<p>Oh, how stressful. I must say, though, that it sounds like your son is acting very maturely. Good for him.</p>
<p>Elka - I suggest you plant the “contact the police and press charges” seed in his mind so he can use it should things not go his way on Monday. Many times it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, so his RM might win out. What needs to happen is the squeaky wheel getting replaced. If your guy was threatened, he has grounds to press charges should he need to use that arrow from his quiver.</p>
<p>It certainly sounds like you raised an intelligent, mature young man!</p>
<p>Elka, you should be proud of your son! However I predict they’ll have him be the one to move since he’s the one being compliant and wrong as it is, in all likelihood they’ll do what is easiest.</p>
<p>S comes home Friday and I’m having him get the flu shot, he’s already gotten colds and he’s had the flu before and pneumonia so he knows how miserable you can get. With all those kids living together, plus I believe immunity can go down when under stress, I don’t see the down side.</p>
<p>Elka - I hope the RM situation gets resolved soon. It is very stressful and very unfair to your son. Your son is trying to be an adult, but don’t be afraid to jump in if necessary.</p>
<p>I just came back from visiting D2’s school. I took her to get few more things for her dorm. While we were at Target, both of us got a flu shot. We have been doing it for 5+ years, and I do find myself not getting sick as often as I used to. D2 is surrounded by a lot of other students, she already had a minor cold, so I feel better with her having a flu shot.</p>
<p>I took out D2’s friends out to lunch. It was fun to meet her new friends. They all seem very nice and polite. D2 is not as communicative as D1. It was nice to know that they eat together most of the time, they all look out for each other and they have plenty to do on weekends. I bought D2 a new shelf, and one guy friend volunteered to help her putting it together. D2 seemed very relaxed and very much at home.</p>
<p>oldfort, what a nice visit. I recall your D2’s transition from high school to college had the extra stress of a family international move. How good that she has found new friends and is feeling at home in her new surroundings.</p>
<p>I am so happy CC is back for me! I couldn’t post for about 5 days, it was very frustrating and of course now, irrelevant!</p>
<p>Elka67 - how horrible! I am proud of you for staying out of it, I am not able to. Boys are better than girls at this type of thing though! I do kind of think your son might be the one to be asked to move because, wrong though it is, he will do it with less opposition and fighting. Do keep us informed. </p>
<p>My daughter called around 3AM NY time (2AM her time) Saturday morning very upset, again, over her roommate and suite. Nothing nearly as upsetting as your son’s situation but for her, a very bad set up. She apparently is in the Freshman party suite and is really tired of it since she neither smokes nor drinks. I finally convinced her that I would call Housing anonymously and see if it’s not too late to switch her dorm to the one with her friends. (It’s a small college with basically two dorm options.) If the answer is “maybe” then I’ll go further, if they basically laugh at me, no harm, no foul, no one needs to know who we are and daughter will just have to deal. Not sure we’ll get her back after Thanksgiving though!</p>
<p>She is in a play next weekend and older daughter is taking the train to see it. The weekend after is Parents Weekend so at least she’ll have the next two weekends covered for her living situation stress. </p>
<p>And life goes on…</p>
<p>Why do you feel you have to call anonymously? I’d call as a concerned parent, or if your D is calling, call as a student with an issue-- if something needs to be done, they’re the office to help you.</p>
<p>D2 didn’t want to be in a suite situation even though she was getting a single in the suite. I called the housing director. She didn’t have any issue working with me.</p>
<p>Elka: so sorry for your son’s situation. Friend’s D had similar with 3 suite girls and school felt it was safer for her to move out of the situation. Easier, too, for the school, but parents understood the safety issue.</p>
<p>Flu shots: we all get them. No family member has had the flu for 10 years. D called this week to say the clinic was offering free shots, suggested she go get one. </p>
<p>D has been sick all week with a cold that got majorly worse Friday. Suggested she go to the clinic to get checked out. $37 for exam, strep test, mono test, z-pack. No strep or mono, but NP thought bronchial cold was settling deeper so trying z-pack. Gotta love college health clinics! I went down to check yesterday and she is much better so we fit in a grocery run and lunch at Panera.</p>
<p>Apologies in advance if this is a silly question</p>
<p>What exactly is the difference between having a flu vs sick with cold/cough/sore throat?</p>
<p>Do the flu shots help with the former alone but also the latter</p>
<p>Dentmom - you mentioned your D never had a flu since 10 years and then D is sick with a cold. So, is the flu different from being sick with a cold and will the shot help from the normal cold/cough/sore throat as well?</p>
<p>Other parents - have your kids already gotten the flu shot? what is the typical month when they get to take it at college?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>D2’s school is offering flu shots now. jaylynn is our in house physician here, but I think it takes 30 days for it to take effect, so by Nov it is kind of late.</p>
<p>Colds are caused by a variety of viruses, mostly in a group called the rhinoviruses. You see scratchy throat, headache, fever at the beginning, runny nose, cough. Lasts 3-7 days. You feel yucky. Influenza is caused specifically by the influenza A or B virus. Can cause high fever, bad headache and unique myalgias (muscle ache), which can be quite painful, cough and runny nose which can turn into a viral pneumonia (which is the cause of death in deaths due to influenza). You feel like you’d kind of rather die. </p>
<p>It’s one of those things where a lot of people use the terms interchangeably until they get “true flu”. Then they’re all “OH. Now I get it.” :D</p>
<p>The reason for me calling anonymously is because it’s the only way my daughter would feel comfortable with me calling at all. If nothing can be done in terms of her moving she would rather not have anyone know that she tried; she would be horrified if someone from Housing spoke with her RA or the student or whomever. Many kids would just deal with her situation but that is not my daughter’s preference. She does understand that the situation is not dangerous or anything like that so she’d rather not make a big deal about it and without me identifying myself it’s like I didn’t call if nothing can be done. Does that make sense? If Housing can move my daughter to a better space then obviously I need to say who she is but if nothing can be done, it’s over and no one in the school needs to know that she is unhappy. There is nothing to be gained by identifying the problem to Housing.</p>
<p>jaylnn:</p>
<p>Thank you for the great explanation on colds vs (true)flu. Finally I get it :-)</p>
<p>1)Is it too late to give the vaccine by end of October?</p>
<p>2)If the kid has severe cold/sore throat/cough/mild fever now - does it make sense to give the shot after the complete recovery from the above? what would you advise?</p>
<p>3)Some flu shots have mercury (thimerosal). read that multi dose vials contains mercury but the single dose ones does not? What is your advise with regards to this - should one choose the single dose one without mercury? </p>
<p>4)Do the colleges normally administer the single dose vials or the multi dose vials when it comes to free flu shots? If one wants the shots without mercury, can they be requested?</p>
<p>5)for those kids taking the flu shot for the FIRST time, is there any concerns? Or possible side effects?</p>
<p>6) Flu shots - does it mean one is protected against the “true flu” only or also the normal annoying 3 to 7 days cold/fever/sore throat/cough kind of flu as well??</p>
<p>thanks again.</p>
<p>“She apparently is in the Freshman party suite and is really tired of it since she neither smokes nor drinks.”</p>
<p>Are people allowed to smoke in the dorms?</p>
<p>Wow Elka- First how awful for your S, Second he seems so mature and really think its great he wants to handle the situation on his own. I know you must be very worried. I hope this all turns good for him tomorrow. </p>
<p>Pinornoir- Hope your son’s tooth gets better… That is so painful</p>
<p>Atmc - Sorry your D is also having roommate issues… have you suggested she speak with her RA?</p>
<p>Update on my D. She went Friday to the private physican… he was so nice to her. Gave her a shot and gave her a more “aggressive antibiotic” then the Campus Health Center prescribed. He even gave her a number to call if she was still feeling bad to call him… Turns out he was our doctors college roomate! Told her to gets lots of rest and fluids over the weekend. It was a home game weekend so we could not get a hotel room and go see her. A friend of mine went for the game and took some soup I made for her and checked on her before and after the game yesterday. Her temp is down and she is feeling better today. I think tomorrow will be a long day for her…</p>
<p>M kids get the flu vaccine because they have asthma. I get it because I am required to do so for my job. The one time I didnt get the vaccine ( before it was required) I got te flu and felt as jaylynn described. t was on Christmas and I didnt get out of bed.
It will take time, but I am friendly with some of my D1 friends from college. She is now a senior. I am FB friends with them, and take them to dinner when I visit and my D1 goes to school in DC and I live near Boston. I know them as well as I know some of her HS friends. D2’s roomate FB friend requested me so I am friends with her as well. I never friend request my kids’ friends.
D2 likes her college, is doing well in her classes, she does find it challenging as kids either party all the time or dont do anything. Her immediate suite mates arent too crazy. but her room seems to be a gthering place so she spends a great deal of time in the library. She was annoyed when her friends got kicked out of a venue for bring booze, She wasnt drinking and had to call her roomate to walk her back to the dorm. She just thought it was a stupid decision to bring the booze into the venue, So she isnt intolerant, just not her cup of tea right now. It seems many kids are choosing not to party now though.</p>
<p>Trial1:</p>
<p>-never too late. It’s actually still prime time!
-don’t get the flu shot if you have a fever over low-grade. I got my shot in the midst of a cold and had no problems, and I will give the shot to kids with a cold and no fever.
-yes, the multidose vials have thimerosal. If you are worried about autism, that argument has been put to rest, and your child is too old to be diagnosed with autism. If it’s because of other allegations of neurologic disease-- the data do not back that up either. You could have your child get the Flumist (nasal vaccine) if that is a worry for you.
-I’d guess colleges use the multidose vials; they’re much cheaper. You’d have to call your health center to see if the single dose vial is available. Also ask about Flumist.
-healthy young adults almost never have side effects from the flu vaccine; most people never do. It’s not a live virus vaccine.
-the influenza vaccine only protects against those strains of influenza A and B that have been targeted that year, based on strains causing disease in Asia. The vaccine does not protect against other strains of flu A or B that may become pathogens during the season and do not protect against cold viruses or the viruses that cause “stomach flu”, which is a misnomer.</p>
<p>Tiral1: when you get the flu, you will know. It knocks you flat with fever, aches/chills, not like the cold that lasts for 3-7 days but you can function. Jaylynn covered it all.</p>
<p>Flu shots do nothing for the stomach “flu” or the cold, which many people get and then say the flu shot didn’t work.</p>
<p>amtc I totally understand your thinking but…there are so many times in life when policy can be changed if the situation requires it. If you call up anonymously they will likely tell you the policy. If your D goes to her RA or to Reslife (or if she doesn’t and you choose to call and talk honestly about the situation), I think the chances of actually resolving it are better.</p>