Flu shots

[bwframe]

Do you get flu shots?

 

[Bill of Rights]

Do you get flu shots?

Every time I have, they work: I get it.

No thanks.

Blessings,
Bill

 

[Benny]

I'm too strong for medicine.

 

[Prometheus]

If the flu shot was actually for the strain of Flu that winds up hitting the US, I might consider it.

However they get the right strain about once every 12 years. they like to claim that some 'cross resistance' is formed, but usually by the time you get the shot the flu is hitting and you have done nothing but distract and weaken your immune system for the actual flu.

One of the more recent stories about it
Flu Shots Target Wrong Strain But Still Worth Having Says CDC

 

[Crystalship1]

Every time I have, they work: I get it.

No thanks.

Blessings,
Bill

Same here!!!!

 

[Pami]

Every time I have, they work: I get it.

No thanks.

Blessings,
Bill

Same with me -- except my body always reacts so badly it's ten times worse than it is in normal people who get the flu by accident.

 

[Dogman]

Haven't yet, with all the healthy crap the wife has me on the flu would be afraid to come around here.

 

[melensdad]

I've gotten them a couple times, I can't say it worked or didn't work particularly well. I've never had a bad reaction to one. Last year I did get one and did not get the flu, so I guess it worked?

 

[RogerB]

I've gotten them a couple times, I can't say it worked or didn't work particularly well. I've never had a bad reaction to one. Last year I did get one and did not get the flu, so I guess it worked?

Ditto, same here... so I guess... or did I just wash my hands properly and often enough not to catch it?

Working in the IT field with exposure to several keyboards daily....hand sanitizers are my first line of defense.

 

[Scutter01]

I've never gotten the flu when I've had a shot, but I rarely get it without a shot, so I can't tell if it works or not. I can tell you that between 12 and 13 minutes after getting a flu shot (without fail - I bring a stopwatch now) I will break into a cold sweat and feel like I'm going to hurl. After about 10 minutes of that, it abruptly quits and I'm fine, except for the need to change my now-sweaty shirt. Weird, huh?

 

[RogerB]

I've never gotten the flu when I've had a shot, but I rarely get it without a shot, so I can't tell if it works or not. I can tell you that between 12 and 13 minutes after getting a flu shot (without fail - I bring a stopwatch now) I will break into a cold sweat and feel like I'm going to hurl. After about 10 minutes of that, it abruptly quits and I'm fine, except for the need to change my now-sweaty shirt. Weird, huh?

or maybe psychosomatic ?

 

[Scutter01]

or maybe psychosomatic ?

Maybe. More likely just an allergic reaction of some sort. As far as I know, I'm not allergic to either eggs or thimerosol, though, so I'm as baffled as anyone.

 

[Turtle]

I'm a big turtle we have great immune systems. My Lil turtle has never had the shot either and like his daddy when every one gets sick hes just fine and helping take care of his mommy or gram-ma and gram-pa. My 79yo grandfather (Ex Marine) Is just like me just shorter and meaner and drinks more and partys harder then me. atleast 2-4 times a week. And has smoked 2 packs a day since he was a child! No flu shot. No flu. No sickness besides the occasional hangover!... They dont make em like this no more...lol

 

[ATM]

I have had the shot maybe 40% of the last several years and can't tell since I've rarely had the flu with or without.

Now typhoid... that's a whole different story. Those vaccines would put me down for days!

 

[whiskeytangofoxtrot]

No thanks, when I get a shot I usually end up with the flu...I will stock up on OJ and take extra Vitamin C about this time of year. It's worked the last two years so far...

 

[AFA1CY]

You really do not get the flu from the shot. The shot contains the dead virus so your body makes the antibodies to fight the real live virus. What you may get from the shot is a reaction because your body thinks it has the flu. Some people react more than others. Or you may really be getting the flu from another strain.

Oh, and yes. I get the shot when it is offered here at work.

 

[Bubbajms]

I've gotten the shot the last several years just based on working with such a wide spectrum of public. Haven't really gotten sick since, and I'd gotten the flu when I was a youngster, but who knows if it's working or not??

 

[rhino]

I get a shot every year and I'll continue to do so, unless I choose to switch to the nasal spray version.

I've had the flu several times in the past, once during my last trip to California, where I ended up stuck in a hotel in San Francisco for more than a week before I could fly home. I probably should have been in the hospital. I don't do well with the flu or any other illness that affects my respiratory system.

Since I've been getting a shot every year, I have not contracted the flu. Yes, the manufacturers guess which strains are going to be the most likely problems each year. Usually it does pretty well for most people. Multiple strains of flu appear each year, and you could easily argue that the strains that seem to be causing the most problems would be accompanied by other strains if that years vaccine were not effective against the latter.

Furthermore, there is significant merit in the assertion that the antibodies introduced into your system will at least help fight other strains, even if they won't work on them 100%. Any person will probably be less sick (significantly so) with those antibodies than if they did not have them. "Less sick" could mean the difference between life and death for certain people.

Given all of the risks, potential risks, benefits, and potential benefits, I remain convinced that annual flu vaccinations are the right thing to do for me. I believe the same is true for everyone else who can tolerate them, but we all have to make our own decisions.

I'll be getting mine some time in the next few weeks. Might try the nasal spray this year because it's functional in your body much sooner and typically targets a larger number of influenza strains. Although, with the nasal administration, there is a tiny, tiny, tiny chance of contracting the flu from the innoculation since the virons are still technically viable, although severely weakend (unlike the shot where they are completely inert).

 

[Donnelly]

Maybe. More likely just an allergic reaction of some sort. As far as I know, I'm not allergic to either eggs or thimerosol, though, so I'm as baffled as anyone.

Scutter, I have worked in the medical field for 16 years now, and that sure sounds like a mild allergic reaction to me. Just be glad it's mild; anaphylaxtic shock sucks.

 

[JcJ]

Tamiflu, also said to work against the "bird flu epidemic" cooties and Zombie infections