I'm 13. I have asthma. My mom doesn't believe in MD's, but I want to get the flu shot. Would it be legal and possible for me to get the flu shot?

No, as a minor one of your parents would have to consent. However, if you feel that your mom’s beliefs are endangering your life I suggest you talk to a teacher or a counselor at school.

No. It’s not likely. Do you have an older sibling or maybe your dad? Just curious, is it your mom’s religion? I’m not sure you are even in the age bracket for being at risk for swine flu. I think it is for 16 to 24 year olds but I may be wrong.

Tell an adult at school. Your life is in danger, and the school should be able to think of something.

@Alek2407 Don’t tell a 13 year old their life is in danger. You don’t know that and you may scare the hell out of them. That is not responsible. Sorry.

Probably not. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve had asthma my whole life and I have never gotten a flu shot. I’m alive and 35. Don’t stress yourself out about it, it will weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to the flu.

@Alek2407 Seriously? Not getting a minor a flu shot is not putting her life in danger, nor is it something the school has any business being involved in. Get a grip.

Being asthmatic, it is important for you to get your flu shot. Does your mother get you treatment for your asthma? Does she ever take you to a doctor for check ups or any vaccinations?
I wasn’t aware that you needed parental permission for a flu shot, but if I were you I would definitely tell a guidance counselor or call up your primary care physician and let them know your concerns, and see if they can help you.
Be prepared for your mother to find out about this though, it cannot be hidden from her. You need to tell her your concerns, because you are asthmatic and getting the flu can be very dangerous.

Whether this particular 13-year-old’s life is in danger or not cannot be deduced from their question. However, a flu shot does not weaken one’s immune system, although those who are allergic to eggs should skip them.

The H1N1 virus, dealt with in a separate shot or nasal dose, is considered to be a risk for those who weren’t alive in 1976 when a different form of Swine Flu made the rounds, so a 13 yo is within the range of high-risk cases. In addition, asthmatics often have little lung reserve so a respiratory flu (such as H1N1, which does actual damage to lung tissue) is to be avoided.

The Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee recommends that the following at-risk priority groups receive the H1N1 influenza vaccine:

• Pregnant women.

• Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age.

• Health care and emergency medical services personnel.

• All people from 6 months through 24 years of age.

• Persons age 25 through 64 with health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

As you can see, a 13 yo is right in the high risk category, especially if they attend a public school,where they come in contact with a large number of people.

In any case, there is a certain standard of care expected of parents toward their minor offspring. If such an offspring has concerns about not getting appropriate medical care, they do have a right to tell a responsible adult, who then must refer the situation to Child Protective Services.

I meant that stress will weaken the immune system.

@sarah826 Would explaining to your mom that you don’t want to die from the flu help? Most of the asthmatic kids that get H1N1 end up in the ICU if they don’t get the shot.

I’m not sure you will be able to get a court order for a flu shot? If your mom does come around make sure you get the shot and not the flu “vaccine” you inhale. If you are not going to get vaccinated just be prudent.

Don’t share food, drinks, make-up, etc with friends or family members.

Don’t touch your face! This is the BIGGEST thing you can do. If the virus is on a computer keyboard or doorknob you touch and then you touch your nose, eyes, mouth you put the virus where it can develop into illness. If you have an itch on your face use the back of your hand or wrist if you must touch your face, not the inside of your palm where you touch things.

Wash your hands, of course, but don’t get obsessed with it, the do not touch your face is the most important thing. You can wash your hands, one minute later open a door, and then boom.

Generally, I am not a Tamiflu promoter, but if you do come down with the flu it seems prudent for you to use it, although I have never read the warning on tamiflu so I would make sure it is ok for asthmatics before following my advice. Tamiflu has to be used within the first 48 hours of flu symptoms I think to be effective. Flu is high fever and cannot move out of bed. If you just have a sore throat or a little stuffy nose, you do not have the flu.

@SpatzieLover Is that true, I mean you read that somewhere or you are just talking off the top of your head? It makes sense to me that asthmatics would have more trouble with the flu, possiby leading to severe lung complications, but to say MOST is a big word.

By the way, I’m homeschooled, so there my mom is the adult at school! And, no, she doesn’t get me treated for the asthma.

@JLeslie They just dedicated a Nightline to asthmatics in ICU’s There were plenty o’ healthy kids that have been slammed with this flu, too

@sarah826 Do you belong to any homeschool groups? Is your mom the only authority figure in your home?

@sarah826 If you are home-schooled you have much less risk of catching it than people who are in school. But, it troubles me your asthma is not being addressed. I assume you have been to the doctor for it if you have that diagnosis. Do you mean you just do not take any medication daily for it?

@SpatzieLover Interesting.

@sarah826 A couple in my state has landed in jail due to the same behavior your mom is exhibiting

@JLeslie Actually, the flu (especially H1N1) isn’t as easy to transmit via hands. If you’re out in public and someone sneezes you can “catch” the flu. It enters through the mucus membranes via the air.

@JLeslie No, I don’t take any meds for it, and I’ve never had an inhaler, or anything like that. Yes, I was diagnosed with asthma in early August.

yes I belong to a homeschool group. We get together 2 times a month and we have a field trip once every 2 months (which puts me with these other kids 2 times in the next 2 weeks)

@SpatzieLover I did not mean transmission is easier through touching your face, if someone sneezes or coughs on you, obvioiusly bad. But not touching your face is a very good habit to get into.

@sarah826 Are you very symptomatic? Do you feel like you need medication? Do you have some sort of medication handy if you have an emergency attack?

I don’t want you to be panicked about getting the flu. I think it is good that you want to protect yourself, I am not trying to discourage you, but I don’t know you, so I don’t know if you are working yourself up and creating anxiety for yourself.

@sarah826 I’m a homeschool mom. You should NOT be exposed to other kids or public places w/out that vaccine. I don’t know how you’re going to convince your mom, but I do think @Darwin is right. You may indeed need to contact CPS to protect yourself.

What is the reasoning behind your mom’s dislike/distrust of MD’s?

I get the symptoms the most when I stand up too fast or exercise. I would like to have meds because I love to run around with the little kids at co-op or church. They’re important to me.
I don’t know why exactly my mom doesn’t like MD’s. She just thinks they’re all out to get you for your money or out to kill you.

and no I don’t have ANY meds in the house if I have an emergency attack.

@sarah826 That is dangerous. If you have a severe attack you NEED an inhaler. Period!

I hate MD’s for the most part, but asthma is a serious thing. Is your father in the picture, can you speak with him?

I don’t think I will have an emergency attack. The doc said I was on the lower end of the spectrum.
And my dad is in total agreement with my mom. “They’re a team”, remember?

Well, since you have been to the doctor for a diagnosis, I would assume if anything became serious they will get you medical help.

Asthma is not a death sentence. I’ve lived with it my whole life and I haven’t had an attack since I was 19, which was totally my fault.

This CPS stuff in nonsense. CPS has more important things to do, like deal with kids who are really abused and neglected.

Talk to your mom. Tell her your fears. And protect yourself. There are many ways to stop an attack aside from an inhaler.

@tinyfaery I know asthma is not a death sentence, but a parent should not act like a medical professional (unless they are one) and they should take their child to a doctor when they need it. If this girl (or guy) wants medical care and her parents seem to think it’s unnecessary, I think she needs to speak to someone. Withholding medical care, I believe, is actually a form of neglect. CPS does get involved in cases like that.

Yeah sure they get involved, but does this kid really need to be taken away from their parents? Have you ever dealt with CPS from the position of a reporter or with kids in the system? The last thing most kids would want is for CPS to get invloved in their lives. Most of the time it is NOT a good thing.

If everything that people consider neglect and abuse were dealt with by the system, every family, probably even yours, would be involved with CPS. Frankly, if a parent doesn’t want their kid to get medical treatment for something that is not an emergency or immediately life threatening it’s none of anyone’s business.

CPS doesn’t automatically take children away. In this situation, I imagine they do what they do with all parents and want contact info for the Pediatrician…if the parents can’t supply the information, they may be told they need to do something about it. I don’t know all the procedures that will occur, but I do know a 13 year old needs medical care and CPS is there for cases like this….big or small, children need protecting.

Again. Have you ever dealt with CPS or kids in the system? It is not as cut and dry as you make it to be.

I really don’t want to make it into that big of a deal. I don’t want my sister to have to go through the ordeal of me being made into Danny Hauser #2.

@tinyfaery Yes. I have had CPS called on me when my child was very young. I know what happens when they come and how they investigate. They determined the call was not warranted, and checked in with my Pediatrician and then closed the case.

It does not sound like @sarah826 is in immediate danger, and it seems like her parents do take her to the doctor when necessary.

As someone who is currently dealing with CPS and who has been doing so for the past 6 months, I can vouch for the fact that CPS does the best they can and they rarely take children away from family unless there is obvious physical abuse. Sure, some of them have a bad day and some are burned out, but most of them try their best to keep families intact.

In any case, it would be great if @sarah826 can get her parents to really listen to her and take her to CVS for the flu shot – then no MD will be making money off them. Remember, however, that there are two flu shots this year, the regular one and the one for H1N1.

Recently there was a 12 yo girl who contracted H1N1 in our town. It did not turn out well.

I just don’t want to scare a 13 year old girl that she might die. Approx. 36,000 people die in the US each year from the flu, about 200,000 are hospitalized in a country of 300 million. That is .01% of our population (if my math is right) dies from the flu each year, most have significant underlying health problems. I agree @sarah826 has increased risks with asthma, but it sounds as if her asthma is not severe. Thousands of children have already had the flu this year and are coming through it without severe illness. Let’s not ignore the statistics. @Darwin has a great idea that CVS might avoid her moms feelings about doctors.

Still, I don’t think it would be considered neglect by the authorities. Millions of people are not going to get the flu shot this year.

I am asthmatic and currently have the H1N1 and my life is in danger and i have to take meds every 4 hours. I got the flu in a workplace where no one was sick before me, but almost all my co-workers got sick within 24 hours after me. His life is in danger as on person in could get him infected and with bad asthma he can die from a simple coughing fit.

At least you said that you have low level asthma and are isolated from most kids. So you might be ok. But if anything worsens to a level of you coughing so much you cant breath get help. You should try to convince them to get you an emergency inhaler. If you believe you are in danger you need to get help from an outside source.

@Alek2407 If you are so in danger of dying why are you not hospitalized? I don’t mean to minimize your illness, I know asthma can be very scary and life threatening, it sounds like you have things under control for now. Again, I would like to not terrify a 13 year old. Sounds like you did not get the flu at work, but gave it to people at work (although impossible to be sure, someone could have been incubating longer than typical). You could have picked it up anywhere, the grocery store, gas station, etc.

@sarah826 If you get the flu you should go to the doctor because of your asthma so you have medication that can help you breath easily (usually I would not tell people to go to the doctor for the flu as long as they can control their fever and they don’t feel something is very wrong). 600mg ibuprofen every 4–6 hours should control your fever, and drink fluids, or have some soup. Make sure ibuprofen is ok to take with any other meds you might be taking.

5–20% of people in the US get the flu every year, statistically there is still more chance not to get it than to get it.

@JLeslie – Who says he isn’t? Cak often communicated online while in the hospital – you need a laptop and a wireless internet connection and you are good to go. It helps keep folks sane when hospitalized or isolated for a long time.

@Darwin Good Point. How it was worded i have to take meds every 4 hours and the ommision of mentioning he is in the hospital made me think he isn’t, but I could very well be wrong.

i have to take meds every 4 hours could still mean that some nurse comes and wakes him up every four hours to take the meds.

In any case, he hasn’t said where he is sick, just that he is.

Sure, it is possible. I would word it differently if I were in the hospital, but that is the problem with on-line communication. Hopefully, he will come back, even if it is just for us to know he is doing ok.

@tinyfaery I have dealt with CPS and the system. Its not as dramatic as you think.

Well, I used to work within the system, I know the horror stories. One might think something is not a big issue and children get taken away. Conversely, I have seen horrible circumstances completely ignored.