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Yes!!! I always get mine... Even if it does make you sick its not going to be as bad as the full blown virus would be..
posted 8 months ago
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I always get it, every year. I also make my husband and daughter get it, and we've only had minor colds or ear infections during flu season.
posted 8 months ago
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was just thinking about it. I had a similar experience the only time I got the flu in the last 15 years was the year i got the shot BUT think i will bit the bullet this year and get it (after my november marathon)
posted 8 months ago
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I very very very rarely get the flu anyway, so I do not make a habit of taking the flu shot. The only reason I got one last year was I was around someone who's immune system was compromised and I was afraid of passing something on.
posted 8 months ago
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Yes, what Katherine T said. I did not want to give to my mother.
posted 8 months ago
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Yes. Always. I have small children for one. One of my kiddos has asthma. I have asthma. And I've had a confirmed case of the flu once and I never, ever, ever want to go through that ever again. There have been only two things in my life that have been worse than the flu and that was shingles and mono and not by much.
The flu doesn't care if you're healthy or not - doesn't care if you're fit or not. Sure, those things might help you fight the flu but viruses are typically equal opportunity.
Honestly though, if you decide not to get the flu shot one of the best things you can do is make sure you wash your hands and keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth :)
posted 8 months ago
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Yes. I work at a hospital so they always provide it.
posted 8 months ago
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Well, had one this year as work provide them for free but I swore this would be my last one.
I rarely get sick anyway, and after my flu shot I had terrible arm ache for days where they injected, and also felt run-down for over a week.
posted 8 months ago
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I completely agree with Joy - the flu will really mess a person up. I had Type A flu (tested and confirmed) 5 years ago and it was beyond awful. Granted I was overweight and unfit at the time, but I felt like I had one foot in the grave - couldn't move a single muscle.
After that experience I have always sworn I will get my flu shot every year. A sore arm is a small price to pay - a totally-aching-someone-beat-me-with-a-baseball-bat-so-i-can-feel-better body for days at a time is just horrid.
posted 8 months ago
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None here. My kids (ages 4 and 2) have never had the shot either. I used to get it faithfully, got sick each and every time I got the shot... in addition to still getting the flu later in flu season. Stopped getting the shot, and flu is hit or miss now. Some years I get it and other years I don't. It only protects against 1 strain anyway. I am a nurse, and still hate the flu shot. I dread every flu season cuz people are so obsessed with it. Everybody is different though... do what's best for YOU
posted 8 months ago
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Yep, I'm a flu shot fan. I got my first one three years ago and I don't get so much as a cold for about 11 months, which is how long I guess one lasts for me because then I always get a doozy of a cold. But through the winter months, I don't even sniffle.
posted 8 months ago
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I've gotten the flu shot the past two years yet I will never get it again. I was extremely sick both times, and last year even ended up in the hospital with severe hydration. I had never gotten the flu before getting the actual flu shot. I am an elementary teacher, and have asthma which means that all my docs tell me to get the shot but I've made a choice never to get it again. I have never been so sick as to when I got the shot.
posted 8 months ago
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I got the flu shot last friday and was in bed the saturday, sunday and monday. Still recovering.. This was the worst.
posted 8 months ago
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I got mine!
posted 8 months ago
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Thank you all for your responses. It's been helpful. I've decided to not get it, and hopefully I won't get too sick this year.
Cindy
posted 8 months ago
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Flu shots (and vaccinations in general) are good... infections are bad.
Okay overly simplistic but a valid position... The Flu vaccination doesn't stop you from getting the flu since "the flu" is actually a family of viruses and the vaccine tackles a small set of them (typically 3 to 5 strains predicted to be problematic this season by doctors and public health officials about 6 months to a year ago.) So, its effectiveness depends on two things:
1. How well the health folks predicted this season's outbreaks, and
2. How many of the folks around you also get the vaccine (the more that do the less likely you are to get sick.)Oh, and Flu viruses evolve over pretty short periods of time, they adapt and they can change in ways that can make the vaccine more or even less effective. So, a vaccine that was great at the beginning of the Flu season could become less effective towards the end of the season.
So, is there a need? Actually yes... The fewer people who get the vaccine the more likely there is to be a noticeable flu outbreak. Its one of those communal benefit things.
posted 8 months ago
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Well I see you already posted that you aren't getting one. I will agree with Joy and Bo. I get the shot more so because I have small children and I often take public transportation. So I'm basically surrounded by germs. Yeah, I may feel a bit run down the day after the shot, but not that bad. I'll easily take that then the actual flu. So for the benefit of my kids, coworkers, and the people I come in contact with I'll be getting one soon.
posted 8 months ago
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YES. I have asthma that can get pretty bad, so my doctors force me to get it haha. I also work in a daycare and am a university student [I swear, though, that universities are bigger germ-factories than daycares are! ;)
I've gotten them since my asthma diagnosis 3 years ago, and haven't had an issue with them.
I think the thought is that they should KEEP you healthy so you don't have to worry about the flu derailing your training :].
posted 8 months ago
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NEVER.... I don't understand why healthy normal people would do it... Unless your immune system is weak or you're spending a lot of time around sick people (hospital/school) I think it's stupid! Aids vaccination - yes, Hepatitis - yes, Meningitis - yes... Flu? heck no! It's a virus and the strands change all the time and it's something your immune system should be able to fight anyways! I never get sick and I'm diligent with hand washing and keeping things sanitary... The last time I got the flu was from the Norwalk virus, and nothing could have stopped that freight train of sickness from hitting. It was totally awful.
http://6keysoptimalhealth.blogspot.com/2010/10/no-flu-shot-youre-stupid.html
posted 8 months ago
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Nope. I don't remember the last time I caught a serious flu so flu shot for me! I get the annual cold and runny nose during the winter time. My system deals with it after 1-2 weeks. Have never been hospitalized, ever. *knocksonwood*
People don't give the human body enough credit.
posted 8 months ago | edited 8 months ago
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Yes! I am a SAHM to a 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old (who also get the flu shot - b/c the flu is incredibly dangerous for their age group). My husband works in a demanding job where he is not always able to take off, so unless I have to have another brain surgery (long story, but I've had 3...prayerfully, there are NO more in my future), it's not guaranteed he can get off of work. I didn't "find time" for it last year (for me - I made sure the kids still got one and hubby's work provided one for him)....and I developed the flu in MARCH! It was pure, unadulterated hell. Hubby was traveling (I think he was in Canada at the time), so it was just me - a 4 and just turned 2 year old. Good times. Not. Not only was my entire body beaten with an imaginary baseball bat, but I was beyond exhausted, high fever, freezing, and miserable. Never again. I'd forgotten how horrible the flu was until I got it again. So, needless to say, I am making sure I get the flu shot this year. I am NOT trying to feel that horrid again.
Yes, I work out. Yes, I'm healthy. Yes, I take vitamins, eat great, and wash my hands well. I was doing the same last March when I got it.
*shudder* Definitely getting the flu shot this year. Me, my kids, and hubby. Better safe that miserably sorry.
posted 8 months ago
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YES! Always! My kids have asthma so they get the flu shot too. They both had H1N1 2 yrs ago-it was a NIGHTMARE and they were terribly ill for about 7 straight days. I never want to see them like that again! That being said - I get the flu vaccine, but never the flu mist (which is the live virus).
posted 8 months ago
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You can occasionally get the flu from the immunization but as Hope said it will usually not be as bad a case. I have asthma so I always try to remember to get a flu shot as a case of the flu can be pretty serious for me.
posted 8 months ago
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Just keep in mind the flu shot only protects you from 3 strains of the virus. These strains are chosen via WHO stats and are different every year. They put the 3 strains they think will be the most prevalent. Sometimes they get it right, sometimes not so much!
posted 8 months ago
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Yes. The flu is nothing to mess around with.
posted 8 months ago
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Yes. There are no down sides - and I'd rather do everything I can to keep myself healthy while I am on chemotherapy and keep my family from getting sick too. I honestly do NOT understand the objection to it.
posted 8 months ago
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I can't speak for you, but I need it and so does the rest of the family, as I am immunosuppressed. Haven't had a flu since *knock on wood*.
posted 8 months ago
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I never get it and never will. I personally think it's nonsense, because if you are a normal person with a reasonably healthy lifestyle, the flu will not do anything damaging to you. In fact, the antibodies that your body will build up, should you get the flu are way stronger and more valuable than the ones they might build up by injecting a dead version of last year's strain. But again... this is my opinion.
posted 8 months ago
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I have battled this decision as well. I am not one for frivolous immunizations (son had the chicken pox vaccine and wound up getting chicken pox 5 times after that. It would have been better for him to just get chicken pox one good time and be done with it.). However, the flu is a fairly dangerous virus. It mutates rapidly and constantly and can cause respiratory complications which can quickly become fatal in some case. I have known of very healthy people dying from complications of Type A Influenza. My two children both have asthma and I fear that if they ever did come down with a bad case of the flu they would inevitably be hospitalized. However, the shot itself carries some risk, mostly of allergic reaction and GBS but risk nonetheless. I am still on the fence about this one but leaning closer to getting the shots.
posted 8 months ago
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Most say it is worth the risks which are small. I rarely get sick so I have not taken the shot the last 4 years. Whether you do or not, watch those shopping carts and door knobs. I don't obsess about germs but am more careful out in public.
posted 8 months ago
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I do not get a flu shot. Haven't for several years now. I don't remember which strain it was, but a few years back (maybe 5 now) there was much debate over whether there were even enough doses to go around and I remember several news stories asking that if you were healthy (and in 20-35 year old range) not to get a flu shot to ensure there was enough. I am not sure if this was just them being worried or not, but I remember the news reporting it, so I haven't.
posted 8 months ago
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I encourage everyone around me to get a flu shot. Then there won't be any need for me to get one! Be well. Chris Kelley - Framingham
posted 8 months ago
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Yep, pretty much always. I work at a hospital and actually just got mine today! I've never had a reaction to one, and since I've been getting the vaccines, I haven't gotten the flu (which I did get a few times as a kid growing up/in high school).
posted 8 months ago
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Yes from me
posted 8 months ago
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If you are in an at risk group it woulb be really important to have your flu vac. Diabetics and asthmatics shouldn't think twice. Influenza could kill you.Lots of people report aches and pains plus cold like symptoms. I dont think this is a myth I think your immune system is respondong to the vaccine.
If you are under 65 and healthy the only reason would be if you are health staff or spend time with at risk groups.posted 8 months ago
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The vaccine is a dead virus...it cannot make you sick. That said, I never got one until my last job and have gotten them since. Didn't get sick prior to them ... not after them .... so ... what's the harm right?
posted 8 months ago
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Yes!! I know if makes you feel crappy for a couple of days but there's nothing worse than those aching bones and chills. I get my flu shot every year. My husband and kids on the other hand refuse to....so I usually end up playing nurse for someone at some point.
posted 6 months ago
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No, the vaccines have worse side effects than what their good for.
posted 6 months ago
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