Kristen Nicole Young

[Not that josh's mom]

16 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

“Stomach flu” isn’t actually influenza. It’s just what people call a stomach virus. It makes things incredibly confusing when talking about the actual flu. 

Most people I know seem to say "flu" for the stomach bug and "a cold" for the respiratory flu that the vaccine will hopefully prevent .

[OyHiOh]

6 hours ago, Seculardaisy said:

I know people who are pro vaccinations and somehow still anti flu shot. It’s so absurd and scary to me. I’m always petrified of my children getting the flu and we vaccinate for it as soon as we are able to each year. The flu is so much more deadly than people seem to realize.

Kristen has a photo of her teeny daughter lying sick on the couch in her stories and all I can think of is how that poor kid isn’t likely being medically treated in any way and instead is drinking some homeopathic BS.

As regular readers know, my late husband died of flu last winter (H1N1 to be specific).  He had his flu vax (standard flu has included H1N1 for six or eight years now) but had had broncitis for a week or so before flu exposure.  Just too much for his body to handle.  One of his ICU docs told me - at a point where we were cautiously optomistic - "unfortunately, flu is still a disease that kills."

This year, my children, who normally protest any and all shots, were on my tail about flu vax's the second this year's batch came out.  Doctor's office has a new nurse, who had no idea of the family history.  You should have seen her face when my kids sat there quizzing her if the vax has H1N1 in it because "yeah, my dad died of H1N1 last year and I don't want to!!!!"

[adidas]

42 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

If you are talking about the new coronavirus that has originated in China, bad news they've confirmed person-to-person transmission.

https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/person-to-person-spread-of-novel-coronavirus-confirmed-in-china--66995

Oh dear. I work with some people from Wuhan - we are in different departments so I haven’t had a chance to speak with them recently. I hope their families are all okay. 

[Pandora Spocks]

Elderberry syrup - fine. But belladonna??!? Use herbal remedies if you must, but at least do some basic research on them first!  You are supposed to hydrate when you have the flu -- not take something made with the plant that brings you atropine and scopolamine. Ugh. Stoopid, stoopid fundies.

[AmericanRose]

13 hours ago, Seculardaisy said:

Kristen frequently posts about Christianity, natural remedies, mission trips, her two (soon to be three) children, and her husband’s struggle with alcoholism.

Because when one spouse struggles with addiction, it's best to keep adding more kids to the family. Nothing stressful about that!

[Melissa1977]

2 hours ago, Pandora Spocks said:

Elderberry syrup - fine. But belladonna??!?

Belladonna was used as poison back in the Middle Age. 

[SweetJuly]

Our toddler and I have been sick for a month now; sometimes the cold symptoms get worse, sometimes better. Sometimes there is a fever (our daughter had 39.6 degrees last Friday, but then it went away again), sometimes digestive troubles add to the mix. We've also had coughs that we can't shake for three weeks now. The last couple of days I also got a very bad backache.

We've been to the GP, but all they say is that it's normal, that we probably picked up several infections at the same time, etc., but I am somewhat getting worried. I also have this paranoid idea that we could have this new coronavirus. We haven't been to China or East Asia, but we have travelled recently and are frequently exposed to people who travel even more.

I feel so stupid and slightly embarrassed, and I am the kind of person who hates making a fuss of being sick, but I'm also getting a little worried, and am wondering what I could do or where I could go for a more in-depth look at our condition.

[OhNoNike]

Follow your gut and be persistent.  It is possible you picked up several viruses. I’ve been in a situation where the doc says that and I think “bullshit, come to my house and see what we’re dealing with”, and it has indeed subsided.
 

Having said that, you can’t take it back if someone is really ill. So I say follow your gut and keep seeing the docs as symptoms come up. Have you seen them about the backache?

[WiseGirl]

2 hours ago, SweetJuly said:

We've also had coughs that we can't shake for three weeks now.

Me too. Bronchitis at Christmas time has turned into a prolonged asthma attack. It is as lovely as it sounds. 

I agree with @OhNoNike follow your gut and keep going to your doctor. In my case it was the drugstore walk-in clinic that diagnosed me because I was out of town but sometimes I feel like new healthcare providers listen better especially when it is a physician's assistant. 

[seraaa]

6 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

Belladonna was used as poison back in the Middle Age. 

Is this deadly nightshade belladonna, or a different kind?

What?

[JermajestyDuggar]

I had bronchitis earlier this cold and flu season. I swear I coughed so hard and so long I thought I was going to black out. I took medicine the doctor gave me and it helped but that cough did linger awhile. 

[Icea]

16 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

In my country anti-vax is a minority. Authories are very pro-vaccination. But the flu shots are only for elders and immunodepressed people or those who work in hospitals. 

I see US parents much more worried about flu than Spanish ones and I wonder if the flu virus is harder in US. I know several people who work hospitals and doctor offices and they aren't specially worried about the flu (they are worried because flu means being 1 week ill, but there's not a deep fear for their kids). 

Also, doctors say that the flu virus changes a lot and some years, the shot is not useful at all, but they cannot know in advance, so elders got the shots just in case.

This is the situation in Sweden as well. The vast majority are pro-vaccinations; we had a large number of teenagers who developed narcolepsy as a side effect to the Pandremix vaccine during the Swine flu epidemic in 2009. You would think that the anti-vaxx movement would surge after that, but it didn't, which indicates to me that Swedes saw that this was a horrible exception to the norm and that the common vaccinations were safe.

That said, I don't know anyone here who takes flu shots other than children, elderly, pregnant women or people are immuno-compromised in some way. The seasonal flu is mostly seen as a really bad cold, and I've never considered it a dangerous disease if you're not one of the risk groups ?‍♀️ In fact, I did a quick search for seasonal flu on 1177 (which is Sweden's official go-to website regarding health) and this comes up in one of the first paragraphs:

"För unga och medelålders människor som annars är friska är risken för en följdsjukdom liten. Därför behöver de inte vaccinera sig."

"For young and middle-aged people, who are otherwise healthy, the risk of [attaining] a secondary disease is small. Therefore, these groups don't need to vaccinate."

[FiveAcres]

Four weeks before my mother died, she had a procedure because she had bleeding ulcers. The procedure was considered successful. When I was reviewing the report with my brother-in-law who is a physician, I said "But people don't die from ulcers anymore, do they?" And he was like, "Well, yes they do." The ulcers started a cascade of events that led to her going into hospice two weeks later. 

Because i was her primary caretaker and social contact, I was getting the flu vaccine every year despite not being part of the recommended class. I didn't want to get it and pass it on. People's health can be so fragile as they get older. 

[purple_summer]

2 hours ago, Icea said:

This is the situation in Sweden as well. The vast majority are pro-vaccinations; we had a large number of teenagers who developed narcolepsy as a side effect to the Pandremix vaccine during the Swine flu epidemic in 2009. You would think that the anti-vaxx movement would surge after that, but it didn't, which indicates to me that Swedes saw that this was a horrible exception to the norm and that the common vaccinations were safe.

That said, I don't know anyone here who takes flu shots other than children, elderly, pregnant women or people are immuno-compromised in some way. The seasonal flu is mostly seen as a really bad cold, and I've never considered it a dangerous disease if you're not one of the risk groups ?‍♀️ In fact, I did a quick search for seasonal flu on 1177 (which is Sweden's official go-to website regarding health) and this comes up in one of the first paragraphs:

"För unga och medelålders människor som annars är friska är risken för en följdsjukdom liten. Därför behöver de inte vaccinera sig."

"For young and middle-aged people, who are otherwise healthy, the risk of [attaining] a secondary disease is small. Therefore, these groups don't need to vaccinate."

I think a big difference is people in Sweden (and pretty much every other country) have access to healthcare. So if you start having flu symptoms, you go to the clinic and get tamiflu or some kind of treatment early. In the US most people don’t see a doctor until much later because they may not be able to afford the copay or out of pocket cost and they only see doctors in emergencies. 

[Timetraveler]

I will never ever understand that she is willfully risking her children getting polio for example;

 

 

[medimus]

1 hour ago, purple_summer said:

I think a big difference is people in Sweden (and pretty much every other country) have access to healthcare. So if you start having flu symptoms, you go to the clinic and get tamiflu or some kind of treatment early. In the US most people don’t see a doctor until much later because they may not be able to afford the copay or out of pocket cost and they only see doctors in emergencies. 

I think this might be partly true. All the countries I have practiced medicine in (three, all European, none of them Sweden or Spain) have had very similar guidelines to the ones already mentioned for Sweden and Spain: the very young, the old, the sick and the immunocompromised are vaccinated, the rest aren't. In all three of the countries the treatment for most people with flu is to stay home and rest. Tamiflu is only given in very limited cases as it doesn't work brilliantly. What does make a difference about accessible healthcare is a judgement on whether you need furhter treatment or not. The more easily that is available the quicker those in need will get further treatment and the more likely they are to get well.

I'm not sure about other countries (though I imagine it is similar), but in Belgium there is a flu commissioner. Someone whose job it is to make sure the country is ready for flu season and any signs of a new pandemic flu, keeps the statistics of how much flu is circulating and what kind, produces the 'weather report' of what is happening this week with the flu etc.

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, medimus said:

the treatment for most people with flu is to stay home and rest. Tamiflu is only given in very limited cases as it doesn't work brilliantly

Same in Spain. Doctors say flu lasts for 1 week with drugs and for 7 days without drugs.

Obviously, high fevers or bad symptoms are treated! And lots of elders need hospitalization for flu (despite most of them are vaccinated). It's no joke and flu season is monitorized by authorities.

The different approach and the higher level of fear among US people, made me think that the virus was worse there, for some reason. But the lack of healthcare (and the lack of paid leave for illness?) may be the reason for the flu getting out of control. It's scaring.

[justoneoftwo]

11 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

Same in Spain. Doctors say flu lasts for 1 week with drugs and for 7 days without drugs.

Obviously, high fevers or bad symptoms are treated! And lots of elders need hospitalization for flu (despite most of them are vaccinated). It's no joke and flu season is monitorized by authorities.

The different approach and the higher level of fear among US people, made me think that the virus was worse there, for some reason. But the lack of healthcare (and the lack of paid leave for illness?) may be the reason for the flu getting out of control. It's scaring.

I actually think it's because Americans have a higher level of fear in general. Have you ever looked at the news broadcast about ebola on the BBC versus CNN?

[Alisamer]

33 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

The different approach and the higher level of fear among US people, made me think that the virus was worse there, for some reason. But the lack of healthcare (and the lack of paid leave for illness?) may be the reason for the flu getting out of control. It's scaring.

I am generally not really very fearful of the flu, but I live in the US - this year I have no health insurance, and I have no paid sick leave and only 10 days vacation. I got a flu shot last fall when I did have insurance to pay for it, and probably will pay out of pocket for it next fall as well. The flu would mean a week of no pay, combined with medical bills that would, especially with medicine, basically wipe out nearly another week's pay.

Insurance is very expensive, healthcare is also very expensive, and much insurance doesn't actually cover anything non-preventative until after you've paid a few thousand dollars yourself ($8,000, for the insurance I was considering, plus the $2400+ it cost for the year, which is why I decided to take my chances without). Also, my doctor has moved, and is no longer on the very short list of doctors covered by the insurance that was available to me. Essentially, I'd end up out $10,400+ dollars (insurance plus deductible) before the insurance actually began to cover anything at all. At that point I'd be considering bankruptcy, so I figured I'd just go without and use that $200 each month I'd be spending on insurance to join a gym, build some savings, and things like that. The end result would be the same whether I had insurance or not, financially. 

[Melissa1977]

46 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

I got a flu shot last fall when I did have insurance to pay for it, and probably will pay out of pocket for it next fall as well

I thought vaccinations were free. Are at least free for children?

[Giraffe]

16 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

I thought vaccinations were free. Are at least free for children?

As I understand it, it’s “free” as long as you have insurance. Otherwise it comes out of pocket. 

[therulesofjinx]

4 minutes ago, Giraffe said:

As I understand it, it’s “free” as long as you have insurance. Otherwise it comes out of pocket. 

It can also depend on where you have it done. I get a flu shot for free at my doctor's office OR through my employer with proof of my health insurance. My fiance has health insurance, but did not get his flu shot at a clinic that accepted his insurance and ended up paying for it himself.

[nokidsmom]

18 hours ago, hethamahay said:

There are several different strains of the influenza virus, and it tends to mutate. When making the vaccine, manufacturers have to try and figure out which strains will be most prevalent for that year. So it's still possible to still catch the flu even after having the vaccine, if the strain you got is different than the one the vaccine was designed to protect against. Another thing to note, even if you do get sick, having the vaccine does help reduce the length and severity of the symptoms.

This happened to me the first year I got the flu vaccine.   Really bad flu started going around that was a different strain than in the vaccine that year and I got it 3 weeks after the shot.  It wasn't as bad for me as it was for some others but it was a very nasty strain.  So it can happen.

[crancraz]

5 minutes ago, Giraffe said:

As I understand it, it’s “free” as long as you have insurance. Otherwise it comes out of pocket. 

Any child in the US under 18 has access to free vaccinations through the VFC (vaccines for children) program. 

[Giraffe]

10 minutes ago, crancraz said:

Any child in the US under 18 has access to free vaccinations through the VFC (vaccines for children) program. 

Oops, I should’ve clarified it was adults only. Yes, they’re free for kids.