What do you think of flu shots?

Today I got a battery of meds to deal with the horrendous sinus infection I've had the past couple of days. My doctor was concerned at my high fever (102.5), so he gave me Tamiflu "just in case I have the flu". He did this even though he knew I have a sinus infection. I get everything, and the pharmacy screeches "DID YOU GET YOUR FLU SHOT?" I barked back that the last time I got a flu shot I was sick for TWO WEEKS (true story) and have not gotten one since. They didn't really have a response.

How many of you get a flu shot? Just curious.

British Medical Journal reported an analysis of 20 studies showed Tamiflu offered mild benefits in terms of duration of symptoms for healthy adults if taken within 24 hours of onset of symptoms, but found no clear evidence it prevented lower respiratory tract infections or other complications of influenza.

Tamiflu may still be a useful drug for reducing the duration of symptoms, although for this use it still has yet to be compared with NSAIDs or paracetamol.

A joint investigation by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and British TV Channel 4 published in the BMJ on December 8, 2009, concluded that in otherwise healthy adults they "have no confidence in claims that Tamiflu reduces the risk of complications and hospital admission in people with influenza" and believe it should not be used in routine control of seasonal influenza.

Hope that lot helps. .....

I got my first flu shot two years ago, and got it again last year. I plan to continue getting it every year.

Unless you are in one of the high risk categories, getting a flu shot seems useless.

I've gotten a flu shot for the last 15 years, maybe. I've gotten the flu ONCE. My kids get them, and only my oldest got it. And that was the first year she didn't get her shot.

Big fan of Flu shots. I get a little fever and feel a little shitty for a day, but it beats having hot liquids exiting my body from three orifaces simultaneously, while having chills. Fuck the flu.

I haven't had a flu shot since I was a child. I rarely get sick, maybe two or three times in the last 10 years. Although, when I do get sick, it's like hell on Earth.

QPCloudy wrote: I haven't had a flu shot since I was a child. I rarely get sick, maybe two or three times in the last 10 years. Although, when I do get sick, it's like hell on Earth.

I'm in a similar boat. I don't do flu shots. I also don't carry around hand sanitizer or worry dirty doorhandles and crap like that. I figure if my immune system is going to do it's job I'd better get it some experience. It seems like I used to get sick more often when I was younger and actually got the shots and going to the doctor regularly.

wadenels wrote:

QPCloudy wrote: I haven't had a flu shot since I was a child. I rarely get sick, maybe two or three times in the last 10 years. Although, when I do get sick, it's like hell on Earth.

I'm in a similar boat. I don't do flu shots. I also don't carry around hand sanitizer or worry dirty doorhandles and crap like that. I figure if my immune system is going to do it's job I'd better get it some experience. It seems like I used to get sick more often when I was younger and actually got the shots and going to the doctor regularly.

Same here. My wife is a clean nut, which baffles me. Washes hands all the time, which it is good to wash, but you need to build immunities naturally, I think.

It seems to me I only get sick when I student teach.

Quite an experience having extreme abdominal cramps trying to wipe. If I thought a shot would help, I'd do it.

Curious again...does having kids have anything to do with you getting the shot?

The main argument for getting the flu shot isn't for yourself directly, but to increase herd immunity. Most of us here are, I'd imagine, not going to die from the flu, but we are often around people who are older or have compromised immune systems. Maybe if you never come into contact with an at-risk group then it doesn't matter. I have a lot of old people who come into my work though, so I get it.

daveroswell wrote: It seems to me I only get sick when I student teach.

Quite an experience having extreme abdominal cramps trying to wipe. If I thought a shot would help, I'd do it.

Curious again...does having kids have anything to do with you getting the shot?

I don't get sick, like ever. And when I do, it's generally a one-or-two day thing. My wife NEVER gets sick. Twice in 18 years she got sick to the point where she couldn't go to work.

BUT....

I send my eldest off to the equivalent of Fort Deitrick every day, and she's the kid who picks boogers and likes the smell of farts (and admits it). So I'm not trusting her ass, as much as I've trained her to, to wash her hands, do the right thing, and all that. So, if she brings home fucking swine flu, someone's going to need to take care of her, clean up her puke, and cook. If all of us are dog-sick, nobody is here to do this.

It's a matter of homeland security. My home, on My land, needs to be secure from the bio weapons my kid brings home.

wadenels wrote: I don't do flu shots. I also don't carry around hand sanitizer or worry dirty doorhandles and crap like that. I figure if my immune system is going to do it's job I'd better get it some experience.

Flu shots and hand sanitizers are different. The shot does give your immune system 'experience'. That's the whole point of it.

daveroswell wrote: It seems to me I only get sick when I student teach.

If you're working with kids, it's definitely a good idea. You're going to come into regular contact with pretty much every disease vector on the planet.

As dysjunct says, for those not at high-risk, shots are more of a convenience. But not feeling like total crap for a week is a pretty good convenience.

Get mine every year.

Fun story, two years back I was apparently involved in a class action lawsuit targeting the government. They lost the USB flashdrive which contained the identity of all the people who got the shot for the swine flu. Not really sure what happened to the lawsuit, so I'm guessing it lost.

Big fan of the flu shot. Both my kids and my wife are giant vectors because of school and work. (The wife is a pharmacist). That being said, we didn't get the flu shot for this season since it was exactly the same formulation as the year previous. Next season if the formulation changes we'll re up.

Bulwyf wrote: Big fan of the flu shot. Both my kids and my wife are giant vectors because of school and work. (The wife is a pharmacist). That being said, we didn't get the flu shot for this season since it was exactly the same formulation as the year previous. Next season if the formulation changes we'll re up.

How would the normal consumer be privy to a flu shot being exactly the same two years in a row?