Do you get a flu shot?

Do you get a flue shot

  • Yes, always (Always!)

    Votes: 22 45.8%
  • Try to, but not always (Nobodies perfect)

    Votes: 2 4.2%
  • Only when convenient (I don't bend for noth'n)

    Votes: 5 10.4%
  • Heck No (Don't be sticking me with government poison)

    Votes: 19 39.6%

  • Total voters
    48

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PFunk

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I have had one once or twice but usually can’t find/make the time to get one. I also have not had the flue in a very long time. If I caught it again, it may very well change my attitude….

It doesn’t help that in the past immunizations have missed the critical virus for that year.
 
In the UK (at least the part i live in, i'm not sure about other counties) you only get a flu shot if you're invited by your doctor. It's normally given to children, the elderly and people who have life long conditions or work in healthcare etc.

Unfortunately Epilepsy isn't included in this and even though i've worked in health and social care for the last four years i haven't qualified to get it.

Mind you i think i've only ever had flu once and that was years ago.
 
Seriously?? You have to be invited and Epilepsy doesn't qualify! That sounds like some prejudice B.S. to me!!

In the states you can get it at almost any pharmacy. When there is a limited supply, epilepsy puts you on the priority list. Maybe that's one of the perks of paying out your @ss for healthcare.
 
Absolutely - especially for identified strains. Yes, it is the expert's best guess as to strain/mutation, but as someone who is immunocompromised it's important to me that I and the people around me get it to at least improve the odds!
 
I'm not in a high-risk group (elderly or immuno-compromised), so I've never opted for the flu shot. Plus, my father got unpleasant -- though fortunately temporary -- side effects from the swine flu shot issued in 1976.
 
Jusr got back from getting it. Since antibic. don't work well for me.
 
I didn't know this was a possibility.

In 1976, a type of inactivated influenza (swine flu) vaccine was associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Since then, flu vaccines have not been clearly linked to GBS. However, if there is a risk of GBS from current flu vaccines, it would be no more than 1 or 2 cases per million people vaccinated. This is much lower than the risk of severe influenza, which can be prevented by vaccination.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm

Sound unpleasant to say the least Nak! I might to sliding to a Heck No vote.
 
I plan to get one in the next couple of months. I got one last year and didnt get sick. Our's is 100% covered through out insurance, so I say why not?
 
I think the last time was when I was a kid and verrrrrrrry sick.
As a teenager or adult I wouldn't/won't touch it. Have had the flu maybe once in the past 20 years, and IMO unless you have an extremely high fever or have uncontrollable vomiting you don't need it. Warm blankets, chicken soup and/or crackers, popsicles, lukewarm baths, good movies, a good massage, and some cuddles are enough. Call in sick for a few days, get better, and get over it. No interest in having shit shot in my arm - I already take enough E meds and don't know what's in them!!!
 
I already take enough E meds

Me too. I have diabetes (Type 1) and do insulin shots 5 times a day, along with thyroid issues and E. If that isn't enough meds into ONE body?! But my endo insists that I get a flu shot every year since my immune system isn't "normal".
But, I haven't got mine yet this year.
 
My parents were told when I was a young child that my immune system wasnt the best... and over the years, Ive always been the one in the family to get sick the easiest. So Ive always got the flu shot. Id rather have the flu shot than be sicker than a dog!
 
In the 90's I got the shot at work, about four years in a row; but I stopped getting it for some reason and now I agree, I don't want anymore meds in my body!
Dilantin, Keppra & vitamins are enough-I don't even like to take aspirin.
 
Being in the military (still) I am required to get it. Even more so because I work in health care. But I think I would get it anyway, and for my kids as well. We get the mist, so no shot involved.
 
Interesting. I thought more would get the shot, give the increased risks associated with high fever. :ponder:


This website has a list of ingredients used in the shot. http://www.rxlist.com/fluzone-drug.htm

Apparently the Formaldehyde is used to neutralize the virus and other bacteria. This website discusses some of the additives in immunizations. http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizations/a/0608_vac_aditvs.htm

I don't necessarily view vaccines in the same light as medication. The flu shot is dead viruses and additives. I'm wary of additives, but that goes for everything (food, drink, air). Nasty things like pesticides or aspartame. (which is in everything!!)

I use to preach to my wife how some people are too quick to reach for medicine. Television (in the states) is blanketed with drug commercials telling us what aliments plague our lives.. "just ask your doctor". I hate taking cold medicine because I'm tricking my body into feeling better. By not taking it I'm better able to monitor my health, listen to what my body is saying. I drive my wife nuts. In a cruel twist of irony, I now take 3 seizure meds and two blood pressure meds. I tried running for a year to lower my blood pressure. I'm a skinny fit guy and had to face the fact. I had some crappy genes and it wasn’t going down. My younger sis is also on blood pressure meds, as well as the rest of my mother’s side of the family. Everyone is pretty high strung. In conclusion, I have become dependent on that which I preached against... Fun….
 
I use to preach to my wife how some people are too quick to reach for medicine. Television (in the states) is blanketed with drug commercials telling us what aliments plague our lives.. "just ask your doctor". I hate taking cold medicine because I'm tricking my body into feeling better. By not taking it I'm better able to monitor my health, listen to what my body is saying.
Same here, P-Funk. I've never been prescribed antibiotics (though probably given them when in the hospital for surgery), and I never take cold medicine either. I do take aspirin/ibuprofen on occasion, but that's it. A friend of mine who's a doctor said that you can take antibiotics, and your cold will go away in 14 days, or you can take nothing, and your cold will go away in 2 weeks. :)
 
Common colds are caused by viruses, so you really wouldn't expect antibiotics to affect them.

There's a good case to be made for over-medicalization, but there are limits.

Why would you would refuse medication to make you feel less miserable, like pain medication? I doubt you refuse novocaine at the dentist.
 
Common colds are caused by viruses, so you really wouldn't expect antibiotics to affect them.

I believe that’s what Nak’s doctor friend was implying. Anit-biotics are over prescribed or the dosages is not completed by patients, which hastens the rise of resistant bacterial strains. MRSA anyone?



Why would you would refuse medication to make you feel less miserable, like pain medication? I doubt you refuse novocaine at the dentist.


If it’s a mild pain, then yes, I might refused. I never said anything about extreme cases, like having a tooth drilled. In that scenario, I would imagine most would opt for it. I’m not against medication, but I think there is an eagerness to turn to medication instead of life style changes (say in some instances of diabetes or weight loss, etc.).

This also raises the issue of abuse of pain medication… which in part has been fueled by the ease of obtaining a prescription from some doctors. I understand you’re defining misery in terms of physical pain, but physically healthy people seek pain medication to escape emotional misery? In that scenario is it ok? At what point does it become addiction? (I’m just lobbing out questions for discussion and not directing them at you no.guru)
 
If it’s a mild pain, then yes, I might refused. I never said anything about extreme cases, like having a tooth drilled. In that scenario, I would imagine most would opt for it. I’m not against medication, but I think there is an eagerness to turn to medication instead of life style changes (say in some instances of diabetes or weight loss, etc.).

Well, in my instance diabetes was brought on by another drug for depression and I did try to control it by life style changes; exercising and limiting my carbs and changing my eating habits. None of it worked, so I had to go to the insulin shots. So IMO, the same with the flu shots and all meds to speak of, there are RISKS involved. Some AED's bring on allergic reactions, sucidal thoughts, depression, Steven's-Johnson's syndrome, hypoglycemia, thyroid problems, etc....... :ponder: So, each person has to decide how much trouble they want to live with. Personally, I choose to get a flu shot because if I end up with the flu, more than likely I will end up in the ER because the flu will mess with my glucose/diabetes and E. NO Thanks! I'll chance the flu shot.
 
I understand you’re defining misery in terms of physical pain, but physically healthy people seek pain medication to escape emotional misery? In that scenario is it ok? At what point does it become addiction? (I’m just lobbing out questions for discussion and not directing them at you no.guru)

All good questions, and I understand.

Cint, you're right about risks, but of course there are always risks in medicine.

What's tragic is the number of parents who refuse to have their children receive routine vaccines because of panic about the non-existent link to autism. These parents expose their children and others' children to unnecessary risks. Cases of whooping cough were higher in 2010 than in any year since 1947, thanks in part to these parents.

In what I see as good news, many physicians are turning away parents who don't have their children vaccinated.
 
I doubt you refuse novocaine at the dentist.
I've actually never needed novocaine at the dentist! My few cavities haven't been deep enough.

But to clarify, I'm not against pain medication (or vaccines) in the least -- I've had two surgeries on my shoulder, and I would have been very unhappy if they hadn't used anesthesia! I also was given percocet for the post-surgery recovery, which I did use, although sparingly. My point was that I'm a "minimalist" in my attitude towards health care and medication. Some folks are "maximalists", some fall somewhere in between. (See: http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/...s-talk-about-making-the-best-medical-choices/) No doubt, I'm lucky to have decent health in general, and this has made it easier for me to take that personal stance.

As far as vaccines go, I'm all for them. I'm well aware of what's happening in areas where the child vaccine rate has dropped and whooping cough cases have soared, due to misinformation and unfounded fears about safety. I'm not interested in the flu vaccine because I'm not in a recommended category -- I'm not elderly or immuno-compromised, I don't work with children or in a health care setting. I work at home and my exposure to pathogens is limited.
 
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