Have You Had Your Flu Shot Yet?

It's been 48 hrs... not a sniffle... Guess I'm over the hump... So.. go get your flu shot people!!

To be fair.. there ARE people that cannot have flu shots.. those that are immunosuppressed from cancer treatment or from other illnesses.. they are very susceptible to any infection. This is why choosing to NOT be vaccinated is pretty selfish IMO.. You are putting yourself at risk.. and that's ok as far as I'm concerned... suffer then.. BUT what is selfish is that you can spread the flu to people that are not able to be vaccinated and that are at risk of dying from it should they get it. It's called vaccinating the herd. There is a threshold where if enough people refuse vaccination an epidemic will break out. Thats selfish...
 
Don M. said:
When we lived in the city, I used to get the flu, and a couple of head colds, nearly every Winter....probably as a result of people coughing/sneezing in a crowded elevator, or crud on their hands attaching to every doorknob, etc. Knock wood, since moving to the country, I haven't had to upchuck once, and it's been years since I've had a cold. Last year, the wife's doctor convinced her to get a flu shot, and within hours she was sick as a dog, and in misery for 3 or 4 days. I think I'll continue to "pass" on these shots.
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Other side of the coin: I got sick with flu-like symptoms every single year, yet resisted getting the vaccine. About ten years ago, I relented, got the shot, no flu. Continued getting them since, no flu in 10 years. Got ours yesterday, shoulder a bit sore. I watched my wife's shot: needle was over an inch long, shoved in to the hilt!

BTW, why is it that the dog is always the sick one, when we make comparisons?? :) imp
 

1918 Flu Epidemic and my Dad

Side note: in 1918, a Pandemic of Influenza encircled the globe, killing 50 to 100 million people, 5% of the entire world's population. It's called one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history.

"The global mortality rate from the 1918/1919 pandemic is not known, but an estimated 10% to 20% of those who were infected died. With about a third of the world population infected, this case-fatality ratio means 3% to 6% of the entire global population died.[SUP][2][/SUP] Influenza may have killed as many as 25 million people in its first 25 weeks. Older estimates say it killed 40–50 million people,[SUP][4][/SUP] while current estimates say 50–100 million people worldwide were killed." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic

I happen to know about the 1918 flu because it was discussed within our family. My Dad got it, he was then 17, and very nearly died, sick for many weeks. Being 17, he was old enough to understand and remember it all his life. In his later years, right around retirement age, he began experiencing strange symptoms of mental imbalance, and began taking short, shuffling steps. First Dr. said multiple sclerosis. Specialists decided on Parkinson's Disease. L-Dopa was then an experimental drug, which he received under special consideration for testing. It made him worse.

My Mother cared for him at home. It became very difficult for them both, and when he died, it was actually a relief, hate to say it, to all of us. He never had the classic symptom of shakiness, or palsy. In later years, I heard of a brain affliction which "mimics" Parkinson's, called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, PSP. I have since considered that very likely, his affliction was PSP, it's fairly unimportant, now, no known cause or cure.

I've also wondered over the years whether some lingering factor from the 1918 bout with Influenza, left my Dad with some kind of residual "sleeping virus" within his system, just like Chickenpox can cause Shingles later in life. Thanks for reading. imp
 
Get one every year and had mine last month. A couple of years ago had the shot, but still got sick, as did my wife. This thing just lingered until I went to the doctor, who said that sometimes you catch a strain that the vaccine isn't effective against. Also told me that the shot at least kept me from being even sicker than I was, which was a bit disconcerting since I was miserable. Having had a few bad cases of the flu in my past, including the dreaded "Hong Kong" variety as a young teen that went through my entire household, I never want to experience that again. Never been so sick in my life. So, I get my shot every year.
 
The thing to remember is not every winter illness that seems to not go away is the flu.. You can get a very bad cold that turns into bronchitis or pneumonia.. and it's not the flu. The flu shot only protects from the influenza virus.. not the rhinovirus or other upper respiratory bugs.
 
imp said:
Other side of the coin: I got sick with flu-like symptoms every single year, yet resisted getting the vaccine. About ten years ago, I relented, got the shot, no flu. Continued getting them since, no flu in 10 years. Got ours yesterday, shoulder a bit sore. I watched my wife's shot: needle was over an inch long, shoved in to the hilt!

BTW, why is it that the dog is always the sick one, when we make comparisons?? :) imp
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I think a lot of the reasons people get the flu are related to the overall strength of their immune system, and the environment they circulate in. If a person has general good health, and does not find themselves in a situation where there are large numbers of people hacking and coughing, their risk is minimal. Even with these shots, the risk is still there to get some strain of the flu. The CDC data shows that the effectiveness of these shots is usually in the 50 to 60% range...and some years has dropped below 40%. If a person is worried about the possibility of getting the flu, then getting the shot is at least a bit of "insurance".

Insofar as "sick as a dog" is concerned....have you ever watched the gyrations a dog goes through when they have to upchuck?....it can be both Amusing, and disconcerting to watch them.
 
"Insofar as "sick as a dog" is concerned"

Ha, Ha! No, I don't think I've observed that, but have seen the cat puke up. They tend to move backwards as it happens, like trying to get away from it. Funniest thing about most cats, after they finish taking a dump, and covering it, they run like hell away from it! imp
 
Had mine today. They talked me into the high-dose shot, whatever that is. About 3 hours later, ran a mild temp of +2.0 deg F and couldn't get warm. Never had that happen before.

I would not have believed it if someone told me that would happen. I wonder if the low dose would have been the same.:confused:
 
NancyNGA said:
Had mine today. They talked me into the high-dose shot, whatever that is. About 3 hours later, ran a mild temp of +2.0 deg F and couldn't get warm. Never had that happen before.

I would not have believed it if someone told me that would happen. I wonder if the low dose would have been the same.:confused:
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Dunno, but I had a reaction to the high dose flu shot this year and I've never had one before. The pharmacist told me there was a new strain in it. I actually felt sort of punk for a couple days, and my arm was REALLY sore.
 
I'm going to try to get one on Monday at the chemists (drug store). Husband got his at doctor's office about a month ago since he's over 65 and it's free.
 
Lon said:
I just had mine at CVS today.
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On December 21. 2015 I had my flu shot and my pneumonia vaccine. Four days later I came down with a full blown case of pneumonia with flu like side effects and after two rounds of antibiotics it wasn't until last week that I finally had a few days of feeling like my normal self again. Today, I had my first appointment with my new Medicare Doctor and one of the first things I had her do was listen to my lungs and I am happy to say they are clear as a bell. :)
 
Yep, I got mine October 16 and I had a black and blue mark for over a month! But it is supposed to make any colds you have 'lessened' in its effects.
 
I for one wouldn't miss having the flu shot... and here's why.... I had my shot in October of last year. On Thanksgiving, my son came over and he was deathly ill.. Coughing, sneezing and feverish.. I was a bit miffed that he would come by being so sick... ANYWAY... in about 4 days, I started feeling sniffley and my throat was scratchy... All I could think of was "Gee thanks, Son"... now I have what you do. In about 24 hours my symptoms completely went away. The same thing happened to my husband, who also had his flu shot in October.

My son was still deathly Ill, and went to the Doctor.. Guess what.. He was positive for Influenza b... the real deal... he remained sick another week.. So.. what does that tell you..? Flu shots work, and I was protected. My body had the antibodies against the flu and fought it off.
 
QuickSilver said:
I for one wouldn't miss having the flu shot... and here's why.... I had my shot in October of last year. On Thanksgiving, my son came over and he was deathly ill.. Coughing, sneezing and feverish.. I was a bit miffed that he would come by being so sick... ANYWAY... in about 4 days, I started feeling sniffley and my throat was scratchy... All I could think of was "Gee thanks, Son"... now I have what you do. In about 24 hours my symptoms completely went away. The same thing happened to my husband, who also had his flu shot in October.

My son was still deathly Ill, and went to the Doctor.. Guess what.. He was positive for Influenza b... the real deal... he remained sick another week.. So.. what does that tell you..? Flu shots work, and I was protected. My body had the antibodies against the flu and fought it off.
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That's good - I'm glad it worked for you.

I've just read too many articles about some of the bad side effects of the shots - Alzheimer's Disease, Guillain Barre Syndrome - or how they made you feel even worse, or prove ineffective, when the flu bug came around. Some vaccinations are said to contain mercury. There are lawyers who specialize in flu shot reactions, and the trick is you cannot by law sue the manufacturers - there is a Flu Vaccine Court headed up by the Federal government.

I'm still young enough to think I'm immortal, though. My thinking might change in a few years.
 

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