Mumps?!?

[tangentgirl]

PS to the OP - try 1972, not 1952. Way to make the majority of us on this board who've had the mumps and chicken pox - two more diseases that make kids feel pretty sick for a while and that's all - feel old.

Wasn't trying to make anyone feel old. Seriously, thought that was one that was all but eradicated in the 50s. Never ever heard of anyone actually getting the mumps until this weekend. Almost jumped out of my chair when the doc said it.

Born in '73 here, so not quite the chicken of the springtime, but it's all relative. And I had my chicken pox, oh did I ever. (Very distinct memory of being about 8, sitting in a Brownie meeting, thinking, why am I so itchy? and then thinking Ohhhhhdang. Or whatever kid-like curse I used at the time.) Anyways, sorry for any offense.

**

In general, I'm like, vaccinate the &*$& outta me, please. If I don't catch this crap from the kid, I'm going to go redo the MMR next time I hit the doctor, and maybe ask about anything else I should get.

However, I'm on the fence on the flu stuff. Gotten the flu shot a couple of times, gotten really sick. Plus, my mom has Guillane-Barre, which has a relationship with the flu vaccine, and it's got me pretty skeeved. Seriously, you do not want that.

On the other hand, I got the flu at new year's this year, and was laid out for weeks. Sickest I've been in ages. Pretty sure if I had been in some sort of high risk category that would have had serious ramifications. I think that if I end up in one of those high risk categories, I'll roll the dice and get the flu shot.

[tangentgirl]

In other news, my sister is on the mend.

[bmccasland]

In other news, my sister is on the mend.

Yay!!

[Crankin]

Whoever said that some people call their illness the "flu" very casually, is very correct. Just because you have a cold and a few aches, it's not the flu. I have had the flu once. It had to have been the worst thing I've ever had; worse than pneumonia. It came on suddenly, at work, and by the time I got home, I had a 104 degree fever that lasted for 5 days. DH was out of town and I was depending on a 10 and 8 year old to take care of me! Then, I developed a secondary respiratory infection, bronchitis, possibly pneumonia, and I had to be on antibiotics for 2 weeks. I was sick in March and I didn't stop coughing until May. I couldn't go back to teaching at the gym for 8 weeks.
I got the flu shot in 2009, with all of the hoopla for the swine flu. The only reason I hadn't taken it before, is that I really am allergic to Thimerisol, the preservative that is in the vaccine; it used to be in contact lens solution and I developed a nice allergy to it. My doctor refuses to get the preservative free vaccine, so I usually can find it at CVS Minute Clinic. It's very hard to find.
I guess I should go and get my shot.

[goride]

I get a flu shot every year. I sometimes still get a very mild case of the flu in late February or early March. Before I started getting the vaccine, I had the flu 3 years in a row and the respiratory symptoms lasted for 3 months each time. Regarding pertussis, my son also had a bad reaction to the first DPT when he was a baby, and in subsequent vaccines received DT only. Freshman year of high school he came down with whooping cough. It took three visits to the doctor before he was diagnosed and received proper medical treatment.