Flu Snafu.. Now with extra rantiness

Flu SNAFU

I have worked in medicine for nearly 15 years all included. The last 12 in my current position. I am a fanatic when it comes to flu shots. Not because of politics. Not because of training but because I have actually gone out and done the impartial research on it. Not hyper scientific reports, not holier than thou paranoid blogs. Actual research. As a result I am a fan. I am usually absolute about my son’s vaccines as well. This year however the kiddo didn’t have is annual required well child visit. That is usually when I get him his flu shot. Because of the lack of the visit I honestly forgot about getting him vaccinated and fell into auto pilot. Well he’s sick now. With the Flu. Frick. Bad mommy! Bad!

               If nothing else this experience has made me value the flu shot even more. I had my flu shot and despite snuggling, smooching on him and being in close proximity of every cough and boogery Kleenex I am not ill. Yes acquired immunity plays a role here but not in the black and white sense. My kid is usually a chatterbox to the extreme. He’s active, curious, bright and loves nothing more than exercise and a long chat. He has been briefly replaced with a shell of his former self. He is pale, listless, and feverish. He has a hacking cough, giant circles under his eyes and actually asked for a nap. (WTH!?) He is a floppy silent shell of his normal self. I wish nothing more than to hold him close and take all this ick away from him. 

This. This is not vaccinating your kid. 

               This is just flu. Yep. I said JUST Flu. Yes, it’s vicious and uncomfortable and if not properly managed it can lead to some serious issues. This is not Mumps. It’s not Rubella. It’s not Hep B. In the grand scheme of illnesses this is your whimpy lame cousin. So if a whimpy lame variant of influenza can knock out a kid with at least some mediated immunity from prior vaccines then why the hell would you risk your kid getting something more serious? Just because some blog said there was a risk of maybe possibly if your genetics will it getting autism. Really? Autism? That wouldn’t be because your genetics play a role? Naah.. that’s crazy talk. 

       So let’s pare this down to the black and white of it. Vaccine or not. Coverage and possibly something that your kid may get anyway because it’s in their DNA (hello, check the raising rates of Autism diagnoses. Better diagnosis techniques means higher incidences. That’s more the reason than vaccines.)  My kid has the Flu. It’s icky, nasty, uncomfortable and harsh as hell. It’s a slightly ugly bunny in comparison to some of the big nasty scary things we commonly vaccinate for. Why in the hell would you put your child at risk like that?  And don't get me started on the risk of pandemic because of it. Anyone else actually looking at the odds here? 

               So In future when the leaves start to change colors in the fall I will remember the dull glassy feverish look in my kid’s eyes and never again forget that damn flu shot.