Any families NOT get the flu this year?

[amyable]

Why do you think you've stayed healthy?

Everyone at dh's work seems to have passed it around...and we are waiting our turn. Everyone else I know IRL with the exception of one family, and tons of people on line are falling like flies...it seems much worse to me than other years.

If you didn't get it this year in your family, why do you think that is so?(I'm trying to up my chances of staying healthy!)

Personally, we've holed ourselves up at home for the most part. I also make a big pot of homemade chicken broth every 2 weeks and I've heard that helps. We just found some occilococcinum in the closet and took a prophylactic dose of that. Oh, and I skipped our well child visits for the past few months because we always come out twice as sick as we went in! Several Christmases with the flu after early December well-baby visits taught me my lesson!;)

What's working in your neck of the woods?

[Ellie]

we don't do anything special. It's just one of those things, I guess.

[Liz CA]

we don't do anything special. It's just one of those things, I guess.

I've been on immune stimulator supplements and they seem to have done their job. :)

[HollyDay]

So far, we have not had "the bug" but dd did get a very long bought of something. She had a cough for about 2 months but the pediatrician said it wasnt the flu - just a "bug".

I dont know if all this helps or not, but we:

wash hands like crazy

I keep handcleaner in the car and we use it after every stop.

Take vitamins

cod liver oil

greens supplements for picky eaters

try not to get run down. I say no more often than I used to so we are not running all the time. Make sleep and rest a priority.

plenty of fresh air and sunshine when it is not raining!

[Kay in Cal]

We didn't get the flu... and did have shots. I know they only were supposed to protect somewhat this year, but worked for us at least.

[Daisy]

We haven't had the flu. I think the #1 reason we haven't had it in the last few years is because I disinfect my DH the minute he gets home. LOL.

He is a public school teacher to FIRST graders. He gets home, drops his clothes and heads straight for the shower.

#2 reason?? We avoid shopping during the winter as much as possible.

[BonAmy]

oscillinocum.

I think that's how you spell it.. comes in a white box, you can get it at walmart or any pharmacy... about $8/box with 6 treatments in it. My dh takes it whenever he is exposed to the flu at work (weekly, if not daily...) as a preventative measure. The kids take it at the first HINT of any symptom, as do I.
we also do airbourne, if the symptoms seem like they are going to stick.

but it's the oscillinocum... worth every penny!!!

[LizzyBee]

No flu here and no flu shots. We don't really do anything special to avoid it. But our church is very strict about not allowing sick kids in the nursery or children's classrooms, so I'm sure that helps. My job allows flexible hours and working at home, so usually if someone is sick, they work at home rather than coming to the office.

[Crissy]

I can't recall ever having the flu, and since I'm told it's one of those things a person never forgets, I'm certain I've not had it in my life.
Neither have my children, nor my husband in all the years I've known him.

Colds we get. Usually once a year (we just got through a round, so I think we're done for 2008 :p)

I cannot say what it is that keeps us healthy. :confused:

[CLHCO]

I still fear saying so but we haven't had anything this year at all except the smallest of colds. Thats how things usually go around here. The kids had a run of the flu about 4 years ago but that is the only case as far back as I can remember. Strep showed up twice last year for the first time but we have kept it away this year so far.

They're pretty exposed too. Between lessons, church, choir, scouts, 4-H and other activities, it's not from sheltering.

I'm not the most tidy person so it's not from an immaculate home. I do try to train them to good hand washing and we change hand and kitchen towels often. Who knows, perhaps a less than stellar home helps in a way? That's a good theory. I'll keep that one. :p

My dh gets sick a bit more and harder when he does.

I think part of the reason is because my kids snarf down fruit at a rate that will put me in a poor house soon. I limit the snacks foods, outside of the occasional box of fish crackers so they eat baby carrots and fruit. Lots and lots of fruit, whole grain breads, etc.

That said, I admit I think much of it's possibly genetics. Hearty stock, perhaps. I don't remember a lot of the flu raging through my family when I was young, but strep was a common recurrence. I know some families always fighting illness and it's hard to point to anything they're doing "wrong".

[King Alfred Academy]

no flu here! I really think it is due to us getting regular adjustments from the chiropractor. no issues with asthma either!

[Annie G]

Like Crissy, I can't recall ever having the flu. Dh has a flu shot every year because his cardiologist recommends it, and middle dd works at the hospital so she gets a flu shot.
We just don't get sick. I think what helps us is that we are not constantly on the go...we try very hard not to overschedule our family. The teens are around their 100 closest friends every week for theater, so we're not in hibernation or anything.

[Wendi]

We didn't get flu shots this year. We did last year, because our dear friend was going through chemo.

Wendi

[Soph the vet]

Gratefully flu free here. No flu shots either.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

NO! I just got it yesterday. Stay away from it and me;) Believe me, it is not fun.

[Isa]

We've been spared. I think things that have helped are eating healthy foods and eliminating sugar as much as possible (to keep the immune system strong), and making sure the kids get enough sleep.

Also, I've read that if your children have taken antibiotics, some of their good bacteria have been killed off which will make their immune system weaker. The way to solve this would be to give good bacteria to your children (it can be mixed in a drink).

[Jeanne in MN]

Somehow our family manages to avoid it-knock on wood. I impress upon the kids to wash hands, don't touch nose, eyes, mouth with dirty fingers, etc. But that's about it.

I have a dear friend that is intense about keeping her family bug free doing things like disinfecting faucets and door knobs, etc. But they get nailed every year and repeatedly with different things.

I wonder if there's something to genetics?

[KAR120C]

We've only actually had it once here, a couple years ago, and DS didn't get very sick at all (he never seems to no matter what it is, lucky kid!) DH and I were down for the count though.

We do wash our hands and all that, but nothing special. We don't sleep enough, we don't eat especially carefully (she says with two empty Diet Coke cans and a coffee cup next to her), and we're always out and about. So in our case it's probably either luck or generally good immune systems. DH sometimes gets the flu shot, but only if it's extremely convenient (like he was at the doctor for something else, or his office does them).

[Michelle T]

Of course, we could still get it, but I hope not! Tons of people locally have had the flu this year. I guess we are just lucky, we didn't do anything special.

Last year, all three of us got the flu right after Thanksgiving, and it was awful.
Michelle T

[one l michele]

6 episodes of strep this year and 1 ear infection, sigh.

[transientChris]

We have been getting flu shots as a family for over 20 years. That is why I think we didn't get it this year although the shots were much less effective. All those other shots together with this one probably pulled us through. I am normally on some type of immunosuppressant and can't have family members get flu. Dh is military and we get free shots.

[Gigi]

My kids are around other kids all the time-even families who tend to be sick always. For awhile there we were exposed to three families who had sickness go through their family. One of my kids attends school where many kids were sent home sick. We don't use anti bacterial soap and they often forget to wash their hands. :o I tend to be in the camp that the healthiest people have been exposed to dirt.:D

However, we do use apple cider vinegar & honey to treat sore throats & anytime we feel start feeling under the weather- that means instead of monthly visits to the doctor we have not been to a doctor in three years. For my children we use Herbs for Kids and that works miracles here. Upset stomach, sore throats, coughs barely last an hour. Except for the occassional headache when I take OTC (when white willow might take too long to work) everyone in our family uses herbs.

A few weeks ago we seemed to be low on energy and I think we were fighting off something but after a few days our energy came back and no other symptoms occurred.:)

[Diann]

No flu here this year. I had the flu a couple of years ago that put me to bed for 2 weeks. Since then dh and I have gotten the flu shot. We don't do anything special to stay healthy.

Diann

[mcconnellboys]

Dare I say it (knock on wood)? No, not thus far, anyway.

Why? My husband gets flu vaccines yearly now. I got the nasal mist for my older son this year, as he's back in private school. We all try to make it a point to wash our hands more carefully after being in public places, even if we're just using quick hand sanitizer. My older son is taking a good vitamin/mineral/probiotic supplement, as well as Omega III's. We try to eat right, with plenty of fruits and vegis. We try to get lots of vitamin C into our diet in winter. That's about all I can think of that we've done this year....

Regena

[Colleen]

I've never considered getting flu shots because we are typically very healthy. Sure, we get an occasional cold or gastroenteritis, but actual influenza? Not that I'm aware of. I find that a lot of people talk about "the flu" without necessarily meaning influenza.

I think our good health is a combination of good fortune, minimal exposure, lots of fresh air, raw milk, etc. We don't take any vitamin supplements and we don't use antibacterial soap, btw.

[lynn]

We have started eating healthier, no processed or prepackaged foods. I really think this contributes to no one being sick this season.

[dangermom]

We have not had it. I didn't do anything special. We've had a couple of small colds and my oldest and I both have sore throats right now (which I dread, as I'm susceptible to laryngitis). I don't know how we missed it, but our turn might be next!

[browneyedgirl]

We didn't get it either. My DH works in a nursing home and it went around with both redidents and employees. He started feeling sick and got tamiflu I am not sure that was his problem or not. But he never had full blown flu, he just felt a little "under the weather" . The kids and I never got sick though. Don't know why?

[Kris]

No flu here, but we generally don't get whatever's going around. I read somewhere that the average school-age child gets three to eight colds per year. We average one every five years or so. We don't do anything special, unless you can count limiting the junk food, or washing hands.

Now that I've said that, we'll probably all be sick this month!

ETA: I realize that our exposure is limited now that my son isn't subject to picking up every buggie that's hit the school, but he wasn't prone to getting sick when he was in PS, either.

[Pajama Mama]

I wouldn't let my kids play with their friends for a few weeks before we went to Florida. We all had the flu shots this year. I also made sure that we washed our hands...alot. I sprayed lysol on the doorknobs, phones, kids(kidding). We took Airbornes alot too. So I guess with a combination of these things, we were flu free(so far).
Honestly, I figured that God was giving us a break. We all had the flu sooooo bad last year. We were sick for weeks--through Cristmas and New Years. Shudder

[PinkInTheBlue]

We never have gotten the flu. I don't necessarily know the magical why though. We both work at home and homeschool but we are out in town everyday. We eat well but not great. We take vitamins...when we remember. I don't know. We just never get the flu. The only one in the family who has had the flu was the 10 yr old several years ago. We went the day after he seemed to come down with it and was better the day after the dr visit. It was so short and easy that I wonder if it was the flu since I've heard it was so bad.

[Mamagistra]

No flu here! I can't say why, but I'm so very thankful. :)

[Renee in FL]

We haven't, but we never do. We don't do anything special. We don't get flu shots.

I dont' know - I guess we just have good immune systems.

[Lisa at Home]

Which is a really good thing since our whole lives revolve around nutrition and health. It would look so bad if we got the flu!:)

~Lisa

[dirty ethel rackham]

No flu, no shots here. We just try to eat healthy, take vitamins for "just in case", get exercise and wash hands. Nothing extraordinary. I know several people who have had the flu, but we didn't get it.

[Robin in Tx]

I wonder if genetics plays a role...

I have never had the flu. Ever. Neither has my 12yodd. We don't get the vaccine.

My husband had the flu in 1986, and I think he got something similar to the flu a year or two later. He has gotten the vaccine every year since and hasn't gotten the flu again.

Vaccine works for him, I don't know what works dd and me. Genetics? The fact that we wash our hands religiously and are very careful about safe food and drink?

Good luck... I hope it doesn't pass your way.

[jail warden]

Our family has been doing great, except for dh:(. He got it a couple of times. I was sure the rest of us would get it because in the past we just tend to pass it around, and dh almost never got it then. So I guess he's taking his turn this year.:o We haven't really had many colds either.

The only thing I can warrant this to is luck!:p

[Audrey]

I haven't read the other replies so I might be repeating but...

We've been healthy so far this winter (knock wood and all that). I think it is because when I am at the library, I'm fastidious with the hand gel. DH works solo even in his off-farm work, so that helps. DS not being in public school, public skating or other high-risk contact groups helps, too. We're all real sticklers for the Omegas, Cs and pro-biotics, too. Those may help some.

Of course, I'm going to post this and tomorrow we'll all be rolling with a raging flu, right? :rolleyes:

[Mama Lynx]

(knock on wood)

We haven't had either for several years now. I try hard to keep my family's immune system health - during flu season we drink white tea, eat lots of berries, take our fish oil, and keep up with our vitamins. If I think we've been exposed, we take oscillococcinum. We wash our hands often, and I try to limit going to malls, etc. during flu season.

But likely we're just lucky. So far.

[Plaid Dad]

No 'flu and no vaccine here. I haven't heard of too many people having it, though, so maybe it hasn't really hit our area?

[OnTheBrink]

No flu for us. I think our regular chiro adjustments have been key in staying healthy.

[Kris]

No anti-bacterial soaps, no bleach wipes. The house is clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be lived in.

They did have a big outbreak at the school and ended up having to just shut down for three days because everyone was so sick (small school -- total of about 600 kids for elementary, middle and high school). I got dirty looks from the neighbors when I told them I think kids need to eat more dirt.

[Lolly]

It was not the flu. Yes, we had it tested (important since we now have fil). It was a "flu-like virus". In other words, it was every single symptom of the flu. Ran the exact same course as the flu, but did not show up on the flu test that was given. We are still coughing from NOt the flu.

[Lorna in the boonies]

We haven't had it. I don't think I've ever had it, and I know none of my kids have ever had it.

I don't know why that is, especially when I have never taken any precautions as far as killing germs goes. Even when the first one was a newborn (when one is expected to obsess about those things), I'd pop a freshly-fallen-on-the-floor pacifier back into her mouth without a thought (well, I would wipe it off and make sure it didn't have crumbs or dog hair or anything on it). I never boiled or sanitized anything and used to joke about "building up their immunities".

We don't take vitamins, but we do wash our hands (regularly, but not religiously). I don't avoid certain locations at certain times. I don't use hand sanitizer, and I freely grab shopping cart handles with my bare hands. I do refuse to touch a public restroom door handle with my hands, though, and insist on using a paper towel for that. (I wonder why I'm so lackadaisical about the shopping cart and so paranoid about the restroom door? I know that the same people who don't wash their hands still use shopping carts!)

I do wonder if it has to do with genetics. We are friends with another hsing family who battles the flu every year. Our kids breathe the same air and touch the same things, but her kids get it while it stays away from our house. Weird.

[Janet in WA]

No one in our family has had the flu this year. We haven't done anything special to avoid it. No vaccinations, no preventatives of any kind. We rarely get the flu.

[Amy in Orlando]

We all, save one, had the flu. It was horrible. We're pretty low maintenance here - no wipes, no nothing really. Five of the six of us got the flu. My oldest son did not. We'e been trying to figure out how he avoided it to no end. Our house is small, he was in constant contact with all of us. He doesn't eat differently or do anything differently, yet he is the sole person in our house without a residual cough. Go figure.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My dh is the only one in our family who didn't get the crud either. I don't know if this stuff we have is "technically" the flu but it sure laid us flat!

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

No anti-bacterial soaps, no bleach wipes. The house is clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be lived in.

They did have a big outbreak at the school and ended up having to just shut down for three days because everyone was so sick (small school -- total of about 600 kids for elementary, middle and high school). I got dirty looks from the neighbors when I told them I think kids need to eat more dirt.

I know I've related this story before on these boards...but here ya go..

My oldest was a toddler and ate an Aunt Annie's dust covered pretzel off the floor of a shopping mall. He spied it in the dusty corner of the mall and ran off and popped it in his mouth before I could get to him. Kid's never had more than a low-grade fever in his life. He's 11.:cool:

[Mrs. Readsalot]

We also tend to avoid very crowed public places.

[GVA]

And I work on a germy college campus, and we've been in at least 2-3 doctor's offices a week with unrelated problems all winter with DH.

I'm picky about hand-washing though, and my cooking tends toward whole-grain, natural foods. Maybe that's it!

[Basketmaker Amy]

No flu in our house and no shots.

[Laura Corin]

Well, Hobbes did get Giardia, but it cleared up easily. Otherwise, we've had a healthy winter so far.

Laura

[Kris]

I know I've related this story before on these boards...but here ya go..

My oldest was a toddler and ate an Aunt Annie's dust covered pretzel off the floor of a shopping mall. He spied it in the dusty corner of the mall and ran off and popped it in his mouth before I could get to him. Kid's never had more than a low-grade fever in his life. He's 11.:cool:

Thank goodness you didn't have his stomach pumped! Who knows what might have happened? :D

I don't know if the commercial is still on, but I had to laugh at the one for the bleach wipes. Baby tosses some kind of mess on the table and mom swoops in with the bleach wipe.

I'm sorry, but I just couldn't help wondering what she was feeding that poor thing that was so toxic she had to get it off the table *right now*!! :)

[Gwen in TX]

[QUOTE=Daisy;95064]We haven't had the flu. I think the #1 reason we haven't had it in the last few years is because I disinfect my DH the minute he gets home. LOL.

He is a public school teacher to FIRST graders. He gets home, drops his clothes and heads straight for the shower. QUOTE]

Now we greet with him with "Go wash your hands." He doesn't work with elem. students, but with college students. They don't eat well, sleep enough, and attend classes on death's doorstep, so every bug makes the rounds.

We also faithfully get flu shots for the whole family every year. It only takes one time of getting the "in bed, dying for 7 straight days, waking up dh because my chills are making the bed shake like a quake, throwing up everytime I have to get up to go to the bathroom, still exhausted two weeks later" flu to know I never want to have it again. I will take any vaccine help I can get. They have shown that the effect is somewhat cumulative, so last year's vaccine might help with this year's flu too.

[Eliana]

We haven't gotten it (bli ayin hora), and we haven't had flu shots or taken any extraordinary measures. We do have some homeopathic remedies we take if we think we might be starting to come down with something - and some chewable echinacea with vitamin C.

[Donna]

We don't do anything special to avoid it besides the washing of hands and proper nutrition/exercise. I am always in people's homes since I do home healthcare and the kids are around a lot of other children at their respective activities. Maybe I should knock wood or something.

The kids (3) each had strep once but that was it.

[mom42terrificgirls]

We have never had the flu here. don't know why, sorry.

[Dee22]

No flu here yet... My dh and I got shots but the kids didn't. My oldest dd can't have the shot as she is allergic to eggs.

[Just Me]

We haven't had it here, and generally don't get it. I don't really take any special precautions, and we are certainly exposed to others. ??? Can't answer as to why we don't get it, but sure am thankful that we don't. ;)