shot seemed like the smartest thing to do this Fall season.

But is getting a flu shot the best way to prevent getting sick this cold and flu season? With the vaccination needing two weeks to take full effect and the height of flu season due to hit mid-October, scheduling the shot sooner rather than later ensures your lil one may be protected. Even if your tot gets vaccinated, she's still at risk of getting the flu, making the shot an opportunity to expose her to various strains, which might come with side effects including rash, headache, fever, and hives. With many parents still nervous about vaccinating their kids, getting a flu shot is once again a hot-button issue.

Reducing exposure to the virus is the best way to prevent the flu. Eating healthy, spending time outdoors, enjoying regular exercise, and washing hands can also reduce the chances for catching the flu. But kids are social butterflies, making hitting the local playground, playing with friends at school, and even visiting the grocery store during the flu season big opportunities for exposing kids to thousands of germs.

Tell the truth — does your kid get a flu shot each year or do you take the risk that they might get sick?

Flu Shots Not as Effective as Previously Thought
healthy living

Flu Shot Reportedly Not That Effective: Will You Still Get One?

Every year my doctor recommends getting a flu shot, and I obey to avoid the weeklong body-aching, head-fogging, feverishness of the flu.
by

Every year my doctor recommends getting a flu shot, and I obey to avoid the weeklong body-aching, head-fogging, feverishness of the flu. If you haven't gotten around to getting your flu shot yet, new research might change your mind. Data from 31 studies points to the fact that flu vaccines don't work as well as previously thought. For adults ranging in age from 18 to 65, the shot is only 59 percent effective. This news is rather depressing, but experts still say a flu vaccine is your best bet at protection against influenza.

Source: Flickr User USACE Europe District

Recommended Vaccines For Adults
healthy living

Are You Up to Date on All Your Shots? What You Need to Know

While February is the month when most people get the flu, hopefully you've already gotten your annual flu shot.
by

While February is the month when most people get the flu, hopefully you've already gotten your annual flu shot. But what about the rest of the lesser-known recommended vaccines for adults?

Recently I was surprised when during a routine appointment my doctor told me that because of a recent whooping cough outbreak I should get a Tdap shot, which also contains the booster doses for tetanus and diphtheria. I never think about nonflu vaccines very much, so I probably wouldn't have known that people my age needed one if she hadn't said anything.

I'm sure many of you are the same. In fact, adult vaccinations are so much lower than they should be that a recent CDC study found that most clinics don't even stock all the required vaccines for adults. But, actually, the CDC recommends that we get certain vaccinations long after we turn 18.

Want to know which vaccines you may need to get? Read on to see if you're up to date on your shots.

Universal Flu Vaccine
healthy living

Universal Flu Vaccine on the Horizon?

A little cold I can handle, even a sinus infection, but the flu?
by

A little cold I can handle, even a sinus infection, but the flu? I don't remember ever feeling as bad as I did the week I came down with the flu. I was so delirious from my 103° fever, and combined with the chills, body aches, and pounding headache, it was just unbearable. To prevent feeling that horrible every year, I make sure to head to my doctor's office for a flu shot, but it doesn't always work since it doesn't protect against all strains. So when I read that UK researchers may have created a universal flu shot, I became quite hopeful.

This vaccine is different from current flu vaccines because it targets the proteins inside the flu virus rather than the proteins on the external coat. These interior proteins are similar across all strains of the flu and less likely to mutate, so this one vaccine could be used to prevent all types of flu. Another difference is that this new treatment helps boost the production of T-cells which can identify, attack, and kill infected cells. So it's much more effective than today's vaccine that just stimulates the body to produce antibodies to fight the flu. If this new vaccine is successful, it could prevent future nasty outbreaks like the swine flu and H1N1.

I don't know about you, but it'd be a huge relief during cold and flu season to get one shot and know I'd never have to suffer in bed surrounded by snotty tissues again.

Flu Shots For Caregivers
Health and Fitness

Is It Appropriate For Family to Ask Nanny to Get Vaccinated?

Nobody likes to take a sick day if they can avoid it.
by

Nobody likes to take a sick day if they can avoid it. Seventy-nine percent of LilSugar readers said the duty falls on mama when a caregiver has to cancel. Some families take precautions by encouraging (and even paying for) their nannies to get vaccinated. Pharmacies now sell flu shot gift cards. Would you purchase one?

Facts About the Flu Shot
Health and Fitness

It's Flu Season! What Do You Know About the 2010 Vaccine?

Get ready for a big pinch!
by

Get ready for a big pinch! Flu season is upon us, and while the virus isn't grabbing headlines like last year, it is still a popular topic among moms. Each year an average 20,000 tots are hospitalized due to influenza complications. Before seeking out your lil one's vaccination, take this quiz to see how much you know about the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Take the Quiz
Poll on Flu Shots
Poll

Will You Be Getting a Flu Shot?

I didn't need Dr. Oz or Mia Hamm to tell me to get a flu shot.
by

I didn't need Dr. Oz or Mia Hamm to tell me to get a flu shot. I live with two school-age germ factories, and for the past three years, the whole family has gotten vaccinated against the flu. You can get a flu shot at your physician's office, at most Target stores with pharmacies, or many drugstores. So tell me . . .

August Is National Immunization Awareness Month
shots

Get Your Shots, It's National Immunization Awareness Month

I dislike needles with a strong passion — I've even fainted before having blood drawn.
by

I dislike needles with a strong passion — I've even fainted before having blood drawn. But even though needles freak me out, I make sure that I am always up to date with my immunizations. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and if you don't know where you stand with vaccinations like tetanus, HPV, or Hepatitis B, now is the time to check.

The goal of National Immunization Awareness Month is pretty self-explanatory. Use this month to encourage your family members and friends to make sure all of their immunizations are current. And, of course, don't forget about yourself! Many vaccines are key in protecting ourselves against highly infectious illnesses like the measles, flu, or chickenpox. Left unchecked, many of these infectious diseases can result in death.

If you're not sure what shots you may be due for, make an appointment with your doc, or check out this vaccinations for adult schedule.

Shortage of the Swine Flu Vaccination
healthy living

Have You Had Luck Getting a Swine Flu Shot?

I don't have to read about the shortage of swine flu vaccine, I'm living it.
by

I don't have to read about the shortage of swine flu vaccine, I'm living it. Everywhere I go to get vaccinated it's the same — there are not enough shots to go around. Supplies are extremely limited, and a recent poll conducted by Harvard University School of Public Health says that 70 percent of adults and 66 percent of children who tried to get vaccinated couldn’t.

On Friday the National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said that the high demand is outweighing the supply, but that more doses would be available in the coming weeks. I've heard this every week and no matter where I go, I leave without getting a shot. I'm starting to get frustrated but I want to protect myself.

Have any of you had better luck than I have?

Did You Get a Flu Shot?
healthy living

Did You Get a Flu Shot?

We're in the heart of Winter and about half of you have managed to remain healthy this season.
by

We're in the heart of Winter and about half of you have managed to remain healthy this season. Props to your immune systems for protecting you from getting sick, and hopefully you can keep up the health streak as the height of flu season approaches. Typically, flu season doesn't peak until February, so there's still time to get your flu shot if you've been putting it off.



Source