Healthy Me

100 kids have been vaccinated with the H1N1 vaccine in a pediatric study that began last week. There are actually five other locations that are testing this vaccine on children for a total of 650 kids in the study.

The buzz is that it might take two vaccines for a child to develop immunity to H1N1 (Swine Flu).

There is no way in hell I would volunteer my children to take part in any study to test this vaccine. I think it would be irresponsible of me to make this decision and risk my child's health to make them guinea pigs.

The scare tactics a couple years ago for our children was MRSA. Now it's the swine flu when there is no guarantee that this vaccine would even work since the nature of a virus is to mutate. Children aren't guinea pigs!!

Read about it here.

Didn't we learn anything from all the damage the Gardasil vaccine has done yet? Put Gardasil in my search engine on this blog and see what you come up with.

I am a year overdue to have my eyes checked so as part of the "getting healthy" kick that I tend to flip flop on, I scheduled appointments next week for the entire family - six in one day. Crazy huh?

I take my kids every year but I skipped myself last year because I didn't want to put out the money for frames for myself so I skipped the exam entirely (bad). Adults can usually go every two years unless there are problems with the eyes. Since my vision is bad, I go every year. I'd like to look at a pair of prescription Women's Sunglasses too while I'm there but I'll probably just get the lens' that darken in the sun instead. The American Optometric Association says that you should wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV rays.

The appointments are made and once done, I can cross another "healthy me" item off my "to do" list!

The entire family had our eye exams yesterday. There were a ton of surprises for everybody, except my youngest child.

For my husband, he found out he had 11 pieces of steel in his eye that he couldn't feel. Usually when he gets slivers of steel in his eye, he feels it (it hurts a lot). This time, he didn't feel them. They also found that he should be tested for glaucoma (because of how the back of his eye looked...may be just the way he was made but they want to test to make sure). He went to an eye specialist right away to take care of his problems. They dug around in both of his eyes and removed all the steel. At least he didn't need to go to the hospital to have it done. I'd rather go to an eye doctor than go through the stress of a hospital visit. I don't know about you but I'm not anxious to see medical scrubs any sooner than I have to. Sounds fun for him, eh?

For myself, they also want me tested for glaucoma since the back of my eye gave the appearance that it could be (or again, it could be just the way I was made). I get that test next week.

My oldest daughter had her tear ducts clogged so she gets eye drops, warm wash cloths, and eye massages. Should clear up in a couple weeks.

For my son, he also had dry eyes due to clogged ducts so he got his own eye drops. He is also getting tested for glaucoma because of the way the back of his eye looks. By this point, we figure it was just the way we were made because all three of us couldn't have developed glaucoma in the last year! He gets tested in a couple weeks.

My my middle daughter, she has a hard time focusing when she goes from looking long distance to up close. I have exercises I have to do with her. If it's not corrected with them, she might need glasses in the future to help.

My youngest daughter's eye exam was fine. They think she has a wonderful disposition for a four-year-old. When the eye doctor asked her if he could call her "smiley" because she smiled so much, she told him, "No."

The poll, are you happy with your health, has been removed and a new one added. I should have made the voting period for that poll longer so I made a new one:) Please vote!

I've started taking vitamins with Iron in them to raise my ferritin levels a little bit. I also need to get some good Iodine, which I've read will help shrink the nodules in my neck (as long as I don't overdue it and throw myself into hyperthyroidism).

I'm wondering if I should be taking supplements for the digestive system (the good bacterias...like eating yogurt but for people who don't like yogurt like me). I also have green tea supplements that I need to read up on. Do I need Vitamin E? Not sure. I know my Vitamin D was a little on the low side so I need to raise that too. With my fair skin, I don't go out in the sun often so I either need to do that or supplement. I also have Omega-3 but I need to find smaller ones. They're like horse pills and it got stuck at the top of my throat and I felt like I had heartburn for hours afterward the day before yesterday. Omega-3 is really good for you. It's also supposed to be very helpful for kids with ADHD from all we've researched. I know when I'd give it to my stepson during his visits, we saw a noticeable improvement in his ADHD behavior.