Originally Posted By chickapin I work at a hospital--flu shot every year. DD has diabetes and RA--flu shot every year. DH has health issues--flu shot every year. DS is 20 and invincible. He has had bad bouts with flu the past two years but still refuses to get the shot.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 DH and I have been getting a flu shot for at least 5+ years. Our busy season at work is during flu season. So not only do we hope to not get the flu, we hope to avoid missing those days at work as it just creates a backlog of pressure. Our 20 year old has had a flu shot for about the same amount of time. Our older "kids" seem to get one if it's convenient. Our 31 year old who is a teacher never gets one and she never gets sick. It's like she has a germ bubble around her
Originally Posted By LuLu I'm amazed so many LPers get them. I never get one and don't plan to ever get one.
Originally Posted By jnemo I get the flu shot, have for serveral years do to asthma but now I am in that age group that should get them every year. We did insist that jenniebarra get one before our trip to DW in January, so that she would hopefully not get sick before the trip.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin I got mine when they first started giving them at Kaiser...I'm over 50(cringe), I work in a hospital, I have health issues. So I try to get my shot as soon as I can so by the time everyone else starts getting sick my antibodies are all built up.
Originally Posted By rtjl72 i will get a flu shot for the first time in a long, long time. i also received an updated vaccine for tetanus and whopping cough. i encourage all of you adults to update with this same vaccine. i recently listened to a lecture by one of our leading pediatricians in the area and he said that if you have had a cough that lasted longer than 3 weeks you probably had whopping cough. well, i did about 4 years ago and i have no doubt that i had whooping cough now that i look back. we take the risk of exposing and infecting the newborn to 2 year olds with pertussis or whooping cough if we don't get our updates. we all need updates about every 10 years. who's next in line?
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well pertussis is an odd bird. My Mother in Law actually had a naggin cough that kept on and on for 5 or 6 months. She just was never quite sick enough to see the Doc. Finally, at my wife's insistnece my MIL went to the doc. Turns out, she had Pertussis but it was so mild that she never really had the full blown whooping and deep creepy sounding cough that is common. Its started out that way she admited, but calmed down over time and just sort of sat there if you get my meaning. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, a highly contagious disease caused by the bacterium, Bordetella pertussis. It can be DEADLY for very young children, particularly infants or newborn. Needless to say, she felt really bad having had this, having been around our children so much, especially (and no one said it but we all were thinking it including my MIL) since our 2 year old contracted whooping cough and had a heck of a time shaking it with anitbitotics and what not, during the time my MIL was contagious. Lots of people believe that all vaccines are bad or don't work, or are scams or whatever. I don't. We have effectively wiped out things like small pox with vacccines, but we have seen huge increases in many other diseases that could be easily prevented with vaccines, largely due to the chiropractic and wholistic movements in our country. However, it is certainly up to each indiviual to decide what vaccines are needed or wanted for them and their children. I belive in choice and freedom to choose above all else. At that point it becomes an issue of education.
Originally Posted By iamsally >>I don't like the idea of putting another vaccine into my body<< I agree with that!!!!!! >>>I'm amazed so many LPers get them. I never get one and don't plan to ever get one.<<< I was just thinking the same thing Lulu. I never got flu shots but I decided never to when a science teacher I was working with said, "I don't know why anyone would ever get a flu shot!?!" I have not had a flu in over 10 years. I do wash my hands often and take echinacea if I have been around someone sick. Obviously, if there are health problems that make the flu life-threatening one must weigh the evidence. I prefer natural immunities. I have heard lectures too. Ones that made me say, "Never again!"
Originally Posted By 8 ilovemickey 8 I begun working in the health field last March. You are usually required to get a flu shot but they thought it was late enough in the season that I shouldn't worry. WRONG. I had the worst flu every! So when I visit the doctor to get my last Guardisil shot I will also be getting the flu shot. <<"I prefer natural immunities.">> I am sorry to say but the Flu Shot is a natural immunity. You see the Flu Shot does not inject you with "immunity" but rather a denatured antigen and then your body naturally makes antibodies (immunity). So basically the only difference is you don't get sick but you build the same natural immunity.
Originally Posted By momof4boys We all get a flu shot every year. A few years ago when they had the huge shortage, we were able to get a shot for our youngest because of his heart and for my DH and I since we were his caregivers. But I couldn't get one for the older boys. We are very diligent hand washers and rarely get ill, but despite all off this, one of the boys still got the flu. We didn't know it was the flu at first since the only symptoms were cough and fever. But because of the close proximity, Nathan ( our youngest ) got the flu ( yes, DVC dad is correct, you can still get the flu even after the flu shot, just much less of a chance and if you get it it is usually a much lighter case). We immediately knew it was the flu- his heart was beating so hard that you could see it through his shirt. But because he had the flu shot and we started tamiflu immediatly ( another thing I am a huge fan of) instead of a hospitalization with a life threatening illness, we were leaving to go to Disneyland 2 days later.
Originally Posted By avromark Hospital employee - pretty much mandatory. Even if I wasn't I'd go to the hospital/urgent care centre/walk-in clinic/doctors office or wherever you get them. I kind of think it's sad that some people have to pay for them.
Originally Posted By lilgoofymom DD and I got our shots at vaccination clinics at our local grocery store. It was kinda rough paying what we did, but I was just grateful to be able to get them. The clinics did give people with Medicare the shots for free and filed it on their Medicare account.
Originally Posted By avromark You'd think that hospitals would like to prevent people from getting sick, it you know kind of frees up resources. Anyways I'd like to live in an area where you don't have to worry about flus. Err anyone have a bubble for me?
Originally Posted By RidgebackLuver We get them because in Feb. 05 we all were sick for OVER A MONTH with the flu. It messed up our finances (work) and left us all exhausted and nerves raw (my daughter does nothing but cry when she's sick). It took a month to recover all of our activities, house cleaning etc. so it took two months out of our lives. Since getting the shot the last two years we haven't been that sick so it's worth the hassle.
