Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Subject Topic: swine flu and pregnancy Post ReplyPost New Topic
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wifemommy
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 6:37pm | IP Logged Quote wifemommy

I was talkng to my midwife about this a few months ago and she said a big problem is when the women get sick Dr are afraid to order x-rays in a timely matter and women are getting really sick with pnuemonia before they are treated appropriately sooo if you should get sick and have any trouble breathing push for the xray....lead sheilds protect the baby from radiation but a really sick mom can be BAD     Annie
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CrunchyMom
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 6:39pm | IP Logged Quote CrunchyMom

I wonder if part of the pregnancy risk regarding swine flu particularly is the Vit. D deficiency. There has been some indication that the majority of victims of swine flu who died were deficient in Vit. D, and Vit D is known to help prevent influenza. Pregnant women are more likely to be vitamin deficient than the rest of the population as her reserves are going to the baby.

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melanie
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 6:59pm | IP Logged Quote melanie

This is interesting. I rarely get sick, but when I'm pregnant I always get sick, usually with the flu. In fact, the only time I've had the flu in recent years has been when I've been pregnant!

We recently had a little scare...the kids had a bug, and I did too. I got more sick than they did, and started having lots of respiratory problems...I have asthma anyway. I was convinced I had swine flu! But my swab was negative.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 7:37pm | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Also realize that they're not really testing for H1N1 anymore.. they'll test you and if it's Type A influenza they will simply tell you that it's H1N1.

Except that the most common flus are also Type A!! H1N1 is just one of many. Your typical seasonal flu is usually a Type A as well.

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teachingmyown
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 8:52pm | IP Logged Quote teachingmyown

I was reading up on the swine flu the other day, and on Dr. Sears website (askdrsears.com, I think) he states that he finds the recommendation for pregnant women to get the vaccine scary because it is untested. Just an FYI.

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KackyK
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 9:11pm | IP Logged Quote KackyK

My 1yold was tested for the flu. She's had ear infections and keeps coming down with a fever on her antibiotics (another issue!). Anyways, they wanted to test her to be sure. She was negative. But I realized all they said to me was "we're going to test her for the flu". Then when I left I asked...so was that for the swine flu or the seasonal flu...the pediatrician just said "for type A flu". At that point baby was not happy so I just kept walking.



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melanie
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 9:51pm | IP Logged Quote melanie

Thought I'd pass along this info I got today...seems good and easy/cheap to try!

----------------------------------------------------
I hadn't heard of some of these...........
> This from Deanne who is a VP over at Baylor Plano Hospital.
> Just trying to keep you all healthy! Dr. Mehta is an infectious disease
> physician and this was his unofficial note to his friends and likewise to
> mine. Here is to your health this flu season.
>
> Dr Mehta has sent this unoffical note to friends:
> H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory
> tract and proliferates (only) there. The only portals of entry are the
> nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's
> almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all
> precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as
> proliferation is.
> While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1
> infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and
> development of secondary infections, some very simple steps - not fully
> highlighted in most official communications - can be practiced:
>
> 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official
> communications).
>
> 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. *Resist all temptations to touch any
> part of face (unless while eating, bathing, etc).
> 3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't
> trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/
> nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple
> gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has
> the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected
> one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful
> preventative method.
>
> 4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with
> warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti
> (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard
> once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt
> water is very effective in bringing down viral population.
> 5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C
> (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C
> tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
>
> 6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has
> the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off
> proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot
> survive, proliferate or do any harm.
> All these are simple ways to prevent, within means of most households,
> and certainly much less painful than to wait in long queues outside public
> hospitals.

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KauaiCatholic
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 10:04pm | IP Logged Quote KauaiCatholic

melanie wrote:
I was convinced I had swine flu! But my swab was negative.


I'm glad you are OK! praise God and keep washing those hands!

but I do want to pass on a warning that came from a neonatal nurse in Tacoma. apparently some of the 3rd trimester pregnancy deaths that have occurred were moms who were tested only by swab, which came back negative so they were sent home, only to develop pneumonia, which, unfortunately, ultimately became fatal. in some cases pneumonia developed much more quickly than expected (matter of hours instead of days, maybe due to the immune system issue someone already addressed?) although in the case this nurse experienced personally, the baby was saved! so there's some bright news in this scary post.

I really don't mean to be scaring anybody. but I do want to pass on relevant information when it comes from a trusted medical source.

another thing I have learned this flu season: why the pneumonia danger is twofold for pregnant women. the lungs are more porous during pregnancy so they are more susceptible to viruses, and since they can't expand to fight off infection it is more likely to become dangerous. thought that was interesting to know.

I am praying for anyone and everyone who is pondering this, especially anyone I may have alarmed. I truly don't mean to freak anybody out, but I personally want to be informed; it helps me be more vigilant in taking care of myself and my punkins. I really appreciated the common-sense post someone included earlier in this thread; we're all on elderberry syrup and extra doses of Vit. C around here. guess now I'll go look for Vit. D too.

prayers for all this winter season ...

ETA: wow! just saw the post before mine: nose washing! what an awesome idea! thanks for more common-sense suggestions ... now I can call tea breaks therapeutic!

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Angel
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Posted: Oct 27 2009 at 7:21am | IP Logged Quote Angel

You know, after reading this thread, I am kicking myself for not doing more with my elderberries this past summer. We had two bushes that bore this year, but I had no clue what to do with them and we were so busy, and I dropped the ball. Now I just shelled out money for the syrup! Jodie, maybe you know how to put up elderberries for future use as flu rememdy?

I also just wanted to slide in some anecdotal information... just because I feel like there's so much anxiety out there and it's hard for me to separate "truth" from "media hysteria", but... I felt a little calmer about the whole thing when my sister called back in Sept. to tell me that her kids had come down with H1N1 (tested positive)... but it seemed just like a regular flu to them. My mother was quarantined for a week, but never came down with it (she is in her early 50's), but what was more interesting to me is that my sister never came down with it either, and she's in her 20's. Not pregnant, but... it did make me wonder if there are more antibodies floating around out there than previously assumed.

I do remember about 6 years ago a horrible flu season with a Type A flu, in which my dh came down with pneumonia, we both ran 104 degree fevers, and flu shots only protected 1 out of my then 3 children... we had to take my dd, who was 4 at the time, to the ER in the middle of the night with a 106 degree fever and a sore throat so bad she couldn't touch her chin to her chest. (Fortunately, it was just a sore throat!) Anyway... from what my sister told me, things didn't seem as bad as that this year? The flu has finally reached upstate, and I guess there are a lot of absences from local schools, but we're sort of out of the loop here and I'm not sure how bad it *really* is in this area.

I think almost everybody's going to have had the flu before most of the vaccine is even available.

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sewcrazy
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Posted: Oct 27 2009 at 8:49am | IP Logged Quote sewcrazy

My 16 year old son was one of the first to get H1N1 back in April. Lukily for us, he got it the week before the frenzy hit the news so we weren't freaked out. We treated like anyother flu. Noone else got sick (which I thought was a little odd) and my son was better in about 6 days.

My 15 year old was eposed last week. We doubled up his vit. D and dosed him with extra elderberry syrup. He had a low grade fever and slept for 36 hours. Then he was fine.

The media frenzy is very scary to me. We have friends that are drs. They called to warn us off the vacine as it completely untested! Also I have a friend with a 2 year old that had a heart transplant last year so is on immuno suppressants. Children's Memorial Hospital told her the vaccine wouldn't be truly effective against catching it and that its untested nature made it not worth getting.

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JodieLyn
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Posted: Oct 27 2009 at 11:34am | IP Logged Quote JodieLyn

Angel, you can make a syrup with elderberries and put in canning jars. Or you can freeze them or dry them to make into a tea or syrup.

Honestly, there's a pain in the neck to process so I would likely have done the same as you and missed it.

I haven't made the syrup but I've made jam and they are difficult since they have a seed in the middle and the berries are small. But making a syrup shouldn't be quite as hard as a jam since you would cook the berries first and could drain through a jelly bag/cheesecloth type of process.

Also, I think a lot of the absences from school and work and such are that any illness is keeping people at home like it should.. that people were getting so lacksidaisical about illness that it was things like.. well it's only a sniffle or only a cough etc and would send them off to school anyway. And now people are keeping them home and schools and other places are having more stringent rules about not coming if you're sick.

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