The Flu Shot

[wrin]

Originally posted by sweetness88:
I'd be careful with that advice! Flu shots have killed people and usually for the immunocompromised and the elderly.

The reason hospitals have been seeing admissions of more people with the flu has more to do with populations of people living in closer quarters, and hospitals marketing pharmaceuticals aside from the flu shot (which is not that expensive) to stuff like Relenza and Tamiflu (which are VERY expensive.) The flu isn't being treated like something you should just let your body get over.

Either way, honey, it's a gamble. If you are going to get the flu, you're going to get the flu and the flu shot was never devised to guarantee that you weren't. The flu shot WAS devised to protect the immunocompromised and elderly from the most damaging strains of the flu that are being seen to be predominant throughout the month of september. It isn't. A. Guarantee. And if you have a flu shot and contract a strain of the flu that's not protected by the flu shot, yes, you'll get the flu. But the theory that a vaccination for influenza should protect against it indefinitely isn't a possible one; influenza is like the common cold, there are hundreds of thousands of strains. Let's look at other things they vaccinate for on a regular basis. Hepatitis B? ONE STRAIN.

And just because the flu strains they pick for their influenza vaccine are the most damaging that they've seen so far doesn't mean, yes, like you say, that they haven't missed a virus here or there, or that an immunocompromised patient couldn't contract a relatively 'harmless' strain of the flu and die of dehydration or respiratory failure. It isn't hard to do.

This year, more than 300,000 americans will catch the flu. Of these, 25,000 will die of it.

And people who say they've had the vaccine but still caught the flu are most likely talking about intestinal flu, a misnomer if ever there was one. Influenza causes respiratory symptoms -- cough, runny nose, chest pain, muscle aches, headaches and general malaise. It also causes fever. It does not, however, casuse vomiting, nausea, or diarrhea.

If you are planning on getting the flu shot, the best time to get it is October through mid-November, because it takes two to four weeks for the body to build up enough immunity to combat the virus.

As for trusting your body to combat the flu, in 1918, millions upon millions of people around the world trusted their bodies to combat the flu. They died.


[This message has been edited by wrin (edited 11-01-2002).]

[DedeMN]

I personally would never get the flu shot after what my Mom went through a few years back after getting one. She had sores on her mouth and behind her ears and she lost her taste and lost 15 pounds she was down to 84 pounds, she is 5'2" and she was sick and just some wierd things started happening after she got the flu shot. Everytime I see those people sitting there waiting for people to get the flu shot I always walk by and think NO WAY! My Mom has gotten her taste back since and she weighs her normal weight again, but she will never get the flu shot again. I'm not sure if anyone else lost their taste or had these other side effects but she suffered a lot of them.

Dede


Just want to add another comment. Wrin, you got it right, if you are going to get the flu then you are and that is the way I feel. We were never designed to get the flu shot, we were designed to fight it on our own and I think the flu shot can compromise your immune systems integrity. I just get the flu and let it run it's course all on it's own.

[This message has been edited by DedeMN (edited 12-15-2002).]

[Subshine]

The best way to combat any kind of illness is to become informed of ways with which we can boost our own immune system without adding more strain on the body's own defense mechanism, such as injecting a strain of virus into the body that may or may not be "the strain of the season". The pharmaceutical industry does a really good marketing job to promote their products. We are pawns in that game. The body knows best. LISTEN to your body.

[openseason]

The flu shot contains preservatives and other compounds. You may be allergic to these chemicals. Also the flu vaccine is a strain that is the medical professions best guess as to what strain of flu will be spreading. So you are vaccinating yourself with a srtain of flu selected by the doctors over 6 months ago, because time is need to prepare and distribute the vaccine. There are other ways to improve your immune system like with vitamin E and vitamin C.

[djdiesel]

I did not get the FLU Shot this year because I was afraid that I would get sick due to the shot. Well, I got the flu anyways and went to the doctor and got Tamiflu.. From what the news is saying, its hard keeping it in stock since everyone is coming down with this flu.. And this flu that I have, from what my doctor said, is not part of the flu shot, soo lets hope that people have the proper meds cause they must have overlooked this strand..