By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Many parents will be skipping swine flu shots for their children.

Only 40 percent of parents indicate they will get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu, while 54 percent of parents indicate they will get their children vaccinated against seasonal flu, a poll by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found.

Nearly 30 percent of parents surveyed said they definitely or probably weren’t going to have their children receive the swine flu vaccination, while 31 percent were unsure.

Among parents who don’t plan to get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu, 46 percent indicate they aren’t worried about their children getting H1N1 flu, while 20 percent believe H1N1 flu isn’t serious.

Among parents who don’t plan to get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu, or who are unsure, about half are worried about possible side effects of the vaccine, according to the poll results.

Among parents who do plan to get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu, about four in five believe that H1N1 is a serious disease and worry about their children getting H1N1 illness.

Since my children are grown and I’m not raising grandchildren, this isn’t a decision I have to make.

What do you plan to do? Will you be having your children or grandchildren vaccinated for swine flu?

Information in support of swine flu vaccinations:

“General Questions and Answers on 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Safety” – Centers for Disease Control

Information that questions the safety of swine flu vaccines:

“Bird-Swine Flu Vaccine: Voluntary or Mandatory?” – Organic Consumers Association

Please leave a comment below with your opinions on this topic.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The baby boomers “are coming”; boomers are going to get older. And as they age, they’ll want health care workers to help them in their homes. 

Baby boomers will put unprecedented demands on the nation’s long-term care resources, and policy makers should act now to prepare for what appears to be an uncertain future, said Howard Gleckman, senior research associate at the Urban Institute, speaking at a long-term care symposium this week. 

Pay is a problem; 19 percent of home care aides and 16 percent of nursing home aides are compensated at a level insufficient for them to rise above the poverty line, Gleckman said. 

But as salaries for home care aides go up, it’s more difficult for older Americans and their families to afford the care. 

The symposium emphasized the need for a national long-term care strategy including funding, education, and support for the caregiver as part of health care reform. It also highlighted the numerous legislative proposals in support of caregivers aimed at helping to solve the nation’s long-term care challenges. 

See the article “Home Health Aide Shortage Looms, Experts Warn” on ConsumerAffairs.com for details.

Popularity: 7% [?]

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The Washington Toxics Coalition and the Michigan-based Ecology Center are releasing new chemical test data for more than 900 everyday products, including back-to-school products and pet toys, on a new website www.HealthyStuff.org.

The site offers information on more than 15,000 test results on about 5,000 common consumer items.

The site alerts consumers to the dangers of lead, cadmium, mercury, PVC, flame retardants, and other hazardous chemicals found in school supplies, pet toys, cars, and many other everyday consumer products.

I recommend baby boomer consumers make use of this information.

I took some toys, a plastic storage container, and a pair flip flops to a testing day offered by the coalition last year. All of the items I had tested contained PVC or a hazardous chemical.

It’s especially important to find out about possible toxins in children’s toys because children often chew on them.

Popularity: 6% [?]

By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

This year, I decided to make a concerted effort to grow food to reduce my food bill and cut the energy costs it takes to transport food to my table.

I struggled with how to build a raised bed garden, but once I was able to get it built, I was enthusiastic about growing food.

It was exciting to plant seeds in the ground as well as seedlings. I’ve had container gardens for many years, but haven’t planted seeds in about 20 years.

Things started out well.

I also planted a side garden with kale and cabbage.

The garden grew big.

I ate crookneck squash.

The green beans, which turned out to be yellow, were wonderful.

I ate my first ripe tomato.

I harvested some cucumbers.

But I began to have problems. After a heavy rain, my squash developed powdery mildew on the leaves. I began cutting off the leaves to keep the mildew from spreading to other parts of the garden.

The cucumber plants got mildew, too.

I had to rip out the squash plants because they weren’t growing anymore.

Slugs chewed a tomato in my container garden and laid eggs.

Cutworms began chewing on my kale.

Cutworms also love my cabbage.

Slugs chewed my Swiss chard.

I’ve talked to Cooperative Extension about action to take for the cutworms. I’ve put out some beer for the slugs, but more advice is needed on what to do about them. I’ll check with Cooperative Extension again.

Another interesting thing that’s happened is I’ve spent so much time gardening I’m behind in my weeding. I’m pulling up wheel barrels full of weeds from the rest of my yard. I want to finish weeding before the cold weather sets in.

I’ll plant more kale and other winter vegetables where I took out the squash. I need to get some straw to put around the plants. Diseases in the soil splash up on the plants when watering is done.

Will I garden again next year? Yes, but I’ll be on the lookout for pests earlier and apply the organic remedies sooner.

I’ll also plan my garden more carefully so that there’s more air circulation. My gardens were too crowded which contributed to mildew growth.

Gardening seemed easier in Eastern Washington where I grew up. It’s drier and you don’t have to worry so much about getting water on the leaves of the plants. Of course, my parents sprayed pesticides on the garden when they saw any insects. My mom put DDT in the ditches when she planted radishes.

So organic gardening is harder, but it’s definitely worth the effort. More studies are showing that pesticides accumulate in the body and can cause health problems.

Popularity: 2% [?]

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Some baby boomers are continuing to use drugs into their later years, causing the rate of illegal drug use to go up among boomers.

Boomers aged 50 to 59 reporting use of drugs within the past year has nearly doubled from 5.1 percent in 2002 to 9.4 percent in 2007, according to a report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rates among all other age groups are staying the same or decreasing.

“An Examination of Trends in Illicit Drug Use Among Adults Aged 50 to 59 in the United States” is the first in a series of reports by the administration on drug use.

“These findings show that many in the Woodstock generation continue to use illicit drugs as they age,” said the administration’s Acting Administrator Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., in a news release on the report.

“This continued use poses medical risks to these individuals and is likely to put further strains on the nation’s health care system…”

The report includes information on the types of substances involved, different demographic and behavioral factors associated with higher rates of use, and other issues.

The data used in the analysis comes from many sources including 16,656 respondents aged 50 to 59 participating in the 2002 through 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, a national public health survey.

The study surveyed use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and prescription drugs used non-medically.

The report is available at oas.samhsa.gov/.

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