Once again, my bias for the American Lung Association (ALA) shines through with today’s post! The ALA just released their Faces of Influenza® website and it is powerful. Before children with asthma, I never gave a second thought to flu season. I just endured the flu and called it a call or two. Reality soon hit home when the flu meant weeks, yes weeks-not days of sick children struggling to breath and nebulizing for hours on end. No one slept and the dangers of flu made their presence known. Therefore, in the spirit of good health and no missed school days, please visit the Faces of Influenza® and take a few moments to plan ahead for the flu season.
The site is sobering and quite sad at moments. You will also find a link to help you find local flu shot locations. For many of us, the flu shot is out of the question for various reasons. If you are in this group, then finding a flu shot is not realistic. Due to egg allergies, my children never received the flu shot. We simply visited our physician in the fall and mapped out a fresh new Asthma Action Plan and a conscious plan of how we were going to stay healthy. This meant avoiding birthday parties or social events if participants were sick, getting to bed on time, eating well, drinking lots of water and avoiding poor nutrition (I turn my back on corn dogs during flu season).
Our goal was to approach the flu season with the same spirit that a soccer player prepares for her season; conditioning, rest and preparation. The flu shot is not the magic bullet to avoid getting sick, but it can help if this is one of your options. We say no to invitations of the kids are pooped out-we don’t push their energy or immune systems. Reader Judie just reminded me about hand washing. We wash our hands as soon as we get home, before eating and after school (thanks Judie)! We take advantage of the cooler weather to gather around the fireplace to relax and hang out instead of rushing from activity to activity. There is a silver lining to slowing life down.
I also stock our medicine cabinet with everything that might be needed for our Asthma Action Plan since I openly and freely do not like 8:45pm mad dash (trying to bead the 9pm closing time) to the pharmacy in search of Xopenex! You don’t know how many times I begged kind pharmacists to keep their doors open.
photo courtesy of trendir.com
So, please do visit the Faces of Influenza website and remember that the flu kills and it is just heart breaking to view the faces of children and adults who left this planet too soon due to flu. The good news is that we can do something about it!
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I would greatly appreciate your vote! I’ve been nominated for the Circle of Mom’s Top 25 Food Allergy Mom blogs…
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
Bravo, Caroline, for highlighting the need to respect this virus. The ALA presentation is valuable, too. Of course, prevention is best & it starts with handwashing, a good night’s sleep, a healthy diet, and a positive mental health environment. The influenza vaccine is important, too. While most people will never actually have ‘the flu’, the vaccine can help boost the immune system which fights all of those other yucky bugs that wreak havoc on our health every winter.
I forgot handwashing!!!! Geez….Excellent point…I’ll add that right now.