Swine Flue Protocol At The Pediatricians Office

My little one has been sick since last Sunday. Nothing unusual, just runny nose, fever, throat ache. All your typical symptoms of the flu. She really had a rough day yesterday. So this morning I decided to make a doctors appointment just to be safe.

As I was making the appointment with the nurse this morning she gave me some really out of the ordinary instructions. She said that since my little one has these symptoms I had to use their back entrance to the building. The back entrance they use for contagious disease patients. She stated it was due to the spread of the swine flu or H1N1 virus. I thought okay, no big deal, right?

So we get there and I find the side entrance and as I'm approaching the door I spot a sign. The sign explains the symptoms of swine flue and what to do if you think you have the swine flue. A nurse finally greats us at the back door and asks my little one to put on a mask. The little one was not allowed in the building without a surgical mask. So of course my little one followed instructions. Once we made it to our room we were greeted by another nurse who checked all my little one's vitals. The nurse was also wearing a surgical mask, gloves, and was totally covered in plastic scrubs. She was even wearing those little plastic booties. Kind of like the outfits they wear in surgery. Not your normal attire for the pediatricians office. I wasn't alarmed at this point, but once the doctor came in I was a little concerned.

The doctor finally arrived in totally body Armor. She was wearing a surgical mask, gloves, the plastic scrubs and a plastic face shield, just like the ones they wear in surgery. I was a little taken aback. Actually it kind of freaked me out and yet at the same time I was glad to know they were taking these kind of precautions. It seems like they are all geared up for a huge rush of children with swine flue. Yikes!!

I did ask a few questions and the dress attire is all due to the risk of the swine flue. She stated people who are at the most risk are between the ages of New born to 54 years of age. Doesn't this sound crazy. Usually it's the older people that are more at risk. When I say older I mean senior citizen age group. The doctor continued to explain that back in the 1970's there was another scare of the swine flue and a vaccine was available at the time. At the time the vaccine that was given to at risk people made them sick. The vaccine did not totally immunize people, but did leave them with some type of defense against the swine flue.

I guess I'm just not sure how to feel about all this. I'm not sure I want the vaccine or to let my little one have it. Gosh, what to do. About 15 years ago my mother, who works as a nurse, was vaccinated against the flue and had a terrible reaction. She came down with Guillain-Barré syndrome which was caused from the vaccine. Today she has many health problems including neurological damage all from one little vaccine. I heard on the news a few days ago that a swine flue vaccine will be available in early October, which contains two injections. The two injections have to be taken a few weeks apart. I also heard that medical officials expect the swine flue to reappear in a stronger version this coming fall and winter. Yikes! Just seeing the medical community all geared up for this really got me thinking today. What are your thoughts on all this. I'd love to hear your input.

My little one is doing just fine today. No swine flue for her. She just came down with an everyday virus that needs to run its course. No fever today and she seems to be in better spirits. (Mommy Sighs)