Don't forget to get your Flu Shot!

245

Replies

  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
    edited October 2014
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    Just FYI, most influenza vaccines are a nasal spray.

    really???

    Not in Australia they aren't - all influenza vaccines here are an injection.

    Have not heard of nasal spray flu vaccines - afaik, no vaccines for anything are yet available as nasal sprays. I certainly havent come across any in many years of working in immunisation.

    Please let us know which country you are in, where there are nasal spray vaccines.

    I never heard of it and thought it defeated the purpose of saying, you know, "shot" but evidently they exist with pros and cons. I just googled "nasal influenza vaccine".
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    edited October 2014
    21million wrote: »
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    Just FYI, most influenza vaccines are a nasal spray.

    really???

    Not in Australia they aren't - all influenza vaccines here are an injection.

    Have not heard of nasal spray flu vaccines - afaik, no vaccines for anything are yet available as nasal sprays. I certainly havent come across any in many years of working in immunisation.

    Please let us know which country you are in, where there are nasal spray vaccines.

    I never heard of it and thought it defeated the purpose of saying, you know, "shot" but evidently they exist with pros and cons. I just googled "nasal influenza vaccine".
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    Just FYI, most influenza vaccines are a nasal spray.

    really???

    Not in Australia they aren't - all influenza vaccines here are an injection.

    Have not heard of nasal spray flu vaccines - afaik, no vaccines for anything are yet available as nasal sprays. I certainly havent come across any in many years of working in immunisation.

    Please let us know which country you are in, where there are nasal spray vaccines.

    LOL, I'm just gonna leave this here.

    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/nasalspray.htm
  • jennycina93
    jennycina93 Posts: 127 Member
    No thanks. I get a flu about every 8 years and I'm down for 2 days and then I'm right back up. No big issues with the flu for me.
  • RunsOnEspresso
    RunsOnEspresso Posts: 3,218 Member
    edited October 2014
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    So do I but I force myself to get the shot every year as I am asthmatic. I'd rather be anxious and stressed for a short while than in the hospital with the flu and anemia, out for who knows how long.

    ETA: I got mine on Friday. It was a very traumatic week with a blood draw on Tuesday and shot on Friday.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    edited October 2014
    We have nasal flu vaccines here in Canada. Contraindicated for people with asthma, fyi

    Edited to add that the primary form of flu vaccine given is by needle though.
  • Shelgirl001
    Shelgirl001 Posts: 477 Member
    I don't do flu shots... sorry...
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    21million wrote: »
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    Just FYI, most influenza vaccines are a nasal spray.

    really???

    Not in Australia they aren't - all influenza vaccines here are an injection.

    Have not heard of nasal spray flu vaccines - afaik, no vaccines for anything are yet available as nasal sprays. I certainly havent come across any in many years of working in immunisation.

    Please let us know which country you are in, where there are nasal spray vaccines.

    I never heard of it and thought it defeated the purpose of saying, you know, "shot" but evidently they exist with pros and cons. I just googled "nasal influenza vaccine".
    Cait_Sidhe wrote: »
    I have a terrible phobia of needles. Hyperventaliating and all. I'd rather get the flu. SOO.. no thanks. :pensive:

    Just FYI, most influenza vaccines are a nasal spray.

    really???

    Not in Australia they aren't - all influenza vaccines here are an injection.

    Have not heard of nasal spray flu vaccines - afaik, no vaccines for anything are yet available as nasal sprays. I certainly havent come across any in many years of working in immunisation.

    Please let us know which country you are in, where there are nasal spray vaccines.

    LOL, I'm just gonna leave this here.

    http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/nasalspray.htm

    I bet it burns like one of those sneezes that get stuck in your nose! D:
  • EvgenyP
    EvgenyP Posts: 19 Member
    Would rather take DNP for weight loss than take a flu shot, but i wont take either.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,300 Member
    Interesting. thanks for that link.

    they are not availabe in Australia.

    on reading the link though, nasal spray flu vaccine is NOT recomended for
    • children under 2
    • adults over 50
    • asthmatics of any age
    • pregnant women
    • people with underlying medical conditions that place them at high risk of serious flu complications

    which rules out almost all people getting free flu vaccine in Australia anyway.


    Do you know if it is more expensive than injections?

    If so, most work places which vaccinate their employees wont pay for it either and many people would still opt for the injection if it is much cheaper.


  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,021 Member
    lorib642 wrote: »
    I volunteer at a hospital. If we don't get the shot we have to wear a mask during flu season. I choose the shot.
    Since I also work at a Wellness Center (gym attached to a hospital), I also had to get the flu shot rather than try to train and teach people with a mask on. Lol, the ironic thing is once I punch out, I can take the mask off and go back on the floor to work out.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • 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.
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  • 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: 944 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: 2,114 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: 4,294 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?
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  • 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!
  • 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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