Holiday Illnesses

My husband's grandma has been in the hospital and is still recovering from a serious infection she got a couple weeks before Christmas. She had just gotten back from a wedding 8 hours away. I am sure she was exposed to a lot of germs, but we have no way of knowing exactly how it happened.

One of my grandmothers has emphysema. When the kids see her, we do make sure they wash their hands frequently and they don't have runny noses. I would hate to be the reason she ends up in the hospital again. We went to see her in St. Louis about a month ago so she could meet the baby. She ended up getting a cold and couldn't be around the kids. She was so disappointed! Does anyone else have this dilemma with their kids and grandparents?

FROM NBC: Grandparents have a new vaccine to thank for their health this holiday season! Experts at the CDC say bacterial infections among the elderly typically spike around Christmas and New Year's -- possibly because of the germs they're exposed to at family gatherings with young children. However, since the vaccine Prevnar was introduced in 2000, infections among the elderly have dropped significantly. Prevnar fights against seven of the most common strains of strep. There was a spike in bacterial infections in 2004-2005, researchers don't know why. Women are more likely to experience infections over the holidays.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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