Flu Shots? thoughts

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Replies

  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.

    Because people who are immunocompromised don't have bills to pay, especially medical bills.

    If they are immunocompromised, the flu is really the least of their worries.

    They are not supposed to be around normal people in crowded areas or be in too much contact, bottom line. You dont see chemo patients running around
  • fitbugfreak
    fitbugfreak Posts: 86 Member
    Never had them and never will.
  • Got them as a kid, not so much as an adult. My daughter is going on 4 and I think she's gotten it once. We're generally very healthy and don't get sick. We get our vaccinations and wash our hands regularly, deal with colds if they pop up but don't go for antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I'm thinking this contributes greatly to our healthy immune systems. I understand it's a virus but maybe we've just been lucky.

    Everyone should do what THEY feel is right for themselves and their families.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.

    Because people who are immunocompromised don't have bills to pay, especially medical bills.

    If they are immunocompromised, the flu is really the least of their worries.

    They are not supposed to be around normal people in crowded areas or be in too much contact, bottom line. You dont see chemo patients running around

    Yes, you DO see chemo patients running around! You just don't know it! Have you ever had chemo? Some regimens are 1 day on, 4 weeks off, 3 weeks off. People go on with their lives during chemo--work, go to school, etc. We need that medical insurance to pay for the chemo, because it ain't cheap. You don't sit holed up in your house 24/7. I worked, my best friend worked, a news anchor here in town worked during her chemo. We're not emaciated, pale, frail beings in a wheelchair--we look like everyone else, except when we're not wearing our wigs. In fact, since you get steroids with chemo, some of us actually GAIN weight.
  • jodynolte
    jodynolte Posts: 243 Member
    The only year my son didn't get one, he got the flu and it was awful. So we will both get them again.
  • People die from the flu, that can be prevented by getting the flu vaccine. I get the flu vaccine.
  • Sedna_51
    Sedna_51 Posts: 277 Member
    As someone with a compromised immune system: I get mine every year, and thank you to everyone who gets them regularly. Get the flu shot for yourself, but also get it so you're less likely to make a newborn or an elderly person or someone with cancer sick. I used to walk through the HIV treatment clinic at work- I never wanted to be the person who gave someone with a raft of health problems ANOTHER thing to deal with. Pneumonia and pleurisy aren't fun. :(
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.

    Because people who are immunocompromised don't have bills to pay, especially medical bills.

    If they are immunocompromised, the flu is really the least of their worries.

    They are not supposed to be around normal people in crowded areas or be in too much contact, bottom line. You dont see chemo patients running around

    Yes, you DO see chemo patients running around! You just don't know it! Have you ever had chemo? Some regimens are 1 day on, 4 weeks off, 3 weeks off. People go on with their lives during chemo--work, go to school, etc. We need that medical insurance to pay for the chemo, because it ain't cheap. You don't sit holed up in your house 24/7. I worked, my best friend worked, a news anchor here in town worked during her chemo. We're not emaciated, pale, frail beings in a wheelchair--we look like everyone else, except when we're not wearing our wigs. In fact, since you get steroids with chemo, some of us actually GAIN weight.

    You are not supposed to run around when during nadir. Especially in crowded areas.

    I have had 2 family members that have had chemo. I pretty much was at the hospital every week over several eyars
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
    People die from the flu, that can be prevented by getting the flu vaccine. I get the flu vaccine.
    No.

    I got it once about 7 years ago, a month later, got the flu. Haven't had a shot since, nor the flu. I like my odds. Plus I'm not a fan of injecting all these random viruses - dead or not - in my body.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    My kids get them every Fall.
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    I get the flu shot every year, have never had the flu. Never want to either. I work in EMS & deal with flu patients in close contact all winter long. If it wasn't for the vaccine, I'd be in big trouble.

    I also have 2 elderly parents and I would never want to transmit the flu to them. While they too get the vaccine, they could still become infected, though to a lesser degree. I wouldn't risk getting them sick. Ever.

    My daughter (11 years old) gets the vaccine. My son (now 18) is wildly needle-phobic, and I just won't fight with him any more to get the vaccine. He did contract swine flu the year it was prevalent, though not very severely, thank goodness.
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    I did once and got the flu four times that year. I was useless for weeks every time.

    Best flu shot ever-eat right. I dont get sick anymore.
    Wow. You cannot get the flu four times in a year. It's just...wow. Also, if you had the needle injection, it's a dead virus. It physically cannot cause the flu. Ever.
  • I work in the medical field and I am in constant contact with people so it would be pretty irresponsible not to. I never bothered before
  • I am a previous non believer in vaccinations. But, now that I work in healthcare and see just how sick people can get - even healthy people, when a bad illness enters their system, I would never skip.

    my take: the vaccination is a inactive or nonliving form of a disease and when vaccinated with it, your body will develop a memory to this bad illness and if/when you come into contact with the disease - your bod ALREADY has the memory of it to kill it off IMMEDIATLEY, instead of having to get all the symptoms and be miserable for a few days while waiting for your body to make the concoction to begin killing it off days after you contracted the disease. AND a bonus, if you do get an illness - you fight it off before you can pass off and spread it to your loved ones in the family who now don't have to suffer.
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.
    Wow. Just...wow.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    You bet I get the flu shot. Every year. The shot cannot give you the flu because it is a dead virus. The nasal spray has the potential to because it is only partially inactivated, so there is a slight chance with the nasal spray. But the vaccine does not and cannot cover every possible strain that can exist. Every year, CDC and other epidemiologists meet and decide based on trends elsewhere in the world which strains are most likely to appear here, and then the vaccines are created to prevent those strains. But there are some strains which can appear not covered, which is why you can get the vaccine and still get the flu. It isn't the vaccine giving you the flu. And even if you do get a different strain of the flu, you will most likely get a much milder case than if you hadn't gotten the vaccine at all.

    But healthy people can die or become very ill and have to be hospitalized from the flu. It isn't only those who necessarily fall into the higher-risk categories. And there is also great benefit to herd immunity. The more people who get vaccinated, the less problems there will be for everyone, even those that don't get the vaccine.

    I guess I just don't understand not getting it. Cowardice over being needle-phobic? Apathy? Mis-information? Feeling of invulnerability because you are young and healthy? But as for me, I'm getting it as soon as my employer offers it.
  • jendraka
    jendraka Posts: 117 Member
    I have never had a flu shot. I cannot, to my recollection, remember ever having had the flu in my life.

    To my knowledge, the flu shot covers 2 to 3 strains of flu "predicted" to be the most common strains to be in the population in the upcoming season. There are many different strains of flu. Whether or not the strains vaccinated for are the actual strains that will be prevalent in your area is really yet to be known and whether or not you will even be exposed to those particular strains is entirely up in the air. The strains of flu that you may be exposed to may be entirely different than what you were vaccinated against.

    All in all, good diet, well practiced hygiene, and other factors (the state of your own immune system) come into play a lot as well.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place.

    Normal people? Boy how derogatory towards immunocompromisd people can you get? Guess they aren't "normal". Whatever in the hell normal means.
  • MzPix
    MzPix Posts: 177 Member
    We don’t do flu shots, as we tend to veer more toward the anti-vac crowd. I think people should do what they believe is right for their own health and the health of their families when it comes to vaccinations. I don’t push my vaccination beliefs on others like some of the celebrities, but I do maintain my right to make choices about my own body and one of those choices is to decline certain injections. To each their own.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    We don’t do flu shots, as we tend to veer more toward the anti-vac crowd. I think people should do what they believe is right for their own health and the health of their families when it comes to vaccinations. I don’t push my vaccination beliefs on others like some of the celebrities, but I do maintain my right to make choices about my own body and one of those choices is to decline certain injections. To each their own.

    People who decide not to get their children vaccinated, without good medical reason, should be put in jail for child abuse.
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
    We don’t do flu shots, as we tend to veer more toward the anti-vac crowd. I think people should do what they believe is right for their own health and the health of their families when it comes to vaccinations. I don’t push my vaccination beliefs on others like some of the celebrities, but I do maintain my right to make choices about my own body and one of those choices is to decline certain injections. To each their own.

    And you have COPD? One of the diseases at highest risks for complications from the flu? You certainly have the right, but boy, that seems like an awfully huge risk to take with your life. And that is what it is. Every year. At any time.
  • RozayJones
    RozayJones Posts: 409 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.

    Because people who are immunocompromised don't have bills to pay, especially medical bills.

    If they are immunocompromised, the flu is really the least of their worries.

    They are not supposed to be around normal people in crowded areas or be in too much contact, bottom line. You dont see chemo patients running around

    Yes, you DO see chemo patients running around! You just don't know it! Have you ever had chemo? Some regimens are 1 day on, 4 weeks off, 3 weeks off. People go on with their lives during chemo--work, go to school, etc. We need that medical insurance to pay for the chemo, because it ain't cheap. You don't sit holed up in your house 24/7. I worked, my best friend worked, a news anchor here in town worked during her chemo. We're not emaciated, pale, frail beings in a wheelchair--we look like everyone else, except when we're not wearing our wigs. In fact, since you get steroids with chemo, some of us actually GAIN weight.

    I did not have chemo when I was treated for cancer but I did have radiation and I was not allowed in public, I could not use a bathroom without flushing the toilet 3 times, had to use disposable everything, couldn't see, touch or hold my kids for 7 days and even then it was questionable. Yes cancer patients are normal people and most can do everyday things BUT it is important to remember every case is different - I have a weak immune system due to having cancer, I gained 60#s from my treatment, I have no energy I could keep going but what does this have to do with a simple question such as getting a flu shot! We all have our reasons to get them or not to get them!
  • MzPix
    MzPix Posts: 177 Member
    We don’t do flu shots, as we tend to veer more toward the anti-vac crowd. I think people should do what they believe is right for their own health and the health of their families when it comes to vaccinations. I don’t push my vaccination beliefs on others like some of the celebrities, but I do maintain my right to make choices about my own body and one of those choices is to decline certain injections. To each their own.

    Just my opinion, but denying children vaccinations like measles, mumps, rubella, is child abuse.

    OK. Thanks for your opinion? We all have opinions about what other people do or don't do with their children.
    The OP was asking us what we thought about the flu shot and I provided my perspective in that regard.
    I'm not here to judge anyone for the decisions they make via their parenting choices.
  • Lochlyn_D
    Lochlyn_D Posts: 492 Member
    No way. I have never had a flu shot and I have never had the flu, or even a bad cold. Coincidence? I doubt it.
  • spatulathumbs
    spatulathumbs Posts: 125 Member
    I've never had a flu shot and don't plan on starting. Rationally, I know it's completely anecdotal, but I've seen too many people get the shot and get really, really sick, while I don't and feel fine. Science tells me that it's not connected, but I just can't wrap my brain around it. *shrug*

    My kid, however, is fully vax'd. I am not interested in rolling the dice with him. My parents had friends who got polio, and let me tell you, my kid is NOT getting that.
  • cristynfaye
    cristynfaye Posts: 88 Member
    Get your shots. Get all your shots, and make sure your kids get their vaccines too. Even if you don't normally get the flu, you could still be a carrier for it. Vaccines aren't just about protecting ourselves, they are also about protecting those around us-mainly small children, the elderly, or people who can't otherwise get vaccines. They are VERY important, and you're lucky if you live in a country where they are easily accessible.
  • MissKalhan
    MissKalhan Posts: 2,282 Member
    Never. My mom when she was my age nearly died from a rare disease caused by the flu shot, needless to say she didn't want to lose her babies.
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    The one year I didn't get a flu shot (the year they were rationing them) I caught the flu twice, a stomach virus and strep throat within a month and a half span. It wrecked my body and permanently messed up my parasympathetic nervous system. I was bedridden for three months because my blood pressure dropped so low it couldn't hold my body upright. I'm still suffering the effects of it 8 years later.

    I will always get a flu shot as long as it is available to me.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    People who are immunocompromised shouldnt be running around with normal people in the first place. It is one of the precautions medical professionals tell them.

    Because people who are immunocompromised don't have bills to pay, especially medical bills.

    If they are immunocompromised, the flu is really the least of their worries.

    They are not supposed to be around normal people in crowded areas or be in too much contact, bottom line. You dont see chemo patients running around

    Yes, you DO see chemo patients running around! You just don't know it! Have you ever had chemo? Some regimens are 1 day on, 4 weeks off, 3 weeks off. People go on with their lives during chemo--work, go to school, etc. We need that medical insurance to pay for the chemo, because it ain't cheap. You don't sit holed up in your house 24/7. I worked, my best friend worked, a news anchor here in town worked during her chemo. We're not emaciated, pale, frail beings in a wheelchair--we look like everyone else, except when we're not wearing our wigs. In fact, since you get steroids with chemo, some of us actually GAIN weight.

    You are not supposed to run around when during nadir. Especially in crowded areas.

    I have had 2 family members that have had chemo. I pretty much was at the hospital every week over several eyars

    At nadir, you don't feel like running around. It's the rest of the time when you're trying to live a normal life that you're out and about.
  • I get the shot all of the time but oddly enough, I end up getting the flu almost every single time.