Flu Shots Pro and Cons

[Ballygrl]

Every year my Husband and I have this discussion, should we or shouldn't we get a flu shot. We've never had 1 before, even though I worked in the Medical Field for years. Honestly, I'm nervous about getting 1 just because I haven't had 1 before. Most people have had 1 and they've had no problem at all with them, then you speak to a few people who say they'd never have 1 again. About 10 years ago my Husband and I got the flu, it was a Friday and that morning my Husband started to get sick, I took him to the Doctor and while waiting with him in the waiting room I started to get symptoms that he had earlier in the morning, we both got a prescription, we went to get it filled, we went to bed and we were literally in bed for a week, we were that sick, the 2nd week we started feeling better but we were still sick and hardly worked the 2nd week, it literally took us a month to get over it. The thought of getting the flu terrifies me but the shot kind of scares me too.

What do you guys think about the flu shot?

[franksolich]

<<gets a flu shot every year.

Of course because I smoke; but until this past week, I hadn't even had a cold for four years, and I suspect always having been immunized against the flu, I avoided colds in the past.

This year the cold bug just struck earlier than usual.

Usually I get one every November.

It's a shot in the dark, though.  I haven't ever had any bad reactions, but I'm me, and everybody else is somebody else.  I've heard some tales of woe.

It all depends, I guess, if you want to gamble or not.

[MrsSmith]

I've never had it because I work in healthcare.  I figure I'm exposed to pretty much everything, and seldom get very sick.  An occasional cold or 24 hour bug is about all I've had for years.  It seems to me my immune system is working very efficiently and I see no reason to shove it either direction with an extra shot.

Anyway, every year "they" pick a few of the most popular strains for the shot, guaranteeing the ones they leave out have lots of people to affect and lots of time to spread and evolve.  I think the whole program may well be doing more harm than good, especially when they're trying to get those shots to nearly everyone.  IMHO, it would be more effective to "shoot" only those most likely to be very badly affected by the disease.

[Ballygrl]

I was just reading about natural remedies to prevent the flu, they mention making toast and adding butter to it and using a garlic clove on it. They also mentioned high amounts of Vitamin C which I have in the house. I just got done reading a study done by The Lancet and that article said they don't recommend it. I was wondering if maybe the Pneumonia shot would be better to get?

[Ballygrl]

I've never had it because I work in healthcare.  I figure I'm exposed to pretty much everything, and seldom get very sick.  An occasional cold or 24 hour bug is about all I've had for years.  It seems to me my immune system is working very efficiently and I see no reason to shove it either direction with an extra shot.

Anyway, every year "they" pick a few of the most popular strains for the shot, guaranteeing the ones they leave out have lots of people to affect and lots of time to spread and evolve.  I think the whole program may well be doing more harm than good, especially when they're trying to get those shots to nearly everyone.  IMHO, it would be more effective to "shoot" only those most likely to be very badly affected by the disease.

Which seems to support things I've read. What's your opinion on the Pneumonia shot?

[Evil_Conservative]

My last flu shot was back in middle school.  When I do get sick, I just suffer through it and take some NyQuil/DayQuil.  I just don't see the point of getting a shot.  It's not like it prevents anything.  I still got sick in school even with a flu shot.

[Delmar]

I just got my flu shot today at Walgreens.

Every time I go to Walgreens I always keep an eye out for DUmmies in the parking lot.

I always get the shot and I never seem to get the flu--never the put me out of commission for days on end type anyway.  I think it's because I'm getting older and over the years I've been exposed to so many different strains of it that my system knows how to deal with it pretty well.  They say that the strains are always different.  I've never taken the time to find out how the flu works but I do know that it's always an H something and an N something--H1N1 for example.  So I figure that when my body gets exposed to a new strain, maybe it doesn't recognize the H part but it has seen the N part sometime in my past and knows how to combat it, or vice versa.  That's how I figure I've avoided severe flu symptoms for a good stretch of years.  Knock on wood.    

[CG6468]

I got a free shot at Target. My wife HAD to get the flu shot to keep her job, since is was required by the hospital where she works (for 6 more days!).

It doesn't affect me now. Back in the mid-1960s, when it was required by the Coast Guard, I'd get the flu every damned time I got the shot. I finally made a deal with the doctor (civilian facility) to not give me the shot. (I took care of my own personnel file and health record, so it was no problem for me.)

[Ballygrl]

It seems like the biggest worry with getting the flu is having it turn into Pneumonia.

[whiffleball]

I don't get one.  I've gotten the flu twice after having had the shot, so I don't bother any more. 

If I start feeling flu-ish I begin high doses of C and D3, push fluids.

[longview]

I'm in healthcare and feel the way Mrs. Smith does about the flu shot.

I'm exposed to many illnesses.  My company's position is that by getting it we protect the patients.  I think good hand washing technique does more because even if I have a shot, I could carry viruses to them on my hands. 

I don't trust the vaccine makers to make vaccine well, either.  I remember the cases of Guillon-Barre that I treated that had a correlation to the flu shot that was made with the modified live virus.  So, they don't do that anymore.  Good.  But what's next?  And, as Mrs. Smith pointed out, the vaccines only address a few types of flu.  It's a guessing game with them.  Not their fault, that's just the best they can do.

Our medical director would like to fire everyone who declines to get the shot.  Legally he can't, but that's the amount of pressure we get to be vaccinated.

[Celtic Rose]

It seems like the biggest worry with getting the flu is having it turn into Pneumonia.

I got the H1N1 flu a couple years ago, and it did turn into pneumonia. It was the first time that the flu put me out of commission for more than a few days in as long as I can remember.  I still only got the flu shot under protest.  I'm volunteering at the hospital at the moment, and the rule is that you either get the flu shot, or you wear a face mask every time you are around a patient. 

My feeling is that overall I'm a healthy person with a functioning immune system.  The flu, and pneumonia, are miserable, but I most likely won't die from them.  I have access to medical care, so if I do feel that I am more ill than usual I can go to the hospital.

[Ballygrl]

Thanks everyone for your opinions, I'm leaning towards natural remedies right now.

[IassaFTots]

Thanks everyone for your opinions, I'm leaning towards natural remedies right now.

I had the flu as a kiddo, the Hong Kong Flu.  I have never taken the flu shot.  The only immunization I get is for tetanus.  That is a necessity, with me being clumsy.

[TVDOC]

I suspect that age is a factor in the decision (one's immune system degrades with age).  My wife and I get them every year, after Mrs. D contracted H1N1 three years ago, ended up with pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week.  Since then we've received them religiously.

I've experienced flu-like symptoms from one particular formula a few years back, but nothing serious.

We will likely get ours in the next week.

doc

[Ballygrl]

I had the flu as a kiddo, the Hong Kong Flu.  I have never taken the flu shot.  The only immunization I get is for tetanus.  That is a necessity, with me being clumsy.

LOL, I'm clumsy too and I get the Tetanus Shot every 10 years.

[Ballygrl]

I suspect that age is a factor in the decision (one's immune system degrades with age).  My wife and I get them every year, after Mrs. D contracted H1N1 three years ago, ended up with pneumonia and was hospitalized for a week.  Since then we've received them religiously.

I've experienced flu-like symptoms from one particular formula a few years back, but nothing serious.

We will likely get ours in the next week.

doc

The Pneumonia part is what scares me, and for some reason we seem to be having tons of cases of it here in NJ.

[Eupher]

We get them scheduled at work, which are free.

For one reason or another over the last 2-3 years, I've missed the opportunity. Last Tuesday, I was on the road to St. Louis. 

I usually wind up with a nasty head cold that has me miserable for about a week, but the OTC stuff usually helps me over the big hurdles.

I've never had a bad reaction to a flu shot, but there have been times I've felt woozy and conked out for a few hours.

[cmypay]

In about September every year, me and my children start in with high dose vitamin C, as well as regular daily vitamins. My husband is required by his employer to get the flu shot and gets sick from it every single year. I am convinced it is because he is allergic to the suspension it is in. Long about November, he will likely end up with pneumonia, unless the doc at work decides to make him get that shot, which actually seems to work for him.

[CG6468]

The only time I had pneumonia was when it was a symptom of Legionnaires Disease. That entire episode was not any fun.

[MrsSmith]

Which seems to support things I've read. What's your opinion on the Pneumonia shot?

I actually got pneumonia last year...my daughter and I got snowed in with 4 kids, and the youngest got sick enough that I was sure we'd have to haul her to the hospital during the night sometime.  Four different times, I went out and shoveled out the driveway so we could get out, and each time I came back in the house, it looked like the worst was over finally.  (We did finally end up in ER at 7 in the morning.)

Two days afterward, I went to the doctor with what I thought was bronchitis, but turned out to be pneumonia.  I think I only had to stay home one day, but it may have been 2.  I asked about the pneumonia shot when they called with the news that it was officially pneumonia, and my doctor said that he wouldn't really recommend it unless I started having pneumonia every year or two.

I'm over 50, but it seems that your overall health has more to do with this decision than age does.

[MrsSmith]

I'm in healthcare and feel the way Mrs. Smith does about the flu shot.

I'm exposed to many illnesses.  My company's position is that by getting it we protect the patients.  I think good hand washing technique does more because even if I have a shot, I could carry viruses to them on my hands. 

I don't trust the vaccine makers to make vaccine well, either.  I remember the cases of Guillon-Barre that I treated that had a correlation to the flu shot that was made with the modified live virus.  So, they don't do that anymore.  Good.  But what's next?  And, as Mrs. Smith pointed out, the vaccines only address a few types of flu.  It's a guessing game with them.  Not their fault, that's just the best they can do.

Our medical director would like to fire everyone who declines to get the shot.  Legally he can't, but that's the amount of pressure we get to be vaccinated.

I think it's worse than just the guessing game stuff.  They constantly warn people about using antibiotics on viruses because that ends up making bacterial diseases worse...how does that same principle not apply to flu shots?

[Janice]

I used to get the flu and it really didnt affect me or slow me down that much. Now, I get the flu shots every year, when I have the time and remember to. Years ago I had contracted Dengue fever when I lived in the Lesser Antilles. Its an infectious tropical disease spread by mosquitoes. Other parts of the world may refer to it as Malaria. It was the most painful thing I ever had to deal with. At the time the hospitals were out of commission because a hurricane had wiped most everything in the islands out. Anyways, as a result it seems I am rather susceptible to things like the common cold. It really 'knocks me out', more than most folk. And the flu is even worse. I suspect that when I get to a ripe old age I may very well die from something as innocuous as the every day common cold.

I luv not getting the flu. I will get the shots, generally speaking. But everybodys different. You know what you have to do.

[longview]

I think it's worse than just the guessing game stuff.  They constantly warn people about using antibiotics on viruses because that ends up making bacterial diseases worse...how does that same principle not apply to flu shots?

Because when people take antibiotics when they have a virus, they are doing nothing against the virus but they are schooling any and all bacteria present.  Bacteria adapt to things that threaten to kill them if the amount of antibiotic is sub-therapeutic.  Which is why most of the super bacteria now around is blamed on people not taking the complete course of antibiotics that were prescribed.  Or, taking antibiotics so frequently they have damaged other autoimmunity (good, helpful bacteria) in their systems, and end up assisting harmful bacterias to adapt and survive.      

Viruses when they run into antibodies specific to their type, don't adapt and thrive.  If I remember correctly, viruses are credited with adapting more to environment.

[MrsSmith]

Because when people take antibiotics when they have a virus, they are doing nothing against the virus but they are schooling any and all bacteria present.  Bacteria adapt to things that threaten to kill them if the amount of antibiotic is sub-therapeutic.  Which is why most of the super bacteria now around is blamed on people not taking the complete course of antibiotics that were prescribed.  Or, taking antibiotics so frequently they have damaged other autoimmunity (good, helpful bacteria) in their systems, and end up assisting harmful bacterias to adapt and survive.      

Viruses when they run into antibodies specific to their type, don't adapt and thrive.  If I remember correctly, viruses are credited with adapting more to environment.

And when a majority of people do take the flu shot, it blocks a few specific strains of the virus while leaving everyone completely vulnerable to the other strains...giving those other strains a good foundation for evolving rapidly with "no competition" from the strains chosen for the shots.  We are annually creating a good environment for whatever strain ends up being dominant in a given year.