Don't forget to get your Flu Shot!

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Replies

  • WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr
    WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr Posts: 2,150 Member
    Thanks for putting the reminder out! As a public health employee in a lab that does flu testing, am required to get one every year, but I do recommend it as well. {ducks for cover from all the anti-vaccine people}
    Yes there is a nasal spray flu vaccine you can get instead of the shot, at least in the US (I can't speak for other countries, I really don't know), and as for the shot itself, I know it's not a whole lot of comfort for those with needle phobias, but just so you know, they use a smaller needle than the one used for taking blood, so it doesn't hurt as much, just a quick sting and it's over.
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
    I and my two sons got it Saturday morning. I had the shot, they took the nasal spray. How anyone could be afraid of the tiny, wussy little needle they use is beyond me...
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    If you work with kids or the elderly, have kids or elderly parents, or work in health care and/or take public transportation and don't get a flu shot, you're an idiot.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
    I got the flu a month before the Boston Marathon in 2013 -- it totally messed up my training and I finished 30 minutes slower than my goal time. Haven't missed the flu shot since -- and haven't gotten the flu since.
  • Remus42
    Remus42 Posts: 149 Member
    edited October 2014
    No you are exercising your right to choose to have a shot or not. The flu shot is only good if they happened to get the correct strain this year. If not, you'll get the flu anyway. Not to mention that multi-dose vials of the flu vaccine contain small amounts of mercury used to keep it from developing bacteria. On top of that a small percent of those who get the flu shot can develop Guillain-Barré syndrome.
    I am neither for or against flu shots. It is as far as I am concerned a choice that adults should be able to make on there own. Now if on the other hand it was 99.9% accurate and prevented the disease, ie the measles vaccine, then I would be all for it. But until that time I feel it is a choice.

    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/guillainbarre.htm

    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm
  • 13bbird13
    13bbird13 Posts: 425 Member
    One year my two roommates got their shots and I didn't. Then weeks later both got the flu but I didn't... not even from them. Anecdotal evidence is worth beans, of course, but personally I don't find that my lifestyle requires a flu shot. For those who want/need it, definitely go for it... I'm not anti-inoculation.
  • shellma00
    shellma00 Posts: 1,684 Member
    You cant tell me what to do.. I do what I want.. LOL

    I dont get the flu shot. I hate needles and it isnt a sure thing. There are too many different strains of the flu and just as sure as I get a flu shot, I will get one of the strains that my shot didnt cover..
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    edited October 2014
    I've never had the flu, and the one year I got a flu shot, I got 5 sinus infections. No one is going to guilt trip or otherwise convince me to do it again.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 946 Member
    Um, the flu shot protects against what the brains think will be the top three or four toughest strains. Doesn't protect against ALL flu strains, but can help minimize symptoms and minimize the chances for needing to be hospitalized. This year, there are two types of shots being offered in the US.

    For 2014-2015:
    One type of shot protects against: an H1N1 (Swine Flu) and an H3N2 (Swine variant) and one type of influenza B virus

    The other type protects against an H1N1 and an H3N2 and TWO lineages of influenza B viruses (Currently circulating influenza B viruses belong to one of two lineages: B/Yamagata and B/Victoria. - http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/viruses/types.htm)



    And yeah, if you're working with elderly, children, immunocompromised, pregnant women, or anyone else who could end up hospitalized if they get the flu, it's not a bad idea to get the shot.

    If you're taking care of or in close quarters with anyone who has had transplant surgery, it's usually advised NOT to get the nasal spray, since that's usually a live vaccine, whereas the shots are usually not.
  • Surfrider
    Surfrider Posts: 364 Member
    36 years old. Never had a flu shot and I honestly cant say I have ever had the flu despite travelling all over the world.

    No vaccine for me, thanks.
  • spicy618
    spicy618 Posts: 2,117 Member
    Not trying to be funny. A serious question. If others around you take the flu shot, aren't they protected?
    I've never had a flu shot, but my mom (89) does. We don't live together, but I visit her often. Is she protected from me?
  • LosingItForGood13
    LosingItForGood13 Posts: 182 Member
    Received mine the first day was available in September I cant afford to be sick have 3 kids to take care of
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,295 Member
    I get my shot in august. why wait?
  • sentaruu
    sentaruu Posts: 2,206 Member
    idgaf.
  • baba_helly
    baba_helly Posts: 810 Member
    @wheird hi OP I know you have a fear of needles, can you let us know how your flu shot went? any advice for overcoming the fear of the big bad butterfly needle?
  • 98bikinisuitedlbs
    98bikinisuitedlbs Posts: 416 Member
    I did 3 weeks ago and freakn flu shot gave me all the flu symptoms.ARRRGGG Hopefully I can refocus as I am trying to lose my last freakn 5 lbs before Holidays!
  • Maryam2014mfp
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
    If you are afraid of pain associated with the injection site, you can get a product called EMLA cream. It's fairly inexpensive. My son uses it when he has blood taken and when he gets injections. You don't need a prescription but it is usually kept behind the counter at the pharmacy. Just ask. Take care :)

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