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01/29/2007 10:41:02 PM · #1 |
I've been sick for about two weeks now. I ususally don't get sick much, once a year max, but this one rough. I've been wondering about flu shots.
I usually don't get them but this flu or whatever it is I have is making me think more seriously about getting the shots. I don't know. I wonder about them.
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01/29/2007 10:44:15 PM · #2 |
| Even with the flu shot you can still get sick however it won't be as bad (if you believe the propoganda). |
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01/29/2007 10:46:01 PM · #3 |
I don't understand how they work. Is there only one type of flu each year and how do they know which it will be in order to have the shots ready in time?
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01/29/2007 10:47:27 PM · #4 |
5 years ago I got a bad case of the flu, I was VERY sick for a whole week. After that, I finally decided to try flu shots, and have had one every year since then.
I still got sick a couple of times, but it was MUCH MUCH milder and much shorter. I'll keep getting them. |
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01/29/2007 10:49:48 PM · #5 |
| My dad has a day set up when he has his employees get flu shots. I usually run in on that day and get one. I haven't been sick in about 4 years besides a headache once in awhile.Seems to be working for me. |
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01/29/2007 10:52:35 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by briantammy:
I don't understand how they work. Is there only one type of flu each year and how do they know which it will be in order to have the shots ready in time? |
 DrAchoo could probably answer that one.
I, for one, have no idea and am so almost phobic of needles the thought of having the flu is almost more desireable than the shot. |
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01/29/2007 10:52:58 PM · #7 |
ugh! US Navy here. We're forced to get them every year. They seem to work, though. Generally, when I do get sick, it's fairly mild. Still, I wouldn't recommend that you stress your system with one if you're already sick. Talk to your doctor is the best advice I can give.
Oh, and try some chicken noodle soup. :) Hope you feel better soon! |
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01/29/2007 10:54:04 PM · #8 |
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01/29/2007 10:58:32 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by karmat:
Originally posted by briantammy:
I don't understand how they work. Is there only one type of flu each year and how do they know which it will be in order to have the shots ready in time? |
DrAchoo could probably answer that one.
I, for one, have no idea and am so almost phobic of needles the thought of having the flu is almost more desireable than the shot. |
needles are no issue for me, i just don't trust this idea of having the cure ready before a particular strain of flu comes. Something fishy about that.
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01/29/2007 11:00:21 PM · #10 |
| I'm not a fan of shots in general, but I was convinced to get a flu shot once a while back... Incidentally, that was the only year I've EVER gotten the flu... =] No more shots for me... |
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01/29/2007 11:04:32 PM · #11 |
| Actually, it is somewhat of a guessing game. They look to Asia to see which strand of flu is going on, then they make the vaccine for us. The problem is that it can mutate by the time it gets to us. When you get the shot, they are basically giving you a small hit of the flu, then your body builds a resistance to it. I work in a hospital so I have to get it every year. Had the flu once. Don't what that crap again. |
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01/29/2007 11:05:04 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by karmat:
I, for one, have no idea and am so almost phobic of needles the thought of having the flu is almost more desireable than the shot. |
Ditto! I have to go in for a TB test tomorrow and I wouldn't care, except for the fact that my whole body shakes uncontrollably, my heart feels like it's going to explode, and I can't help but have those silent tears. I know...all for a little prick!
so no...no flu shot for me either.
Message edited by author 2007-01-29 23:05:36.
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01/29/2007 11:16:55 PM · #13 |
| I havn't been sick with anything more than a mild headache or a stomach ache for 4+ years :S |
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01/29/2007 11:50:44 PM · #14 |
| I've had the flu once in my whole long life and I never get a flu shot. I am not a believer of getting germs planted in my body as a prevention! |
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01/30/2007 08:25:40 AM · #15 |
My most vivid memory of the last time I had the flu was in our old house back in 1996. I was sitting on the toilet, pissing out of my ass; simultaneously hanging my head over the sink puking my guts out. I was glad to have such a small bathroom where I could do such multitasking.
I've been getting shots ever since, and haven't had a 'bad' flu since. |
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01/30/2007 08:50:50 AM · #16 |
| The flu shot helps prevent influenza. There are other illnesses brought on by viruses like the Norwalk virus for which there are no preventive shots. |
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01/30/2007 08:53:32 AM · #17 |
I am not an advocate for immunizations but in a moment of weakness/stupidity I got a flu shot at work in May. In June I got the worst flu known to man and was sick for weeks to the point everyone (myself included) thought I was dying. I didn't self-diagnose...after 2 weeks of torture I saw my doc who said 'it's the flu, just wait it out'. I was sick for another month after that. I went for days on end without food or sleep etc etc.
It's etched in my brain and I'll never have another immunization...I consider that flu payback for doing it in the first place. I know, I'm nutty sometimes!
Message edited by author 2007-01-30 08:55:38. |
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01/30/2007 08:56:24 AM · #18 |
the one year I did not get a flu shot I got the flu and was really really sick and I never get sick so now at my new job we get them every year which is cool so I always sign up and get one . I dont want the flu again that sucks....
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01/30/2007 09:05:18 AM · #19 |
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
My most vivid memory of the last time I had the flu was in our old house back in 1996. I was sitting on the toilet, pissing out of my ass; simultaneously hanging my head over the sink puking my guts out. I was glad to have such a small bathroom where I could do such multitasking.
I've been getting shots ever since, and haven't had a 'bad' flu since. |
A gastrointestinal illness has nothing to do with the flu or the flu shot.
"Stomach flu" is a complete misnomer - as the flu (influenza) is a respiratory virus (like a cold, but MUCH MUCH worse).
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01/30/2007 11:28:52 AM · #20 |
I have a buddy that used to work in the Polysaccharide division at Merck. What the hell does that mean you may ask. Well the cell membrane of the Influenza virus is a Polysaccharide. It's a type of sugar.
As someone mentioned, it's a guessing game. Someone decides the 20 strains that will PROBABLY hit hard in the next 10-12 months. They then culture and grow large quantities of those strains. The strains are then killed and stripped of the membrane (using 4 filters that each cost $10,000 per use).
The membrane is what you body reacts to. When you're injected with it the body is fooled into thinking it's being attacked and builds antibodies against those strains.
Problem is another strain may come in that hits harder than expected and the body is unprepared since the designers didn't guess right. It's all a gamble.
Message edited by author 2007-01-30 11:29:53. |
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01/30/2007 12:23:12 PM · #21 |
We deal with flu shots all the time here as we have lots of asthmatic patients, plus I'm board certified in Immunology, which deals with how the immune system works (or doesn't) in infection.
First, a few things. When people say they have the "flu" they are likely to be technically wrong 80% of the time. True "flu" involves an infection by the influenza virus. There are many strains of this, but each year tends to be dominated by one or two types. The types mutate from year to year in minor ways (which is why people can get influenza more than once) and then two or three times every 100 years make a major jump (with the asian bird flu being the feared next jump). When inflenza makes a major jump, most people don't have any immunity and bad things happen.
Believe it or not, influenza is a killer. In 2004 influenza killed more people than homicide, AIDS, and West Nile put together. The total was about 36,000 people in the US. The majority of victims were elderly, very young, or had respiratory conditions (asthma as an example).
OK, that's the background. So along with influenza, each winter brings lots of other viruses which cause common colds. Some of these can be more miserable than others. The flu shot does nothing against these viruses (adenovirus, coronavirus, etc.). It only protects against influenza.
So if we take all that information we can understand why we give flu shots and what we do. Each year, as mentioned above, manufacturers guess at which strains will be prominent that year (some years they guess better than others). They include 3 strains in each vaccine. The vaccine does not include live virus or even dead virus. It is merely viral parts which the immune system responds to. This gives our immune system a "sneak peek" at the virus which allows it to make a much more robust and quick response when the real thing hits. Naturally we do this for influenza because it is such a killer. It also works because although influenza mutates from year to year, relatively speaking it is a very stable virus. HIV, for example, mutates at many hundred times the rate of influenza. Viruses which cause common colds also mutate quite quickly.
Inflenza hits roughly from November to April (in the northern hemisphere) and it would be rare to have it outside this time. Getting a shot now, which takes probably 3 weeks to get your immune system ready, would be sorta behind the game, but not completely unhelpful. The best time to get one is probably late october to november.
Ok, that was sorta herky-jerky, but hopefully it helps explain some stuff. |
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