Flu shot?

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
Who got the flu shot? I get one every year at the hospital I work at. This year they asked only those people in "high risk" group to get it. Which for me is working with patients and also having a child less than 6 months old at home. So I got mine today.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 69
    pfflampfflam Posts: 5,053member
    My daughter of 23 months got one yesterday . . . . day before the clinic ran out.



    BTW: FLU and contamination etc
  • Reply 2 of 69
    these stupid shots are the most over-hyped vaccine ever. i understand that there are many cases in which the vaccine should be used, such as children or the elderly, but not every goddam person is gonna die if they get the flu.
  • Reply 3 of 69
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    It's a total guessing game. What they do is look at what flu is dominating China that flu season. Then they make a vaccine for that. I used to never get a flu shot and then I got hit hard one year. Maybe the shot would have helped that year?
  • Reply 4 of 69
    last years flu shot was only effective in the eastern part of the country and not the west, or vice versa. my son's pediatrician told me that when was he getting his a couple of weeks ago. he has asthma and the flu could put him in the hospital.

    my other son and daughter won't get one, i won't, my wife will as she also has chronic asthma.
  • Reply 5 of 69
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    My 18-month old got one last week, but not my 5-year old. My 30-year old, err my wife isn't getting one this year, even though she works in a hospital and sees patients and has been required to get one every other year. She's always gotten one. I don't usually get one anyway.
  • Reply 6 of 69
    marcukmarcuk Posts: 4,442member
    I can understand the elderly and ill children getting a flu shot, but I think the average person does not need it. I have never had a flu shot. I have had flu a few times in my life, but now I've got a better immune system for it.
  • Reply 7 of 69
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by MarcUK

    I can understand the elderly and ill children getting a flu shot, but I think the average person does not need it. I have never had a flu shot. I have had flu a few times in my life, but now I've got a better immune system for it.



    I don't think your immune system gets any better as a result of not having a flu shot.
  • Reply 8 of 69
    I haven't had a shot or the flu since I lived in Georgia, and that was nearly 10 years ago. I'd say the shot could have helped me a few times in GA and IN, as opposed to FL and CA (where I have been pretty much flu free).
  • Reply 9 of 69
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    I will not get flu shots until I am really old, and maybe not even then.



    For some reason I just refuse to do it (I'm fine with needles).
  • Reply 10 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat

    I will not get flu shots until I am really old, and maybe not even then.



    For some reason I just refuse to do it (I'm fine with needles).




  • Reply 11 of 69
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BRussell

    I don't think your immune system gets any better as a result of not having a flu shot.



    Your immune system does NOT get any better as a result of getting a flu shot. That is a ridiculous statement.
  • Reply 12 of 69
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Of course it gets better. It gains an immunity to that virus in the shot.
  • Reply 13 of 69
    Hey, if that's what you want to believe, all the power to you.
  • Reply 14 of 69
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I will have my flu shot. Me and my wife see too many patients : I don't want to lose a whole week laying in a bed with an horse fever.
  • Reply 15 of 69
    So how does a flu shot work then?
  • Reply 16 of 69
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by the cool gut

    Your immune system does NOT get any better as a result of getting a flu shot. That is a ridiculous statement.



    You lost me. I said your immune system doesn't get any better as a result of not having a shot. I said that because MarkUK implied that not getting a shot was better for his immune system. As far as I know, that's not true. Yeah, too many negations. So now I'm not sure what you're saying. What statement is ridiculous?
  • Reply 17 of 69
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Randycat99

    So how does a flu shot work then?



    The shot contains inactive viruses (virii?) that don't give you flu symptoms, but your immune system still creates the antibodies in the same way it would if you got the actual virus. So if you're exposed to the real thing you've already developed immunity and won't get it. The problem is that there are lots of different viruses out there, and you may not get immunity to the right one.
  • Reply 18 of 69
    randycat99randycat99 Posts: 1,919member
    Yes, I'm aware of that. My question was more directed at cool gut's remark to Scott. I think we can move ahead in agreement that a flu shot certainly helps your immune system for the specific strain (ideally, the one that matters most for that season). Naturally, it cannot bolster your immune system globally. What could? That would be one helluva vaccine to make your body deal with, no? Aside from that, flu shot or not, the best thing you can do to bolster your immune system globally is to eat well, get all your vitamins, stay active, avoid prolonged stress, avoid prolonged exposure to adverse weather, and just keep your body in good general shape. That will keep your immune system running at full capacity so it can fight off stuff head-on before anything can take you over (the side benefit being that you are generating your own "vaccines" as you go). If you walk around in a weakened or unhealthy state, that makes it only that much easier for even a minor sickness to jump in and compromise you.
  • Reply 19 of 69
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Randycat99

    Yes, I'm aware of that.



    Sorry.



    I'm just responding to the idea, that I've heard a number of times, that getting a flu shot is somehow not good for your immune system. I don't know of any reason why getting an inoculation is worse than getting the virus itself. Maybe there is?
  • Reply 20 of 69
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    The flu shot is a bet. Each year specialist are willing to discover while studying viruses in China, what will be the new brand of the flu virus. Sometimes they win, sometimes they loose.
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