The Flu

[nodrew]

Why does everyone need to be so absolutely crazed about getting the flue vaccine shot, when in most cases it really doesn't even do anything to help. Personally, I deal with the fact that I will most likely get a cold or the flu or whatever... that's alright with me.

Some people just need to chill out. I can understand having kids and the elderly get it, as their immune system are not as strong. But people my age, shit...

[Jarodaka]

Combine long lines of stupid people with 24-hour news and you've got an 'epidemic' on your hands!

[JaneDead]

i used to work at a school and i would get sick all the time from those kids. my boss and others strongly "SUGGESTED" that i get that shot. so i got it 2 years in a row while working there. those years i got the flu anyways. everyone said "yeah you got it but not as BAD as if you hadn't had the shot".... sure sure right.

[Fierce Critter]

I'm not concerned, as I work out of the home and am not exposed to people all that much. My husband is young and healthy, so he's not concerned, either.

My parents, however, should get one. They're 78 and 79, and both have health issues. And last I talked to them, they couldn't get one. That does concern me.

[JaneDead]

i don't like how the flu shot made me feel after. and the area where i would get the shot would hurt and be red/hot and irritated. that bothered me that it did that. they said "oh that is normal". yeah but shouldn't the flu shot make it so i feel better not worse?

[Fierce Critter]

You would think so. But my mother generally gets a little ill after getting it. She's got hypchondriac tendencies, however, so she might be making HERSELF get sick.

[Soulrev]

Flu shots are a waste of money, UNLESS you're a child or senior.. Right now, I'm in my prime.. No flu can restrain me!

[Shade Everdark]

For those who posted about how the flu shots make you feel, keep in mind exactly what such vaccinations are...they're a dose of weakened or dead flu virus, tailored for the purpose of giving your body a chance to prepare its defenses on a foe that can't offer much resistance...what you're likely feeling is the little bit of fight that virus is attempting to put up before the shot annihilates it.

Vaccinations are fun, aren't they? I remember being a kid and thinking about that every time I'd get a vaccination or a booster. I was a worrier even way back then.

[gothicmom]

I've only had a flu shot once....I was pregnant, my insurance covered it, and it was readily available.

Generallly, I don't get flu like sick.

[Rose]

well there are several advantages to getting a flu shot, a few limitations and virtually no drawbacks.

the advantages:

you will be protected from those strains of flu for years. the reason there is a new vaccine each year is that they pick the strains they deem most likely to be the biggest threat, but if you have gotten a vaccine in recent years you are still immune from the strains of those years as well.

even if you are "low risk", getting the vaccine anyway contributes to what is called herd-immunity. though you may be low risk you could still come down with flu or even be a carrier of it. during your daily life you may come into contact with someone who is high risk and pass it on to them. someone's grandma might get really sick because you sneeze on them at walgreens...

if you regualary come in contact with someone young, old, or sick, protecting yourself is another step in protecting them.

the limitations:

the vaccine only protects against a few strains of flu the CDC picks out as the most likely to be the virulent strains that flu season. it is always possible that a different strain of flu will come out that you will still be susceptible to.

the drawbacks:

well you have to get a shot so if you're terrified of needles that would be one. it does have a common side effect of a red spot about the size of a quarter that is sore for a day or two.

of course this year they're impossible to get :( so even if you are in a high-risk group you probably won't be able to find one.

[The_Dark]

Bah. I dont believe in getting flu shots. At least not for anyone of good health. I would rather deal with the Flu then the possiblility of dieing before I leave the Doctors office.

[Head Wreck]

flu shot...

elderly

prime of life hell no.

i'm a big fan of rest and plenty of vit C as soon as you even start feeling it coming on

went on excercise with the sniffles, 12 hours of runnioing about in body armour and a heavy rifle over rocky mouintain terrain. and i collapsed and halucinated for 3 days, was off my work for 2 weeks.

[Rose]

Bah. I dont believe in getting flu shots. At least not for anyone of good health. I would rather deal with the Flu then the possiblility of dieing before I leave the Doctors office.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the odds of your dying from a flu vaccine are almost non-existant. the biggest risk is anaphalactic shock from an egg allergy, in which case the doc's office is the best place for you because they could provide epinephrine and oxygen to counteract the attack.

the odds of your needing to be hospitalized or dying from the flu are significantly higher. Each year in the US over 300,000 people are hospitalized and over 100,000 people die of flu. Obviously the morbitidy rate is higher for the young, the elderly and the immunocompromised, but it is still a risk.

the choice of whether or not to get a flu vaccine is obviously just that: a choice. but PLEASE make an informed decision. and if you don't want it because you are convinced you're invincible, or because you are scared of the needle, then just say that and don't spread rumors about vaccine death to people who really ought to get the vaccine.

[The_Dark]

I had to go the Funeral of a friends wife. She died within 5min of getting a flu shot. I have not gotten a flu shot since. Nor will I.

I'm not really all that big on vaccines in general. Vaccines have caused, over the years, many deaths or other severe side effects. I might point out that until we started mass innoclulations 50 years ago we did no have cancer in epidemic numbers, that autoimmune ailments were barely known, and childhood autism barely existed. There are those that beleive that Polio has been wiped out. Thats not true, there are still new cases of Polio, they just dont occur naturally. They are caused by the Polio Vaccine. Do you know how vaccines are produced? In animal parts or human cell lines. Some of those human cell lines are cancers kept "alive" in labs. There is a large amount of research that says that the deseases we are wiping out are far less of a problem than the ones we are creating in the process. I like to err on the side of caution.

[Rose]

well you know, I could spend an hour backing up everything I've said with links to scientific studies, and explaining that we were far worse off before vaccines were routine and that the benefits far outweigh the risks.

but it wouldn't change your mind.

I will just once again urge everyone to make an INFORMED decision. Do not go by what people say on a message board. Get out there and google it for yourself. And look for credible sources. If you want to read both sides of the story, that is fine, but watch out for anecdotal evidence. Look for randomized double-blind studies.

[The_Dark]

And I can spend an equal hour posting links to research that backs up everything I have said. My decision is informed. I base my decision on more than what the CDC and drug companys tell me.

[Rose]

my post about being informed was not directed at you. it was directed to everyone who might go "oh I'm not getting that shot, The Dark knows someone who DIED from it!!" -- which is anecdotal evidence.

and also I was saying hey don't take my word for it either. I could go dig up the studies but I believe it is each person's responsibility to do their own research.

obviously I am an advocate of the shot. especially because my mother is immuno-compromised, and although she did receive a shot, it might not be totally effective on her. as well as the fact that I will be giving birth sometime this month. I was unable to obtain a shot for my husband or myself, and my daughter will be too young. So that makes two of my family members at high risk for having serious complications from flu this year.

[Soulrev]

Hey Mark, just out of curiousity how did she die so fast from the shot? You know I'm not ridiculing you, just interested in knowing.

[The_Dark]

She was alergic to something in the shot I guesse. I never asked for little details as I thought it would be insensitive. I know that the Doctor that gave the shot got in a bit of trouble and my friend Pat got a huge settlement from the insurance company for the malpractice. Not that either of those brought his wife back. I would have to guesse she was highly allergic to eggs and for some reason the Doc never told her there was Egg in the shots or looked at her chart to know that she was Allergic.