Beware the Flu Shot!

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phred

Lifer
Dec 11, 2012
1,754
5
I've generally avoided the flu shots - I'm another that tends to react to them, so if I get the shot, I'm guaranteed to feel cruddy for a couple of days. Given that the relatively few times I've had a case of the flu I felt cruddy for maybe a day or two longer, it's never seemed like a great tradeoff.
OTOH, my father-in-law is now a regular visitor to our place. Since I'm now in regular contact with someone in the higher-risk category, I'll probably go ahead and get one next season. The mercury scare refers to a preservative used in multi-dose vials to prevent bacterial growth (thimerosol), and contains far less mercury than my remaining amalgam fillings. The MSG is used as a stabilizer in some vaccines, to prevent environmental factors from making the vaccine less effective - and it's a naturally occurring compound that's been unfairly blamed for "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" for ages, despite multiple double-blind tests, one of which had only one reported reaction (and that was to the placebo...). IMHO, the anti-vac crowd is no more scientifically literate than the anti-smoking crowd - and often less so. But to each their own.

 

mikestanley

Lifer
May 10, 2009
1,698
1,126
Akron area of Ohio
I've had the flu once. That was enough.I've been getting a flu shot for the last three years. No reaction to it thus far and the flu bug has visited my office and I didn't even flinch so I'm a believer. YMMV.
Mike S.

 

tuold

Lifer
Oct 15, 2013
2,133
166
Beaverton,Oregon
It's really bad this year. Our intensive care unit at the hospital is brimming with flu sufferers. It's not the flu so much that puts them there but the secondary pneumonia that hits them very hard. Don't get sick.

 

bentmike

Lifer
Jan 25, 2012
2,422
37
Low stress, good diet, and exercise go a long way.

I live by latbomber's words.
I got the shot 20 years ago while in the military but not had one since. I get one or two head colds a year and an occasional bout of the barley flu but that's about it. Lucky I guess.

 

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
I mentioned this already in a thread I started recently but will repeat it here.
mso489 stated: "One of the senior scientists at NIH who had spent many years working on vaccines said she'd never get a flu shot; go figure."
To which I replied: "Well, I wasn't going to say anything but I agree. After the shots are given by employee health they send a letter to all departments indicating participation in the program. The laboratory, comprising the bulk of scientists and pathologists on staff, always has the lowest participation rates."

 

tuold

Lifer
Oct 15, 2013
2,133
166
Beaverton,Oregon
Then again, some of the doctors I work with have the worst health habits of anybody including excesses and deficits. Best to make a decision based on your own research and preferences rather than following somebody's example. If they tell me why they wouldn't get I would certainly listen.
The reason participation is low in the professional staff maybe because they aren't forced to get it like we of the technical staff are.

 
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