FluMist shedding concern

[SilverMoon010]

We are going to enroll our 3-year-old in a preschool program this year, and since wonderful NJ mandates a yearly flu vaccine, I am now concerned about the shedding of the flu vaccine.  I imagine that most kids will probably be getting their vaccine shortly before school starts, so I can see all of the shedding that will be going on.  I'm not worried about my child getting ill naturally but the thought of him getting sick artificially from the possibility of the shedding factor of a flu vaccine is just so irritating to me.  I worry that he will be bombarded with the shedding live viruses all at once.   Am I thinking too much about it?

Anyway, just looking for any words of wisdom on this to put my mind at ease, and maybe some suggestions to keep him extra healthy.  He gets a multivitamin, Vitamin D3, and cod liver oil daily. (Well, D3 only in the fall/winter months). He drinks a lot of yogurt too, so I'm assuming that's his probiotics.   Maybe I could up his D dose in September? He has been extremely healthy thus far. I wonder if there is anything more I can do to keep it that way since he will be entering school.

Edited by SilverMoon010 - 8/23/11 at 5:22am

[ammiga]

My dd has caught the flu the last two years. I am certain she got it from shedding flu mists. In her class, two or three kids came to school snotty messes on the same day. The parents were talking about how their kids just got the flu mist. Sure enough, it wasn't long before dd came down with flu symptoms. Except I kept her home.

This year I'm going to focus on boosting her immune system with probiotics (more than from yogurt), vit d, and elderberry. We also will be cooking with more garlic and adding cinnamon to all sorts of stuff. I don't know if we can avoid the flu, but I'd like to try.

[BeckyBird]

Hi! First off, the shedding vax irritates me as well. It's borderline infuriating!

We just received an order of Beyond Tangy Tangerine vitamin and mineral supplement. I'm also going to grow and juice wheatgrass this year. I'll report how well the tangy tangerine and the wheatgrass works (or if it doesn't work.)

One thing....if you, your son, or anyone in the house has the beginning of a cold, make sure you eliminate as much sugar from your diet as possible. I'm speaking from experience here! Last January, a horrible virus spread through our community. I even wrote about it in the "find your tribe section", that's how bad it was!  Anyways, my son and husband were very sick for about a week, while my daughter and I were fine, even though we were right there, tending to the sickos lol. Well, one night, I caved, and I made a batch of cookies. And I ate them all!!! I know, what the heck. I feel like this might have hampered my immune system just enough to let the virus take over. (Seriously, look up sugar and immune system. Not good!)  The end of the next day, I was totally ill. The cold lingered on for 2-3 weeks total, and I was so upset with myself. No willpower for one night, and look what happened.

So, keep on eating healthy, and beware of the sugar! Good luck this school year. Enjoy your peaceful days ahead

[Marnica]

I share your frustration about flumist, but honestly there is not much you can do about it. Short of keeping our kids in a bubble, they are likely to encounter kids and even adults who have recently gotten live virus vaccines. All you can do is boost his immune system. Do you know what his vit d level is?? For adequate flu prevention, it should be about 60-80ng/l. Any parent supplementing with vit d should get a baseline to go on. If you just go by general guidelines, you may not raise it enough. If I went by the general guidelines my son would require 1000mg/day. I know now he requires much more to maintain adequate levels. I test his level every 6 months and adjust his dose accordingly.

[SilverMoon010]

Thanks guys.  I know I can't keep him in a bubble but I think just being in NJ and NJ requiring the flu vaccine that I realize just about every kid in his class will probably have had the vaccine and will shed. It is frustrating to even have to deal with this stuff. His chances of catching the flu are greater because of the flu shot!  Makes no sense. 

Originally Posted by Marnica 

I share your frustration about flumist, but honestly there is not much you can do about it. Short of keeping our kids in a bubble, they are likely to encounter kids and even adults who have recently gotten live virus vaccines. All you can do is boost his immune system. Do you know what his vit d level is?? For adequate flu prevention, it should be about 60-80ng/l. Any parent supplementing with vit d should get a baseline to go on. If you just go by general guidelines, you may not raise it enough. If I went by the general guidelines my son would require 1000mg/day. I know now he requires much more to maintain adequate levels. I test his level every 6 months and adjust his dose accordingly.

No, I haven't gotten him tested for his D level but I have been meaning to do that.  That's definitely something I should do before the school year if I can get there.  Do you do the test yourself, or do you take him to a doc to get it done? I remember thinking of purchasing a kit online so I could do it myself but it was a bit pricey and plus I wasn't sure about doing it myself.  I wonder if my naturopath would do it.  I never asked her.
 

Edited by SilverMoon010 - 8/23/11 at 1:54pm

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by SilverMoon010 

Thanks guys.  I know I can't keep him in a bubble but I think just being in NJ and NJ requiring the flu vaccine that I realize just about every kid in his class will probably have had the vaccine and will shed. It is frustrating to even have to deal with this stuff. His chances of catching the flu are greater because of the flu shot!  Makes no sense. 

No, I haven't gotten him tested for his D level but I have been meaning to do that.  That's definitely something I should do before the school year if I can get there.  Do you do the test yourself, or do you take him to a doc to get it done? I remember thinking of purchasing a kit online so I could do it myself but it was a bit pricey and plus I wasn't sure about doing it myself.  I wonder if my naturopath would do it.  I never asked her.
 

 I've had his level done by his doc, but since I do it every 6 months I do it myself. I joined the vitamin d action study at grassroots health. They send me a kit every 6 months, it's a finger stick - my ds barely notices it - fill out a questionaire which they use to compile data and I get the results posted to my private account which I can log onto and check. http://www.grassrootshealth.net/