Are you immune to Flu jabs? Have you ever had them?

[Mr Allen]

Topic.

I have had several Flu jabs over the years, and I still get 2 or 3 colds a year which may or may not be Flu related.

How about you guys? OK I know some of you might be loath to have the job due to fear of the Needle, bur ir could in theory save your life if it works,

 

[Suzanne]

I had a flu jab once and got the flu and had it pretty bad.

I have no fear of needles; in fact the process interests me.

Think it was last year, I developed a sore throat, but it did not develop any further and discovered that is probably due to a strong immune system.

Interesting, we have many eucalyputs trees in our garden as my husband is obsessed with them and he was chatting with someone and this person related that many she knows had come down with a cold, but she had not, so hubby asked does she by any chance have a eucalyputs tree in her garden and she said yes, she does!

We now believe that the reason we do not get sick, is due to our garden.

Flu jabs are bad news!

 

[Gracey]

Not sure I want them yet.

I can only remember 3 times in almost 50 yrs I’d consider myself as having influenza.


I don’t get colds, or rather I don’t experience recognisable symptoms and am guessing my immune system deals with all of that, quietly and effectively in the background.

 

[clg114]

I do not get flu shots anymore. Every time that I do, I immediately get sick. My doctor says that flu shots will not do that and someone my age should get a flu shot every year. I guess this is just another way that I am weird.

 

[AO1501]

Flu shots are never all that effective, because each year they are cultured to target what is anticipated to be the flu variants most likely to be experienced in the upcoming season. They can't protect everyone effectively even against those variants, and they also can't prevent infection for anyone by flu variants they aren't designed to protect from.

 

[Judge]

Seems each year there are that many more different strains of flu not accounted for through inoculations. Just look at the percentages of effectiveness over time. Or should I say, the lack thereof.

36% effective for 2017-2018 ? Really ?

At my age I'm in a higher risk bracket. But I honestly believe that conscious avoidance of people is a better way to avoid the flu than taking such a useless shot.

Stay the hell away of children no matter how healthy they appear, and run from adults with even the most minor of symptoms. Keep you eyes open at all times in public places and be mindful of what surfaces you touch and try like hell to avoid touching your face.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/effectiveness-studies.htm

 

[the_tortoise]

I try to get a flu shot every year.

They are free for everyone where I live and I'm happy to take advantage of something which has the potential to protect my health and the health of others.

Needles don't bother me.

Most flu vaccines use dead flu virus or only bits of dead flu virus, and cannot cause influenza infection -- they can cause mild symptoms of infection like fever and aches, though, because most of the symptoms of infection are generic ones caused by your own body; Fever, inflammation, extra mucus production in your nose/sinuses/lungs -- all of those symptoms are caused by your own body trying to expel/destroy pathogens (like bacteria and viruses), not by the pathogens themselves.

Some vaccines use live attenuated virus --meaning virus that has been altered and weakened so that it cannot cause full-blown infection (there is only one in use in Canada, it is a nasal spray) -- it can only cause serious illness in severely immunocompromised people.

When you get sick after getting a flu shot, it can be a few different things happening (these are just the ones I can think of):

1. If it's mild and very brief (and happens immediately after you get the jab/shot) it may just be your body mounting an immune response to the vaccine-- which is exactly what it's supposed to do....Vaccines work like a sort of "practice run" for your immune system -- they basically teach your body how to respond to flu by giving it a dead or weakened version of the virus to practice on, so if you are ever infected with a normal, live version of the virus your body will be able to fight it off before you get sick.

2. It may be that you have caught a strain of flu that the vaccine didn't protect you against. (Flu vaccines protect against only 3 or 4 strains of flu virus each year..... there are hundreds of possible strains.)

3. It may be that you have caught a different type of viral illness that causes similar symptoms. (e.g. a really bad cold caused by a rhinovirus or a coronavirus)

4. It may be that your body didn't respond to the vaccine, or that the response wasn't strong enough (didn't mount that "practice run" immune response, or the "practice run" response wasn't strong enough) -- so you ended up with partial immunity or no immunity at all.

5. If it happens immediately after you get the jab/shot, you could be having some kind of adverse reaction to the vaccine.

6. If it happens within the first week or two of receiving the vaccine, maybe you could have been infected with the flu before your body had time to build an immunity to the virus.

 

[Bolletje]

It’s not that people are immune to flu shots, it’s just that when they do get the flu, it’s a strain that’s not in the vaccine. Last year’s influenza epidemic was mostly caused by a strain that wasn’t in the vaccine, which is why so many people fell ill.
Also note that colds are not the same as the flu and not caused by the same virus. Getting a cold despite having had the flu vaccine is therefore perfectly normal.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

The flu jab protects against Influenza viruses, not the common cold (Rhinovirus et al.). Most people only get real flu once or twice in their lifetimes, so when most people say they've got the flu, they mean they've got a bad cold. Colds suck, but they rarely require anything more than a few days wrapped up warm and lots of fluids, where as Influenza can be extremely dangerous to vulnerable people.

I've never had the flu jab, because I don't need it, I have a perfectly healthy immune system. I do have a cold right now though, been hacking up my lungs all week.

 

[GrownupGirl]

Topic.

I have had several Flu jabs over the years, and I still get 2 or 3 colds a year which may or may not be Flu related.

How about you guys? OK I know some of you might be loath to have the job due to fear of the Needle, bur ir could in theory save your life if it works,

The flu shot won't prevent a cold because cold viruses are different from flu viruses, even if the symptoms may appear similar. There are hundreds of viruses that cause the common cold, so unless you wanted to get a few hundred shots for an illness that is not usually life-threatening and only lasts several days...

I don't get sick often, maybe one or two colds each year or so, but the flu can be life-threatening in certain people, like the elderly or people with asthma, so I get the shot so I won't have to worry as much about spreading it to someone who could develop serious complications, like even my own parents.

The annual flu shot also isn't 100% effective, although I figure some protection is better than none at all. It also takes a couple of weeks for your body to create enough antibodies after the vaccine.

All the utter nonsense and anti-vaxxer alarmism I hear every fall just makes my blood boil. I've been getting the flu shot every year now and haven't any bad reactions to it, although last year the spot on my arm where I got the needle was itchy for a short while.

 

[Judge]

It doesn't help if you exist in a society that has allowed the cost of healthcare, insurance and medicine to get completely out of control.

Where a documented 36% effectiveness at $20 a poke may not look as quite the bargain as say that inheritance from a Nigerian prince that came through your email.

 

[Tom]

With the current efficacy running at 20% it most likely will be useless. They need to go back to the drawing board on how they make the vaccines.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419131015.htm

 

[Illumination]

Of course I've had "Flu Jabs", or rather flu vaccinations-- I've only now (as of the last two years) not been taking a Flu Shot, and I've only had the flu influenza about twice in my life. -- Nothing wrong with having a flu shot/vaccination once a year.

I'm not sure if Ill get the flu vaccine / shot / jab this year (probably won't), but on another note, I got my Meningitis Vaccination today.

 

[BraidedPony]

I dont think Ive ever had a flu shot. I would rather let my immune system fight off germy invaders on their own and stay strong.
But if I worked with children or immune compromised people I would get one to protect those I work with.
Otherwise, I wash my hands when I’m out and as soon as I get home and NEVER touch my face until I’ve washed my hands.

 

[Bolletje]

I’ve been getting flu vaccines every year for the last 15 years, because I’ve been working in health care all that time. Last year I didn’t get my shot because I was in between jobs. I obviously got Influenza that time, within a month of starting my job in the hospital.
I never got sick from the flu shots, although I often run a mild fever somewhere in the first 24 hours after getting the shot. That’s a normal response though.

 

[BraidedPony]

After reading torties post, i may change my mind and get a flu shot this year.

 

[clg114]

I’ve been getting flu vaccines every year for the last 15 years, because I’ve been working in health care all that time. Last year I didn’t get my shot because I was in between jobs. I obviously got Influenza that time, within a month of starting my job in the hospital.
I never got sick from the flu shots, although I often run a mild fever somewhere in the first 24 hours after getting the shot. That’s a normal response though.

As a medical professional, what do you do to keep from getting sick? It must be tough when you have to work with sick people every day. There must be other tricks besides a flu shoot. Care to share?

 

[Bolletje]

As a medical professional, what do you do to keep from getting sick? It must be tough when you have to work with sick people every day. There must be other tricks besides a flu shoot. Care to share?

I’m afraid there’s no tricks. Keep your immunity up by getting plenty of sleep, proper nutrition and exercise. Other than that, there’s not much to do besides washing your hands regularly, trying to avoid contact with people who have an infectious disease, and take protective measures if you do have to interact with them.
I wore a protective facial mask around all patients suspected of an upper respiratory tract infection, yet I still had the flu and two severe colds in the first four months of working in the hospital. Avoiding the flu is very hard.

 

[Echo]

So... some of us have weird immune systems. I have some auto-immune disorders that I've had, well, probably since I was a kid, although I was diagnosed in my 20s.

What those that wield the needles fail to tell you is that there is a small... rare... but not impossible chance that a vaccine can do something crazy to your system. Especially if you already have an auto-immune or neuro-immunological condition.

About ten years ago I got a flu shot. Two days later I couldn't walk. I didn't make the connection, of course. It was just a flu shot, and not my first. I went to doctor after doctor with no luck.

Finally, my mother suggested a neurologist who figured out what was going on. I had lesions on my spinal cord (holes in the myelin sheath) caused by a neuro-immunological reaction to the vaccine. Diagnosis: Transverse Myelitis. A KNOWN POSSIBLE REACTION TO THE FLU SHOT.

These days I can walk... a little. Not very far. The muscles in my back are all spastic. My legs are unsteady at times. I have some motor issues and no feeling in my fingertips. I cried when I realized I'd never feel my daughter's cheek again.

Three years ago, I went to the ER with chest pain. Turned out to be walking pneumonia. What did they give me? Levaquin. An antibiotic with black box warnings (that used to be a cancer drug). It's known to cause neuropathy and tendon issues. Guess what? It's also contraindicated in patients with transverse myelitis. But the docs said it would be great, so I took it. Ever since I've been in PAIN. Numb limbs, nerve pain. Much more difficulty walking. i barely sleep most nights.

This year I need a surgery. Maybe two.

And I'm, of course, terrified to put my life into the hands of others again....

 

[Progster]

I don't have flu vaccinations, but I rarely catch a flu virus, the last one I have must have been about 20 years ago. I rarely get colds either, mainly because: I have caught and developed amunity to all the strains that are currently circulating, I work at home and don't go out so often or use public transport, so there is less opportunity to catch a virus.