Results tagged "Influenza"

UGH.

I have the flu. THE FLU. Influenza…(insert prescription medication commercial voice– I call her Linda) is commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses), that affects birds and mammals. The most common symptoms of the disease are chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness/fatigue and general discomfort…. — Just in case you were wondering, and thank you Linda. I’ve been entertaining both Linda and the Flu since Tuesday — or at least that’s when they decided to tap me on the shoulder and notify me of their presence. Now, every time I get the chills, Linda monotonously chimes in “Chills or rigor is a shaking occurring during a high fever. It occurs because cytokines and prostaglandins are released as part of an immune response and increase the set point for body temperature in the hypothalamus. “Rigor” is sometimes considered a synonym for “chills”.” Because I needed to know.

And, I hear you. WHAT DO YOU MEAN? But, YES. I did get the flu shot — months ago. WE ALL DID. Even Allergy Boy was allowed to get one this year. We aren’t anti. In fact — WE LOVE to be vaccinated… HOWEVER, apparently the FLU is just like people and comes with many different faces, or as Linda calls them “Strains” (variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes) and what people are vaccinated for is really just the BIG FLU. Not this little flu, of which I only have a mild touch of– making me cringe at what it must feel like to have the BIG FLU…. As I lay around freezing and sweating — every part of my body screaming “JUST TAKE ME NOW”, as I grab my own shoulders yelling “MAN UP!”. It’s a delicate dance and it really doesn’t help that Linda sits around here laughing and dropping bits of popcorn all over the house. The dog won’t eat popcorn.. so now I have to clean.

Add to this that the baby is teething. Which isn’t only a comedy of errors, but also a juxtaposition of fate SO UNFAIR that one can only sit at the edge of their seats in frozen horror. One must COMFORT the baby that won’t sleep because a pain larger than any adult human can stand is attacking her very being — but not too close, you have the FLU!…. I know you’re watching.

Shut it, Linda.

But the good news is that I’m on the “upside” of this little touch of flu… Now if we can just get that tooth to appear, maybe sleep will reenter our lives as well. AND Speaking of something that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the Flu, but could be relatable to teeth in some zoned out health starved mind, is that over the weekend we discovered FROZEN BASIL. Which, to say we discovered it is a bold and, albeit beautifully brandished lie — Because Not Martha told us about it first.

We freeze our own Basil at the end of each summer, so when I first saw the Dorot packages in the grocery store freezer I was overcome by the sillies and laughed my way through the shopping aisles like a mad person. Even the guy that talks to his pocket protector while he stocks the shelves looked at me like I was Dr. Evil. But by this time of the winter, nearing Spring, our Basil supply is gone and the scraps are rather freezer burnt, so we hang our heads and wait — over salting and turning to the dried out options. I had honestly forgotten about the freezer aisle incident until about a month or so ago when Not Martha was brave enough to try.

The end result of our throwing a few cubes into our sauce over the weekend was really, quite pleasant — AND it’s nice to know that there are a few little cubes of fresh love in the freezer should we need, you know… Basil. But I do recommend that you head on over to read Not Martha’s review, because– not only are her pictures filled with slightly more deliciousness, but Linda is worried that you’ve been here a while now — and who knows if I’m still contagious…. “The boundary between contagious and non-contagious infectious diseases is not perfectly drawn….”

 

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After sitting in the H1N1 tank disguised as Dr. F’s waiting room for almost over an hour… My name was called.

Dr. F: Why do you want to get a flu shot?
Me: Why, do I have to qualify for one?

Dr. F silently glares at me over his glasses.

Me: Well, because you pinched me last winter when I came to you dying of influenza – 102 fever, glands swollen to the size of grapefruits. Then you yelled at me. Also, my son, who is two, can’t get the either of the flu shots. I don’t usually enjoy injecting anything into my body, but I feel that I might be a good candidate.

Dr. F: Your son needs to get both shots, why won’t you allow him to have them?
Me: I would most definitely give him the shots but he’s allergic to eggs and both vaccines are grown in eggs.
Dr. F: Did you take him to an Allergist?
Me: (in my head) No, a Veterinarian.
Me: Yes, Dr. B. He is B to the A awe-some.

Dr. F: What kind of test did he have?
Me: Blood
Dr. F: Are you sure the results were 100%?
Me: Yes.
Dr. F: You should double check.
Me: I’ve checked, but also there isn’t a Pediatrician or Allergist alive that will give the flu shots to a 2 year old that is even remotely allergic to eggs.

Dr. F: Well your husband needs the flu shot too.
Me: He was here on Friday and you gave him one.
Dr. F: He’s not on this list – he didn’t get one.
Me: I was waiting in the car outside while he came in to get one.
Dr. F: Why were you waiting in the car, you could have come in to get one too.
Me: I was in the car so that we wouldn’t have to bring our son into your infested waiting room and I did come in after he had his shot but the wait was too long so I’m here now.
Dr. F: Well he’s not on this list.
Me: Well, Dr. F, the list is wrong.

We silently stare at each other.

Dr. F: RUTH!?!?! Can you check the other list to see if Mr. Sal had his flu shot on Friday?
Me: The “other” list?

Dr. F says nothing and gets up to prepare my flu shot.

Me: Dr. F, the “other” list?

Dr. F walks over to me, asks me to roll up my sleeve and then–with all the mighty force in his aging 5′ body, proceeds to jam the flu shot into my arm muscle. That was five days ago and my arm is still sore.

Me: Ouch!

Dr. F: RUTH?!?!?

Ruth: He’s on this list. He was here and got the shot.

Dr. F: (not looking at me) Okay, well at least he’s on A list.

Dr. F leaves the room.

Ruth: NEXT PATIENT!!!!!

  

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I was just told that if I write about this experience that things might make more sense to me when I’m finished. I’m not so sure about that but here it is… Yesterday, I drove Will to his pediatrician for a flu shot. This isn’t out of the ordinary, except for the fact that they didn’t give him one.

Now, let it be known that Will has food allergies AND I have always been very forthcoming about this fact with every doctor, relative, waiter, friend, you name them — they’ve been told, Will is allergic to eggs, peanuts and cow’s milk. Not only is it practically written on my forehead in big orange letters, it’s the first thing I say when I wake up in the morning and the last thing my husband and I tell each other before turning out the lights. I have written about this before, and I have researched the topic beyond belief. There is a huge warning light that goes off when Will walks into the pediatrician’s office–ALLERGIC, ALLERGIC.

But a few weeks back, at his 21 month visit, the very same doctor that didn’t inoculate yesterday suggested that we go ahead and schedule a visit for his flu shot.

It was between these two visits that I was reading about food allergies when it was brought to my attention that the flu vaccination is grown in eggs. Not just the regular flu, but the new and shiny H1N1 is as well–which was also suggested that he have. So… Will, who was diagnosed with food allergies at 4 months of age, and has had two flu shots in his lifetime to date–was in danger of the shots he had been given? My mind wanders back… when he was born we weren’t aware of the allergies, so how could we know? When he was one, we were in the process of packing him up to leave the doctors office when the nurse suggested that “Oh, wait, let us give him a flu shot before you go so you don’t have to come back.. ” Yeah, okay, good idea.”. This was despite the massive red flag waving above Will’s head–ALLERGIC ALLERGIC ALLERGIC. We switched doctors a few months later for a whole bucket of other reasons, none having to do with the allergies.

But wait, Will has had the flu shot twice in his lifetime without any allergic reactions.

Now, allergies can develop – and they can decrease. They can huddle in your body for half of your life not doing anything and then suddenly, without warning run amuck causing all kinds of unpleasantries… I know because it happened to me with shellfish. At age two I was riding around on my trike gnawing on a clam – at age 27 I had hives everywhere – from my eyes to the BOTTOMS OF MY FEET, after eating shrimp. When Will ingests eggs or milk, he breaks out in a fit of eczema – we do not know his reaction to peanuts because he’s never been exposed, and we are SCARED TO DEATH OF NUTS. This reaction–the rash, we were told by his allergist when he was one, is considered non-life threatening or non-severe. So that should explain why he never reacted to the flu shot and it SHOULD be okay for him to have another.

So, we drove to the pediatrician’s office yesterday and it was all fun-in-games until I mentioned my findings to the doctor. ALLERGIC, ALLERGIC – the lights were going off, the chart was right there, and as we discussed how non-severe his allergy was, the nurse left to get the shot ready… I asked, for more fun-in-games, do you have the paperwork from the allergist? She did. And right there – scribbled doctors scroll – “SEVERELY ALLERGIC TO EGGS, MILK and PEANUTS”.

For the first time in my life, after hearing unbelievable news – I became dizzy, I fell into the chair, I couldn’t breathe. The doctor gave me some water–and after taking a sip I thought, was that water or rubbing alcohol. Will was busy playing with a stethoscope and had NO IDEA that for the past 22 months I have treated his allergies like that of well – anything non-severe. We have eggs and milk in our house. I wash dishes all together. I use the same skillets. I kiss him after eating cheese. I tell people — its not that bad, he just gets a rash – tra la la. I have convinced myself that he will grow out of these allergies. And upon hearing that his allergist TOLD US ONE THING AND THEN WROTE SOMETHING ELSE IN HIS CHART, my mind left the room and went into the crazy world of WHAT-IFS. Not to mention that his previous and current pediatrician had failed to read the allergists WARNINGS. We are considering our legal options.

Okay, so you’ve read this whole thing so far… I’ll try to keep the afterwards short. Will is fine–absolutely awesome, actually. He didn’t get the flu shot and we are taking him to a new allergist in a few weeks AND in his 22 months, none of the WHAT-IFs ever happened.. I, however, am still shaking… and my husband has torn up every phone book he could find. If I had it my way, I would never take him to a member of the medical community ever again but thats just silly-talk. Considering that he never reacted to the flu shot, chances are that his allergies are not severe and the original allergist was just flitting about and wrote the wrong thing down. Other wise the unthinkable would have happened a very long time ago… Right?  

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