Today I celebrated the American Labor Day holiday by getting myself and my family our annual flu shots. I’m so festive, I know. The kids, being able to get the nasal mist version, are totally fine – ironic considering that it is their little disease-carrying bodies that account for 90% of my illnesses – but me and my pregnant self are left with an arm that has been getting progressively more sore as the day goes on. It’s the equivalent of doing Arnold presses supersetted with lateral raises for 20 minutes. Except only on one arm. My delt hates me. And yes, I’m a pain wuss.
Despite the soreness, which from experience will last a couple of days, I repeat this little tradition every year. Why? I blame my mother. Growing up with a nurse/public health educator meant two things in our household: 1) Under no circumstances would I get pregnant as a teenager (you should have seen the level of detail in the pamphlets my parents handed out over dinner!) and 2) If there was an immunization, I would get it. The Flu Shot Ritual was more indicative of the beginning of fall to me than the leaves changing colors.
Not every family was like mine, however. I have quite a few friends who look horror-stricken every time I tell them about getting me and the kiddies shot up on a regular basis. And sometimes I wonder if they’re right. After all, why else did God give us an immune system if he didn’t mean for us to use it? But in the end, I tend to err on the side of science and safety and so I always succumb to the needle.
This year the ante’s been upped by the advent of the H1N1 virus – or Swine Flu – which is either a plague of untold proportions ready to sweep across the globe in a bloody tide or else the most egregious example of media hype since Angelina Jolie popped out twins. It all depends on who you talk to. Just 10 minutes ago I got an e-mail from a friend with information on a three-day (!!) seminar that for the low-low price of $150 will tell you “other” ways of preventing the flu. I’m assuming the swag bags will contain face masks and hand sanitizer. I haven’t got the H1N1 vaccine yet as it isn’t widely available for another month, but I probably will. My doctor seems very concerned that all pregnant women get it and so I’ll have another sore shoulder. But if the scientists played the flu strain roulette well then at least I – and more importantly, my baby – won’t get influenza!
I know this can be a loaded issue: what do you think about flu shots? Tell me what your strategy for not getting sick is in the comments and take my handy poll below:
Flu shots are actually REALLY bad for you. I have an aunt who is a natural-path doctor and that is one thing she really stresses to her clients. The toxins that are carried in those are unbelievable. Really, they do more harm to you than they do good.
I'm there with you on the flu shots. I'm asthmatic plus I had walking pneumonia for 18 months (undiagnosed because my doctor thought I was being silly and just asthmatic) which means I have scarred lungs. I've also had the pneumonia shot, which is really only recommended for older people or people like me with those lovely scarred lungs. I get the flu shot every year because I know, if I get the flu, I'm laid low for a month at least – first with the flu and then with severe asthma and personally, I like to breathe.
The bonus of being a part of the severe risk group is that most of the time, my shots are free. I guess the Australian government would rather pay for a shot or two than hospitalisation!
This is why this topic is so interesting! First two comments and already two diametrically opposed opinions. For some it is life threatening and others it is life saving. I wish there were some definitive research on the subject… (Gena??)
I work in a medical clinic, so I am strongly urged to get vaccinated, although I don't need the urging. I've been getting the flu shot every year for…about my whole life.
The ONE year I didn't get it was my senior year in high school. You know how it goes…I was too busy and skipped out on the doctor's appointment. (Oops!) I ended up a nasty case of pneumonia that brought me down for months, forcing me to miss out on school functions, work, and almost my own graduation. I'll never forget how miserable I was at my senior party, begging one of the chaperones to go out to my car with me so I could get some medicine, and then sleeping a while in the hallway while everyone else had a good time.
While it's probably a coincidence that I got pneumonia the one year I didn't get a flu shot, I will NEVER, EVER chance it again. (And isn't my family lucky that I drag them in to get shot with me?! LOL)
I just left a long message and managed to accidentally delete it UGGH! Anyway, I think that the flu vaccine and all the other vaccines we get have their place in society. I also don't think that they are as benign as the CDC/FDA would like us to believe. The regular vaccines we get growing up generally protect us against life threatening illnesses, so therefore, I think the benefit outweighs the risk…and I do believe there is one. The flu can also be a life threatening illness, especially in the old and immunocompromised. In these cases, I also think the benefits justify it. But society as a whole can generally kick the flu quite easily, and while it may be quite uncomfortable, it is something that our bodies were built to do. As far as the swine flu vaccine goes, it is something that has zero efficacy test done on it, and therefore no way to determine what the long term effects are on us. I would be especially concerned as a pregnant woman about what possible harm it could do to a developing baby. The swine flu vaccine of the late 60s and early 70s has been proven to cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, even when the government swore it was safe. There is proof as well that it was known that this could happen but it wasn't shared with the public. In the end, being a test subject for something that under normal circumstances our bodies could fight on there own is not something I am interested in. I would suggest anyone who is considering the swine flu vaccine, please read up and weigh the risks. Best of health to you all!
Last year was the ONE year we didn't get flu shots (because we all had colds and delayed it) and so of course my family got the flu. Confirmed by a test to be influenza type A.
The real fun was afterwards when all 3 kids got pneumonia. No one bothered to tell me that you are at high risk for developing pneumonia after recovering from the flu. Would have been nice to know as 2 of my kids have asthma and are at higher risk for such things.
My son ended up in the hospital and then at home on oxygen for 3 weeks. NOT FUN. We are going in this week for flu shots.
Despite the fact that the flu and pneumonia vaccines are a shot (sorry) in the dark regarding the strains they protect against (they make a best guess the year or so before), I STILL get one year after year. So far (knocking on my table) I haven't been sick in years. I can't actually remember the last time that I was (Lightning to strike me shortly)…and I don't know if it's because of the shot or because I read your blog and do all the things you say are good 😀
I've always hear the flu shot is a guess at best, and there is no guarantee it will ward off whatever the strain du jour is. Also I hate shots that I have to get, much less ones that are voluntary. So I never get flu shots. And, I rarely get sick. So who knows.
I find that they just make me sick, and the painful arm for 3 days isn't worth it. I'm quite OCD about hand-washing, etc. and my roommate and I love to Lysol our doorknobs. I had the flu all-out once, and it was during my first year in undergrad. I stopped getting the flu shot when I moved away from home, and I like not having the mild flu symptoms for 2 weeks.
I'll be getting the flu shot this year, for myself and my family. We are the only people I make decisions for, and I'm not going to demand that anyone else do as we do.
I don't get the flu shot because, well, I don't generally agree with vaccinating normal healthy people. If you're in the high risk groups or work in a hospital, go ahead and get one, but if you're a perfectly healthy individual, I say don't. Why? Because our immune systems need to regularly work to fight off bacteria and viruses. By occasionally getting mild colds or even the flu, we give our bodies a better chance to fight off future illnesses. It's called immune memory, and it will serve you better and last longer than any vaccine can.
I definitely think that they (flu shots) have their place in society, and are crucial for some segments of the population to get. I do believe in immunization for most every other illness or disease for myself too (done the whole round through grade and high school – those 3 cycles of Hep A/B in Grade 6 were the worst! I am Canadian, did school in BC) so I am not against getting shots for preventative protection.
However: since high school I think that I have had the flu shot once – that's over 11 years. I have never had the flu and rarely get sick. The main reason I don't get it is that I do not fall into any one of the "at risk" populations. I am not pregnant, I don't have any pre-existing conditions, I am not elderly, I do not work with populations likely to expose me to the virus. I am a fit, late 20's educated female who eats well and looks after her health. I just don't think I need it. And that might be totally naive of me to say, but I will take my chances.
You are right though Charlotte – this topic has a lot of viewpoints to it! Thanks for letting me throw my $0.02 in!
I've never had a flu shot and I've never once gotten the flu. My friends who religiously get flu shots get the flu about 50% of the time. My $0.02 = Eat healthy. Sleep plenty. Wash your hands LOTS.
I dont get one but the husband and child always do.
the husband and child are always sick 🙂
Last year was my first flu shot, for two reasons: 1) my daughter had RSV the year before when none of us had the shot and she wasn't in day care, and 2) right after she started day care, she came home with something that had me out of work for six straight days, not counting the weekend; I literally left work early on a Tuesday and didn't go back until the following Wednesday; this from the guy who had not been sick (excepting the occassional cold) in over seven years. I didn't get the flu last year or the beginning of this one.
And I'm getting the shot again in a few weeks. Why? 1) My work pretty much demands it since we are a hospital system, 2) It's free; again, thank you, work, and 3) My son was nearly eight-weeks early and is at high risk for all sorts of respiratory problems; flu shots for everyone!
Joshua
The Technical Parent
I picked the first answer, which isn't exactly correct. I don't think it makes me sick, but I want to "exercise" my immune system. I'm healthy and haven't been sick for several years, so I figure it's worth the risk.
But if I was old or infirm, I'd go for it.
I've gotten a flu shot every year for the last 5 or 6 years, and haven't gotten sick at all from them. Of course, what made me start getting the shot was a majorly bad case of the flu where I was out of school for a week.
I'm in the never had a flu shot camp. So far, the only time I had the flu was in medical school! Was it lousy? Yes, it was worse than going to school.
I don't feel the flu shot is that helpful for low risk individuals. With the mutation of the various strains, I'm not so sure it's really effective. Don't tell Hippocrates on me, OK?
Up until this year, I had never had a flu shot. However, as a pregnant woman working in a health care system, I felt (as did my physician) that getting the flu shot was a necessary thing for me to do.
I still have mixed feelings in regards to the swine flu vaccine, and will have a long consultation with my doctor before agreeing to the shot.
I rarely get sick & have been like that my whole life so I do not get the shots. I have friends that get them every year & every year they get the flu from the shots so…..
I try to wash my hands, clean down stuff at the gym & all that so hopefully that will work. I do the best I can but I am not thinking about getting the flu shot.
I heard on the news about a phone app for the swine flu & it will tell you where it is & how many people have it & so on. Sometimes I think this is all too much!
As for you Pooh cartoon, too funny!
I think it depends on the group you fall into. I think that as a pregnant woman, Charlotte was justified in getting one, and in also making sure her family got one. Children, people with lung issues, older people and those who have compromised immune systems should all, in my mind have access to the flu shot, and be strongly encouraged to take it.
Younger-but-not-too-young, healthy non-pregnant people? In my opinion, it's their business.
Not being in any of the high-risk categories, I have never had a flu shot.
But I do agree that it is probably a good idea for people who are in those high-risk categories.
Of course, now that I'm going to be working with lots of people, perhaps I'm making a mistake in not getting one….. guess time will tell!
I have never gotten one – did the nasal mist for my daughters last year but the youngest ended up with the flu – she refused when offered this year. I do plan to take them back to the dr. for the actual shot but need volleyball to be over first – neither would think of injuring their arm. Am holding off on gardasil for the youngest until after vball too – that one made my eldest sore for quite a while.
I do not think I am high risk – I work from home and am mostly a hermit except for the gym (hmmm, maybe I should get one – wonder when they cleaned those BodyPump bars last?).
i used to get it for free at work; last year was the first time I actually paid for it at Walgreens. I've only gotten the flu REALLY bad once as an adult, after a weekend NYE bender in 2000 during grad school. I got SO SO sick, lost 10 pounds, was exhausted, puking, horrible. Had to go home and live with my parents for a week! Did not get the flu shot that year. From a public health perspective, the flu shot is a very smart move and as a pregnant woman and mom, you made the absolute right choice.
I've never been one to go under the needle voluntarily. There is definitely a wuss factor contributing here. I am also a believer in letting the body take care of itself when possible. So far, I haven't died yet, but I have suffered from the flu.
To get or not to get? This is definitely a personal choice. There are certainly reasons that would make me want to endure the prick…. For example, some people work with the public enough that they should protect themselves. Others need flu shots as they have compromised immune systems.
I got the same email. Want to go to the swine flu seminar with me?? 🙂
OMG! I know you saw my post about how I'm freaking about the flu this year. A 20-year-old pregnant woman died of the swine flu! When does a 20-year-old woman ever die from the flu????
lol, I'm obviously into the hype. I'll be getting both flu shots this year because I'm pregnant, and my husband and tot will be getting the regular flu shot (she goes to daycare, he goes to college). I'd really like the best protection possible, especially because we will have a newborn at home in January, and the baby will get sick enough when he/she starts daycare. No need to have extra bugs in the house.
Ironically, I disinfected my desk at work for the first time….ever… a couple weeks ago and immediately got sick.
Yeah. One time had the flu- and was sick for 3 months. Do not have that time to lose. Plus I often get bronchitis in the winter and anything to ward off getting sicker (re pneumonia) is a positive.
And lucky for me- I don't get sore afterward. It's a poke and forget situation.
Since I can remember, I've never done a flu shot. The longest I've ever had the flu was approximately 3 days. I don't like the idea of putting toxins in my body to prevent the same toxins from making me sick. I don't begrudge people for wanting to get them, but I think for me personally it's not beneficial.
I'd like to give my thanks to a pretty much kick arse immune system! 🙂
Oldest child is asthmatic. After several winters of cold or flu leading to big fat case of lingering bronchitis, we all get flu shots.
It's been about 7 years since we've had our winters filled with week after week of coughing, wheezing and medication. So we're going to stick with what works for us right now.
When he's off to college, the little kids are older, and I no longer spend a good chunk of time volunteering in elementary schools… then I'm likely to go back to relying solely on healthy diet, exercise & sleep to keep the bugs at bay. (That's how I prefer it, actually. But, you do what you gotta do to protect the kids.)
I have to chime in on this one too…
I had never had the flu shot and I am not one to get sick. Hubby's work started offering free shots 3 years ago so the whole family got one. My girls were sick immediately for days after. Last year after we got ours MY ARM killed me. I literally couldn't lift it to put on my bra or shirt, to wash my hair or pick up kids. It took about 2 weeks of babying it and it finally went back to normal. I have talked to a lot of people who said I got it too high in my arm and somehow it affected my muscles and a lot of others who said it was all just a coincident and it had nothing to do with the shot.
I am too scared to go through that again…the family is going to get one this year and I am opting out. :o)
For on MD's opinion, check out this article:
http://drjaygordon.com/development/news/h1n1update.asp
It basically says that we are not allowing our bodies to build natural immunity to future stronger versions of the flu by using Tamiflu/getting the flu shots. It makes sense to me, but everyone needs to do what they think is best for their family in their individual situations.
I've been a teacher for several years, and I've never gotten a flu shot OR the flu. I'm a very healthy person, and I figure even if I do get it, it won't be severe. I eat well and exercise alot, so my immune system should be in tip top shape. Forget the flu shot.
Oddly enough, I got my flu shot today just an hour before reading this post. I used to ignore them until a short stint as a caregiver proved them as invaluable! Now I get one every year without fail, and haven't had the flu for a few years.
As for flu-shot arm pain, I just try to think of the painful allergy shots my mom used to make me get as a kid, and it doesn't seem so bad. Or the pneumonia vaccine I got last year that caused my arm to swell up…
I got flu shots and had my children get them on the years I was pregnant or had a newborn in the house. Honestly, I didn't see a difference in how much we were sick with or without the shot.
I did have one son get a case of influenza last year and at it's worst point I asked, "Which is worse, this or the shot?" His response was that he would rather continue to get the flu than have the shot.
Will we get the H1N1 flu shot? I don't know. I read enough about what happened in the 1970's to be leary of a rushed creation of a flu shot. Our family doesn't run into any high risk category anyway. My main reason to stay up to date on the kids' vaccinations is on the principle of being a good citizen and not spreading life threatening diseases to those in high risk categories.
I'm very prone to bronchitis. I caved and started getting flu shots a couple years ago, when I started dating a guy who had elementary-aged children. This year I'm not getting a flu shot because I've become sick every single year within 24 to 48 hours of getting the shot. What's worse is that I need months to shake the disease fully. I spend months with intermittent fever, hacking, phlegm. Yet I typically never got the flu before I started getting the shots. I'd rather have a week-long feverish bronchitis than I would to spend 4 months hacking after a flu shot. At best, the flu shot is a bet against the house because it's not the exact virus that is circulating anyway.
Wouldn't the swine flu vaccine be the same vaccine as the regular flu? Every year they make the flu vaccine with different strains of flu virus. The swine flu is just another strain, so comparing it to the swine flu vaccine of 1918 or whenever, is like comparing current polio vaccines to the early ones that actually caused polio.
I'm all for being informed about vaccines, but I also trust my doctor more than I trust scare tactics I've read online.
Got my shot yesterday!! My husband falls into the "it makes me sick" category. I'm working on him…
After reading all the comments I should add that I never got the flu until I had small children (it was a year we had been vaccinated, but we all had milder versions of what my unvaccinated husband got). I'm all in favor of "exercising" my immune system, but not when I have small children who could end up in the hospital, or worse, or if I have to care for children while sick myself (which is horrible, as you know). Once everyone is older, maybe we'll skip it. Maybe. As for the swine flu vaccine. I have all the same concerns, but it also concerns me that the average age of death is 12, not infants, not elderly. Ack!
I've gotten the flu shot in the past, but I've resolved not to this year. Like others, I am suspicious of the ingredients. I also value a good viral infection for its cleansing properties. But most importantly, I can't remember EVER having the flu. I get colds a few times a year, but the flu has never been an issue for me (watch this be the year that changes…).
However, if I had kids over 5, they'd be getting vaccinated. I'm willing to accept the risk, but I wouldn't assume that for my children.
I've read that pregnant women should not get the flu shot because the mercury in it can cause birth defects?
Three quick points:
Flu vaccine is a dead, killed, nonactive, can't-make-you-sick vaccine. It doesn't use the entire virus and will NOT give you the flu. The nasal spray is a weakened vaccine and thus might give you flulike symptoms for a few days as your immune system responds to it, but it shouldn't make people with normal immune systems sick.
Also, there is no mercury, either ethyl or methyl, in the flu shot. It has no preservatives and thus must be kept refrigerated. Therefore, no risk of birth defects from the flu shot. If you really think about it logically for a minute, the amount of heavy metals that would be necessary to cause birth defects in a fetus would be more than would fit into a syringe, as the human body has ways of dealing with them.
As for the novel H1N1 virus, there have been problems growing it in the lab: it simply doesn't grow as well as other flu strains in chicken eggs (an early-twentieth-century technology we're still using, unfortunately). I'm recommending to my patients that they get the H1N1 immunization as soon as it becomes available, simply because it's a *novel* virus–as in, most of us under the age of about 50 have never seen this virus before and thus have no immunity.
The complication rate of H1N1 flu seems to be low, but for those people who do get very, very sick, things suck horribly and suddenly. Having had what I think was probably H1N1 last spring, I can attest that the illness (cough, wheezing, fever of 104 in an adult, shortness of breath) will absolutely knock you on your ass for a week, minimum.
And that's it. I *have* to get flu shots for my work, as I'm a nurse who works with a lot of patients on immunomodulating drugs. I can't risk spreading the flu to somebody who's been on corticosteroids for the last ten years; it'd kill them. I'd get the shots anyhow, though: even when the coverage hasn't been total, the immunization has reduced the severity of the flu for me really effectively.
My son was a micropreemie who has chronic lung disease. We will all absolutely be getting the shots and Im trying to encourage everyone I know to do the same. I'm hoping the same 'herd immunity' concept that regular vaccines rely on will apply here well. If no one around him gets sick, hopefully he won't either.
Since I am caregiver and live with my 92-year old mother, I get a flu shot. I'm 61 and may not have a chance or may choose not to get an H1N1 shot but am going to get a pneumonia shot a week or two after my flu shot (let the arm recover).
I have a naturopathic degree and totally get the comment on the toxicity of all drugs–that's why I don't take any and would rather deal with issues holistically. However, since I'm under lots of stress with my caregiving and also going back to college and with life in general, like most are, we don't have the healthy immune systems we did when life was easier.
Why take the risk! Get your shot! And I hope everyone stays well this winter!
Recent results have shown the US vaccine doesn't protect kids under 10 adequately without a booster shot at least 21 days after the first vaccination. It takes an additional 10 days for the vaccine to be effective.
That's not good news in the face of a virus that has been very stable but that could change and become really dangerous and at the same time the vaccine continues to work.
That's right,if the strains turn really nasty, the vaccine will still work. At which point, if your kid hasn't had the flu, that's a long time to successfully keep your kid away from infection.
So get the shot soon and go back 21 days later.
As a Canadian, it's nice to see that our health powers that be, bit the bullet and went the adjuvant route with evil squalene. NO US FLU VACCINE HAS AN ADJUVANT IN IT.
It looks like everybody does great on a single shot (under 10 get like US a half dose) after 21 days because the adjuvant helps kick the immune system harder so it responds better. That will also provide better protection for those on steroids or immune suppresant drugs. And it provide better protection if the virus strains start to really change.
The practical price. My arm will hurt more.