Why Unchecked Influenza Might Lead to Health Problems Later On

This post is made possible by the American Lung Association, in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

My mom is asthmatic. So I am all too familiar with the challenges restricted breathing can cause for someone you love.

My mom remembers getting really sick as a young girl while living in Brooklyn, New York. Her own mother dismissed the sickness as the common cold and figured the symptoms would go away on their own.

Unfortunately they did not. She was only 15-years old at the time, so my mom isn’t sure if she’d developed a full-on flu, but she remembers having a high fever and being admitted to the hospital.

Protect Yourself from the Flu

That winter my mom suffered from pneumonia twice.

The damage to her once healthy lungs was more than my mom’s body could take. From that point on my mom had trouble with asthma. She says she can remember having to walk a few blocks from her house to school. In the biting cold of New York city, and having to walk at a brisk pace, she would oftentimes find herself gasping for air – a symptom of asthma.

We don’t know for certain if the influenza-like illness led to my mom’s asthma, but I think it’s important to take note of how important it is to keep your lungs healthy. It’s one of the reasons why I get my flu shot every year. I don’t just want to help protect myself but my family as well.

Annual flu vaccination is important as the body’s immune response from vaccination declines over time and the circulating flu viruses – and flu shot formulation – can vary from year to year. Once we reach age 50 and older, we’re more likely to have one or more chronic health conditions, which can be made worse with flu infection. Get your flu shot in the fall and winter months– it takes about two weeks after you receive a flu shot for antibodies to develop in the body and help provide protection against the flu.

To find out where vaccines are available in your area, check out the Vaccine Finder on the American Lung Association’s GetMyShot.org.

How do you stay healthy?

Do you have any special tips for other readers of HappyandBlessedHome.com for helping moms to stay healthy? Please leave a comment below and join the conversation. I love hearing from you!