I have never, ever been a fan of getting vaccines. To be fair, my mom wasn't a fan of taking me to get them either. She would actually try to pawn me off on some other family member to take me for shots when I was little (you know, back when every single doctors appointment seems to bring along some boosters). I would scream louder than any other child or infant in the office. You would think that the doctor was amputating a body part from the volume of noises coming out of my little girl body....all before the needles ever even touched my skin. I'm not kidding. Ask my Aunt how horrifying the experience was for her when she tried to help my mom out by taking me.
Here I am now, at 24 years old, and I still cringe at the thought of being poked. I still get anxious and sometimes I feel really sick from working myself up. I don't still scream (although a tear may still grace the corner of my eye) and i'm sure the nurses appreciate that. I don't know why I do this though. The size of the hypo that injects the vaccine is TINY. It really doesn't hurt! It's the aftermath that hurts. Wait, there's sort of a lie in there. Sometimes the vaccine burns or stings a bit but that it really isn't enough to be truly painful. Except for the tetanus shot. That one hurt more than I can even begin to tell you (it probably doesn't help that I also had to have vials of blood drawn at the same time- getting poked by something that has some patient's blood on it is not taken lightly!). So when it comes to elective vaccines, you can bet that I am NOT signing up to get them.
Enter Influenza Season 2011...dun dun dun. I have never in my life gotten a flu vaccine. Last year I even had to write a paragraph for the hospital I work at explaining why I wouldn't get one. Andy, on the other hand, has gotten one every year for the last 5 years (maybe even before that...i'm not sure) since the Navy gives you no choice on what the inject into you. The thing is though, I don't even think I have ever had the flu. Colds, yes. Flu, no. But here I am, 35 weeks pregnant, getting a flu shot. What gives?
Newborns, infants and children have a harder time fighting the flu virus than healthy adults. The same flu that makes us adults feel like death, can actually be fatal to small children. Approximately 20,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized every year from the flu. Now here's the kicker. Infants under 6 months of age are not able to receive the vaccine.
Our little girl will be born during this years lovely flu season. So I am being a grown up and getting past my fear of shots so that I possibly won't catch & pass the flu to her. I say possibly because the flu shot does not make you completely immune for that season. It's not God in a syringe, unfortunately. If by chance I get the flu within the next 2 weeks (which is about how long it takes for the vaccine to take full effect), I could end up in the hospital. Being pregnant actually lowers your immune system responses because your body's number 1 priority is growing a human....not fighting off the silly virus cells that creep into your body. Really, your body reduces how effective your immune system so that the baby isn't "rejected" and treated like the foreign body it actually is. How weird is that? (I think the physiology of the human body is just so darn fascinating!).
Since I would prefer to not be admitted to the hospital earlier than necessary, I marched my not so happy butt to RiteAid today and got my flu shot. Well okay fine, I didn't march. My body aches just getting in to the car (the same car that I used to get me to RiteAid). I filled out my paperwork and within 10 minutes I was out of there. My consolation prize? A coupon book...with over $100 of savings!!! That was it. How disappointing. I should have treated myself to an ice cream cone or something more exciting.
I will admit, my arm freaking hurt within minutes. Maybe that's just because I'm still the same little girl who sounded like she was being brutally beaten, 20 years ago, when getting a shot.
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