Flu Vaccine? What's The Point?

[Onomea]

Had my flu shot about a week ago. I figure it can't hurt, and maybe it'll help.

My thing is having everybody in the house either wash their hands frequently or use that alcohol sanitizer. I keep a bottle of the sanitizer in the foyer bathroom, and in our office lobby at work. Having these sanitizer bottles in office lobbies is common in Japan during flu season.

I think a lot of sickness comes from getting germs on one's hands and then touching mouth, eyes, nose, etc. I got on this clean hands kick after 1) reading an article on a survey in the UK where 40% of the sampled population had fecal matter on their hands (!!! eewww!!), and b) an article on how the US troops in Afganistan are a lot healthier than were the Soviet troops before them because they have been taught to keep their hands clean.

(So, be careful out there, and don't be shakin' hands with 40% of the Brits you encounter! )

 

[84CJ]

I get one every year, not saying I like it but the goobermint makes me. Not crazy about the nasal mist thing I would rather get the shot. My son gets sick every time but they still make him take it. He skipped out a couple weeks ago and still got sick. I guess from being around us that had the mist. Or its just in his head and he makes himself sick.

 

[scooter123]

I just got mine yesterday. Just about 1 year ago to the week I came down with the H1N1 and I haven't been that sick in about 30 years. Fortunately, it started on a Sunday night so the next morning I called my family doc as soon as they opened. BTW, Sunday afternoon started with a sore throat, by midnight I felt terrible with a fever of 102 degrees and barely got a wink of sleep. He prescribed Tamiflu which had me back at work the next Friday.

Fortunately, all the media coverage about H1N1 and the fact that I didn't quite yet qualify for the vaccine had me paying attention, so with the rapid progression and the fever, I made sure to get help fast. Wait longer than 48 hours and Tamiflu is worthless, get it within the first 24 hours and it's a godsend.

That wasn't the case for our receptionists boyfreind who was the source for our particular little outbreak. The receptionist got it and since she's always running papers to me, I got it too. Her boyfriend is self employed and he tried to fight it without seeing a doctor. He ended up in the U of M intensive care unit on ECMO for 3 weeks, at one point his lungs were not visible on an X Ray because they were completely filled with fluids. BTW, ECMO is Extra Corporal Machine Oxygenation and it costs 50K PER DAY. Good news is that he did recover but did have some paralysis in one arm due to the fact that he had to be restrained. Bad news is that with over 1 million in medical costs, he's now bankrupt. All because he wouldn't take the time or spend the money to see a doctor while it could have been treated with some relatively inexpensive drugs.

Point is, some flu's can be VERY dangerous to even healthy people. If you don't belive that, look at the statistics for the 1918 Flu Pandemic, which BTW was also an H1N1 varient. You may get a bit sick from the vaccine but it's a small price to pay to NOT come down with the full blown version.

 

[GRIZZLYBEAR]

Don't get flu shots.
Years ago every time I got the shot, I ended up in bed for a day with a bad case of the flu.
Since I quit getting the shots I haven't had a bad case of the flu for the last 35 years.