Are you getting the flu shot this year? I am because my twin brother has leukemia and I am seeing him for thanksgiving. It'd be a horrible thing not to get the shot. That and its free and real flu is pretty terrible. One of the reasons I dread getting one is I end up getting night sweats from the vaccination. Focus: Flu shot yea, nay, inbetween Alt-Focus: Shots in general, worst experiences, did you get a massive bruise? DId the nurse miss your vein 7 times for a blood draw?
Fuck no. The flu shot makes me really sick for about a week and half to the point where having the actual flu is a wash. I roll the dice everyone year on it and I always end up okay. My wife is a nurse and doesnt have a choice, but usually fairs way better than I do. Besides, I dont want to catch autism.
I'm a big nope on the flu shot - as an adult, I believe I've only had it once, and that was after an ungodly amount of stress and an office full of coworkers with kids. I don't think the flu shot is particularly helpful, except maybe in communities with compromised immune functions. And only then if the shot makers guess correctly on the strain. I am, however, 100% pro vaccinations. Go ahead and live in some country where polio or leprosy still happens and let me know how evil those shots are. Having survived a bout of malaria - and only by the grace of God was I somewhere that had the best medical care in the world - I can say without hesitation that you do NOT want to catch a communicable disease if you can avoid it. All the crazy anti-vaccers are just spoiled idiots who have never seen what actual disease does.
I don't have a choice; I have to get it. But, I think it's a colossal racket and a waste of resources. Bah. Alt: According to multiple nurses, I have great veins. Easy stick. When I went to my pre-employment screening there were cute firefighter/EMTs-in-training doing the blood draws. I let this guy dig around my arm for what felt like forever and left with a massive bruise. He was so cute I didn't care.
Same here. I used to have to get it when I worked in the hospital. I would inevitably get sick within a week after to the point where I would need to take 2 days off work anyway. Might as well chance it now.
I should've anticipated the responses I get in here would relfect one view. People who get the shot and don't get the flu never know it so thats a problem in promoting it. I've had a severe flu before and it knocked me on my ass for a few months. One night of night sweats is worth some level of protection against that.
I used to NOT get one, because the times I did, I might feel bad for a few days and think it made me sick. So, I stopped getting it. And, I was all "it's just last year's flu the shot protects me against." But, since I'm old and all experienced and shit, several things happened: I actually got the flu and sucked soooo much worse than the few days of feeling bad; I realized that the times I felt bad, I usually was like, "oh, I feel a cold coming on, I better get a flu shot." So, I was already getting sick, not the shot causing it; I had a friend with leukemia and I couldn't visit her unless I had a flu shot. Now I get one and I get it early, and it's free anyway. Shoulder might be a bit sore for a couple days. Seems to work. In all my years of giving blood and getting shots, I've never had bruising issues. Also, for those of you that do have needle issues, they make a mist version of the flu vaccine. It's usually for children, but if the supply is sufficient, you can usually call your GP and request the mist instead of the shot. ymmv.
I got a flu shot for the first time recently because my sister just had a baby and she wanted anyone who'd be around to do it. Did not get sick afterwards. Same, they love me at blood drives. I hate needles so at least that usually makes it a little easier.
I get a flu shot every year. I know it's a best guess scenario as far as which strains are going to be virulent that season. But I believe they still include the H1N1 vaccine with the shot (at least they still did last year), and there's no way in hell I ever want to get H1N1. I know 4 people who have gotten H1N1 and they all said they thought it would just be easier to stay in bed and die, then get up and go to the hospital. My sister and a bunch of friends are ICU nurses and they all say the same thing: "Yes, the flu kills people, but it's usually just the really old and really young, H1N1 literally chops the legs out from under young healthy adults and it's scary to see."
So far this is what I've experienced. People who've had serious flu get the shot because they know how bad it can be. Those who haven't had serious flu don't quite understand how terrible it is. I agree with your friends, when I had serious flu I doubted my ability to move at one point, the exhaustion was that profound and I was that weak and I was a healthy 16 year old kid at the time. I missed a month of school and it took me two more to get over it. My brother caught the flu last year and he said its the worst he felt since before he got his 7cm brain tumor removed. I am a public health student so of course I'm an advocate of the flu vaccine. I also think some people can mistake a bad cold for the flu when they are very very different things.
A flu shot almost killed my mother. Guillain-barre syndrome is a bitch. So needless to say I'm afraid of getting one after that. I'd rather roll the dice than mess with a genetic time bomb. I rarely get sick for more than a day anyway, since being a teacher your immune system becomes like a low grade super power. I just take daily iron supplements and wash my hands. I used to have a straight phobia of needles. They don't hurt, just something about the idea of something foreign going inside of me that freaked me the fuck out. At least I know I'll never be gay. Brain surgery had a funny way of getting me over needles though, since I had no choice. I was also severely claustrophobic, but after 5 MRIs in 2 days, I got over that one real quick too. Now I take naps in the MRI machine. Being cool with needles really helped when I decided to go with allergy shots in order to help with my seasonal allergies. Insurance covered it all so I figured I'd give it a shot (... I'll show myself out). It was weird giving yourself injections at first, but having to do two shots every other day, for a year, and you get pretty damn good at it.
Despite not being s armed or bothered slightly by needles, I don't get flu shots for a simple reason: they are a waste of fucking time. They are the shittiest of all vaccines. I've had bad flu, terrible flu, Martian Death Flu. I still won't get it because there is shitloads of flu strain viruses and one shot. The shot itself never made me sick, but I've had years where I get the flu shot only to be sickened by some other strain that was immune it. You might have what, 1/20 odds of it actually defending you? Maybe when I'm a senior I'll care again.
According to my GP, the mist version contains live or partial virus and is not recommended for infants, those over 60, or people with compromised immune systems, e.g., people w/ aids, people undergoing chemo, etc.
What a retarded post. No, the shot does not protect you from every flu, but the combination strain they give you is based on the most likely success rate. Air bags don't save you in every car accident, but they damn sure improve your odds. Saving lives, keeping the workforce more productive, and reducing healthcare expenditures are not a waste of time. Excuse me: not a waste of fucking time. It's generally accepted fact that only the 1976 Swine Flu vaccine was linked to G-B syndrome. That sucks for your mom, but it's not a concern today. Getting the actual flu is more likely to cause G-B than the flu vaccine. Attributing actual deaths to the flu is difficult, because sometimes it's complications rather than the flu, or someone who has another illness contracts the flu and dies. But, the CDC estimates 36,000 people die in the US because of the flu. That's more than deaths due to injury by firearms. (33K in 2013; 11K homicides, 22K suicides)
Good point. That is good information for all the infants and those over 60 who post here. Sorry, shegirl, you're out of luck on the mist.
If i told someone who gambled they were only likely to hit 60% of the time, they'd put cash down. That and the payout was minimum 2:1. This is turning into more of a discussion than I intended but thats fine. I had thought this would be a thread full of anecdotes but so long as things stay sane, I'm happy people are sincerely talking about this.
I am not the eldest member here. I don't know who is but I'm pretty sure the redneck that just celebrated his BDay last week is closer to that than I am, you douche. And besides, I don't care about the shot, mist or suppository form of application I'm out. No thank you. In my adult years I never have had one.
I find it so odd that so many people are terrified of needles. Like, legitimately will faint if they see one. My mom's closest friends' husband can't even go into a hospital. And he's been that way since before my parents can remember. My uncle is the same way - if he sees something with needles or blood, down he goes. Rarely does a needle hurt, so I guess I don't understand the panic. The only time I find needles hard to take is watching a show like Intervention. I can't watch someone do something as harmful to themselves as shooting up. Especially with used/dirty needles. It's literally injecting every kind of death directly into your body. But I have no inherent squeamishness of needles.