There are many difficult moments that accompany motherhood, but you will agree that seeing your little one ill is the worst one. As parents, we do everything we can to try and keep our kids away from becoming ill or feeling the pain. But, sooner or later, no matter how hard you try, your kid ends up getting sick, and it is heart breaking always.
When your kid gets sick — say, with something as common as cold, runny nose, cough, headache https://bit.ly/2oO1LmC, or may be fever; something not life-threatening but is definitely an unpleasant feeling to see your child who can barely express the pain and irritability they are going through.
As a mother I always ensured a hygienic and clean environment for my child and hence was confident of keeping all infection away from my little princess until I attended an event on –Influenza Awareness Bloggers Meet where such myths were busted.
The event had Dr Mukesh Gupta – Gynaecologist/ Obstetrician with 16 years of experience in his field and Dr UdayAnanthpai – Pediatrician who comes with 29 years of rich experience , interacted with all the mothers to make us aware on Influenza. Also we had a Mom celebrity GeneliaDeshmukh present at the event talk about her experiences as a mother and tackling Flu.
So now you would be wondering, if your child is really at the risk of getting FLU?
As Dr Uday says, most of us confidently assume we are not susceptible to Flu. However, busting this statement Dr Uday said“Everyone is susceptible and our body is exposed to many risks on a daily basis” Further more, he said, :You believe your child is safe as you send your child to a clean and air-conditioned school. Good schools may have AC, but one infected child may spread flu to others. So any child is at high risk of getting influenza irrespective of the hygienic environment he is in.
Also if you are an expecting mother, you are at a high risk of having Flu, explained DR Mukesh, as the immunity power of a human body falls during pregnancy. Flu is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant women than in women who are not pregnant. Pregnant women with flu may also bring in complications for their unborn baby.
Let’s talk about, how you can prevent this and protect yourself and your little one?
Precaution starts even before you conceive. Dr Mukesh emphasised that a pregnant woman should take a flu vaccine, even before she gets pregnant. Only a healthy body can bring a healthy baby, and vaccination during pre conception is an ideal time. If missed at pre conception, it can be taken anytime during the pregnancy.
Samuhik Vaccination is the ideal way you can protect your entire family from getting flu. Flu spreads by babies coming into contact of Flu affected people when they touch or cough or sneeze . So it’s best that the entire family – parents, grandparents and even caretakers of the baby get vaccinated. Genelia supported this, as she mentioned – “My elder child may carry a flu virus and my younger child may get infected. So it is important to protect them both and get the whole family vaccinated”
When is the best time to get yourself, the family and the child vaccinated?
Dr Uday explained, Vaccines may take 4 to 6 weeks to develop complete immunity in your body, so you must take it before any epidemic like swine flu breaks out. Also he added, “April, May, June is the best period to take influenza vaccination for children and whole family for complete prevention against flu”. Also most importantly, this should be repeated every year through lifetime.
While interacting with mommies, Genelia mentioned – No mother must be a Worrier, she’s a Warrior. Best way to tackle your questions about flu is by discussing it with your doctor.
Moreover Vaccinating Doctors can be found in every locality with a simple search by a pincode. In case, one is looking for a doctor, here is a simple way to find Doctors who vaccinate. Your search for a doctor is just a click away from this link ( http://www.mothersagainstinfluenza.in/doctor-list.html ). Also if you want to know more about influenza, you can find some credible information here – ( http://www.mothersagainstinfluenza.in/ ).
In this fight of #MOMVSFLU let’s all join hands and win strong as warriors against FLU. We have to vaccinate ourselves and our child to make sure that, others around us and children around your child are protected against it too.
“‘Disclaimer: I attended a discussion on influenza awareness facilitated by Abbott India Limited. Any opinion expressed in this blog is my personal opinion and not the opinion of Abbott India Limited. Abbott India Limited does not assume any liability for the content of the blog. The blog post is not meant to be a replacement for a doctor consultation, nor is it a medical recommendation or prescription of treatment for babies having Influenza. Any reader of this blog or their family members suffering from Influenza should specifically consult his/her doctor for the same and follow the suggested course of treatment.’ ”
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Stay Healthy
Happy Parenting.
Cheni Adukia 