The flu season is just beginning, but already a staggering 76 children have died from the H1N1 virus, most of whom had a developmental disability or an underlying medical condition.
The numbers are sobering, but don’t take them lying down, says Georgina Peacock, a developmental pediatrician who is co-leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s children’s health team responding to H1N1.
Instead, it’s time to take action, Peacock tells Disability Scoop. Here’s how:
Identify if you’re at risk
First off, determine if you’re at high risk for H1N1, or swine flu. Unlike the traditional seasonal flu which targets the elderly and the very young, H1N1 is predominantly affecting children and young adults.
The following groups are at high risk, according to Peacock:
• Children under 2-years-old.
• Individuals with neurologic disorders like epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disability or developmental delay. This risk is further heightened for those who have multiple disabilities or respiratory problems.
• People who have problems with immune functioning, heart disease or their endocrine system, plus those who have conditions like diabetes or a metabolic disorder.
Create a flu plan
If you’re at high risk, you’ll need to take quick action if you do get the flu, so being prepared is paramount, Peacock says.
Get in touch with your doctor before any symptoms are present to create a game plan just in case. It’s important to know how to get in touch with your doctor right away if you suspect swine flu.
“Each health care provider works a little differently,” Peacock says. “It’s better for parents to talk about this up front to know what to do because we know that it’s important for people with high risk conditions to get early evaluation and treatment.”
Be Proactive
In the meantime, make sure that your house is a haven of prevention. Routine hand washing and good cough etiquette are key.
This can be tough when children with disabilities are involved, so it’s important for caregivers to take the lead, Peacock says.
“If a child, for example, is coughing and they’re not able to cover that cough, then obviously the caregiver would need to assist with that,” Peacock says. “Make sure that caregivers wash their hands well and if a child puts their hands in their mouth a lot, then they’re going to have to be more vigilant to be sure that their hands are kept clean.”
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Any resources for flu shots for those of us allergic to egg whIte?
This article is incredibly flawed and incorrect. Other than the part about washing hands and covering your nose and mouth, everything is else is wrong. It really amazes me how effective drug companies are at manipulating the culture so that we allow them to sell toxic and ineffective vaccines in pharmacies, college campuses, grocery stores and countless other outlets, without taking into account medical history or doing any patient follow-up. The last thing that our children need is anything that can cause additional damage to them.
Study after study (those not unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry) has reached the same conclusion—that flu shots simply do not work as advertised. For example:
1.)Giving young children flu shots appeared to have no impact on flu-related doctor visits or hospitalizations during two recent flu seasons, according to a study published in the Oct. issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.
2.)The flu vaccine is no more effective for children than a placebo, according to a large-scale, systematic review of 51 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
3.)A study published in the Lancet just found that influenza vaccination was NOT associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia in older people. Why is this important? Because 35,000 of the 36,000 “flu” deaths the government claims happen each year are actually caused by diseases like pneumonia, and NOT the flu.
4.)In a new study published in the journal Neurotoxicology last month, researchers found that primates injected with just ONE vaccine containing thimerosal suffered significant neurological impairment when compared with those who received a saline solution injection, or no injection at all. The monkeys received a weight-adjusted amount of the vaccine preservative thimerosal, so each dose included 2 mcg’s of ethyl mercury. A human infant dose of thimerosal-containing vaccine typically contains 12.5 mcg. However, flu vaccines as well as the swine flu vaccine will contain 25 mcg of mercury per adult dose. For that to be considered safe under government guidelines, the person receiving the vaccine would need to weigh at least 55 lbs!
Vaccines have been linked to autism, ADD, ADHD, Parkinsons, ALS and Alzheimers. And you recommend giving these to our children? Please do some research next time you write an article!
Both my daughter and I are high risk for H1N1 but the vaccine isn’t available yet where we live. My daughter has Down syndrome and had a bad cold last week so I kept her home from school all week because I was afraid that with her lowered immune system she might be more susceptible to the flu.
The H1N1 vaccine isn’t available here yet but we’ll get it as soon as it comes in.