FLU SHOT???

naughtoj

naughtoj

Cathlete
Ok, I just don't get it.


I work in a hospital so I need the flu shot. Anyway, I have to get it today and was researching the vaccine due to getting so much mixed information about whether or not someone should get the flu shot. One nurse says, "Absolutely, it helps you", another says, "No way. It only protects you against one form of the flu and you get sick to boot". The shot is an inactive form of the virus, so it is my understanding that you cannot get sick from it. However, when you research the flu shot it does say that you may develop an allergic reaction (which I totally get) but also muscle aches and/or fever (which I don't really get)....see this from www.immunesupport.com:

What is the Flu Vaccine?

Each year's flu vaccine contains three strains selected by the U.S. Public Health Service which are believed to be most likely to spread in the upcoming flu season. The vaccine is made up of purified viruses grown in egg cultures which have been made inactive and noninfectious. Injection of the vaccine, usually in the upper-arm, stimulates an immune reaction.

Although flu season typically runs from November through April, flu shots are ideally given between late September and mid-November. It takes about two weeks after receiving the shot for the vaccine to become effective. To be protected, you must be immunized every year.

According to the CDC, there are very few side effects of vaccination. Most common is soreness in the arm around the injection site; a few people report other mild side effects, such as low-grade fever or body aches, for a day or two following vaccination.

It is estimated that flu shots are about 70% effective in preventing the flu. Even for those who are vaccinated and do get the flu, the vaccine is said to reduce the severity of the infection.




So..........question is, to those knowlegeable ones out there......if the flu shot is inactive and non infectious, what causes the mild aftereffects of fever and muscle aches????? 50% of the people I talk to..even healthcare professionals.....won't get the shot for this reason and I think that is a shame. What is the real story?? Anyone? Anyone??? LOL
 
To be completely honest with you, everyone I know who has had the flu shot has gotten the flu anyways, not even close to 70% effective, I'm sorry. Whether they got the flu from the vaccine or not, there is no way of knowing for sure but it really didn't help anyone I know. My grandpa got the flu shot and he was sick for a week after he got it, with a fever and flulike symptoms and my grandma was in bed for three days. Of course they were told it had nothing to do with the vaccination. There may be more than just muscle soreness that keeps medical professionals from getting vaccinated. My mom works in a hospital, so does my step dad, and they don't get it, I am really not sure why though, I will ask them. I don't know the reason for the fever and muscle soreness for sure, but my guess would be because there is a foreign object in your body and your body is fighting to get rid of it.

HTH
Missy
 
Hi Janice,

I don't know the answer to your question, but my kids and myself have been getting them for three years and we have never had any problems besides the muscle being sore where the shot was given. That would go away in a day or two. I didn't get it last year because of the shortage and got very sick.

We have a history of upper respiratory infections. So, the doctor recommended for the kids first. We now can get through December thru February with just some simple colds. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but they haven't gotten as sick since starting with the flu shot.

I know I haven't answered your question, but I hope that helps a little.

Dallas:D
 
Hey Janice, unfortuanetly I don't know too much about it but from what I do understand it's not completely inactive. They give you the shot with some strain of an active dose so your body can then build immunity against it.
I don't get them because I just fear anything that can be given to that many people yet so massively misunderstood.
 
I won't get one until I suffer from the flu and can measure the trade off. As far as I know, I've never had the flu so I don't see the sense in getting a shot to prevent it.
 
I have always gotten the flu shot for the last 10 years or so (except last year, due to the shortage), and am very thankful that it has worked well. No flu is a good thing. The flu shot cannot give you the flu - it is made from a KILLED virus. The nasal vaccine is made from a weakened virus, so it only recommended for healthy adults, as immunocompromised people may become ill from it. The reason you have aches and pains and fever after getting a flu shot is because your body has just been injected with a foreign substance, and it is trying to fight it off. It is also trying to manufacture antibodies to the virus. The only side effect I've ever had from the flu shot is a sore arm for a day. It's definitely better than getting the flu - the flu is a horrible illness that spreads easily. I get the flu shot for my family and friends as much as I get it for myself - so that I don't pass the illness on to them. My mom has reduced immune function, due to having Lupus, so it's essential that she and everyone close to her be vaccinated. The flu could quite literally kill her.
 
Emily--you're exactly correct. Also, people often mistake other, more mild viruses for the flu. The flu is a serious illness. It makes you very, very sick. You can't really function when you have it.

Michele
 
That's interesting because I remember specifically that Diane Sue said she got the flu after getting a flu shot. My mother had a same experience. I think it may be about the timing of the shot.
 
Boy, I can attest for that. The year before I got the flu shot I was in bed for 2 1/2 weeks!! It was AWFUL! My poor MIL had to come stay with us because someone had to take care of the kids. As soon as I got better my kids and MIL got it! It was over a month of pure you know what!

Never want to feel that way again!

Dallas
 
I don't have a technical answer to your question, just my own experience. I used to work in a public health center and one year there was a flu epidemic. All staff were required to get the flu shot. Less than a week later I was out of work with the flu for two weeks. This was over 13 years ago and I haven't gotten another shot since.
 
I never get the flu shots. Just recently they were administering the shots here at work and the next day or two, one receptionist started getting sick. I can't mess around with those things.

But isn't it true that vaccines, or this particular shot, puts the vaccine right into the heart of the immune system only to compromise it and make the immune system weaker?


http://www.PictureTrail.com/haydee1

Haydee
 
I have never received the flu shot, but I have never been ill by the flu either. And I work in the hospital. I'm more susceptial to the stomach virus, where I have a fever, bodyaches, and alot of vomiting. It lasts for about 24 hrs, then it's over. My body is strong when it comes to Resp. infections. I never had the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, or anything that serious. I count my lucky stars!
 
For the past few years I have gotten the flu shot (except last year due to shortage). I have never gotten sick from it, but have heard people who gotten sick soon after taking it. I was given this explanation. Since the flu shot is usually given at a doctor's office (where sick people have been) the person probably picked up a virus(including the flu) from germs left behind by sick people(door knobs etc). Since the body does not build up the antibodies immediately after receiving the shot, the person gets sick from the germs not the shot. I had a really bad flu one time and never want to experience that again, so as long as it's available, I will probably continue to get one each year.

Jean
 
I agree with Emily's assessment. I've gotten a shot every year for at least the past 18 years- that's how long I've been a type 1 diabetic, so I fall into the high risk category. Last year a friend of mine asked me what "high risk" meant and I explained to her that we were more likely to be seriously affected, require hospitalization, etc with the flu than other, non-high risk people.

I got the flu my first year in college and that was a terrible terrible experience. I about wore a path in the industrial carpet back and forth from my room to the bathroom. It took about 2 months to feel back to my normal strength. It was terrible!!! I was so weak and so sick. :(

After I started exercising 3-4 years ago, I have pretty much stopped getting sick (except once, after giving blood, my immune system wasn't operating at full strength) with anything. I still get the flu shot. The way I figure it, the $25 it cost each year is well worth the possibility of it protecting me against whichever strain it will (they do different strains each year)- it's 3 strains I don't have to worry about!! ;)

ETA: I also think they ask health care workers to get it because I expect even with a great immune system, you could still be a little infected, not know, go to work, and transmit the virus to a patient. My .02.
 
"if the flu shot is inactive and non infectious, what causes the mild aftereffects of fever and muscle aches?????"

My humble guess is that it is the body's immune system kicking in, creating antibodies and trying to winnow out the vaccine's attenuated but real viral factors.

Julie
 
I always get a flu shot because I travel on planes alot (like every other week) and do it to protect from being confined with people. With that said, I've never had a reaction or gotten ill from it or gotten the flu (knock on wood). My arm is usually sore for a day or two where I got the shot but that's it. I've never felt bad after a shot.

Jo
 
I never get the flu shot. I never get the flu either though. For as long as I can remember (in my adult life) I have gotten sick almost every winter for about a week with flu-like symptoms but it was never the flu. It was always bronchitis. The flu shot never would have helped me. If there comes a time when I actually GET the flu, I will consider getting the shot the following year. For now though...I am leaving well enough alone!!! I am hoping to avoid bronchitis this year too since I have quit smoking!:+
 
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