Flu Season Is Just Beginning, Get Your Child Vaccinated

A new report by the government has found that more and more children are dieing from the flu because it is often complicated with a staph infection. The flu vaccine itself has been long recommended for children under the age of 5 but more than half of the 73 children who died from the flu between the 2005 and 2006 flu seasons were between the ages of 5 and 17, therefore it would be a wise idea to get your child vaccinated no matter what the age. Each year roughly 20,000 children are hospitalized because of the flu. The percentage of those who also had bacterial infections jumped from 6% to almost 36%. Most had staph infections, and 60% of those involved the dangerous MRSA bug, which is resistant to antibiotics.

The flu season has just begun and there are plenty of vaccines to go around.

Pain tip: To reduce the feeling of pain ask your nurse, or your child's nurse, to squeeze the area she is injecting during the entire process. Oh, and if you're pregnant or planning to get pregnant make sure to ask for a thermisol-free vaccine which contains no mercury as a preservative.