Wellness

[spot555]

Thankyou 4Onu20- very well stated!

We ALL have viruses & such in our bodies that can be "awakened" in various ways. And people have different reactions to vacs, meds, etc. To downplay those reactions is ridiculous. To insinuate that they are imagining those reactions, or to blame it on something else is very insensitive.

How do any of you know what vacs may cause in your body a few years down the road? How could you ever prove why your body has changed for the worse? Most people wouldn't even link the two things together.

[Tantallum]

I have taken the flu shot every year, never had a problem. Never had the flu either. Yes, side effects to vaccines do happen, they are very rare though. I know that doesn't mean much to the person who is having it, but it is too bad that the very infrequent reactions scare so many people from getting it, and that is why tens of thousands of people die each year from the flu.

My friend's nephew died of the flu last year, he was 3.

[Tantallum]

I will also add that I did have a moderate reaction to the Tetnus/Pertussis vaccine a few years ago. I didn't end up in the ER but had multiple doctor's appointments and had to take some other medications. I still get all my vaccines. I would rather have the reaction I had than die from one of those horrible diseases.

[Annabellethecat66]

In a recent magazine I bought it showed what flu medicine is made of. It broke it down completely.

It also explained why some people have a mild (it might seem terrible) but the article said compared to the real flue it is mild, reaction.

Most people have no reaction, some do. The sad thing is people who have no reaction tell others it's in their heads. The article said, it isn't in their head it is a genuine mild reaction and should be handled mostly with aspirin or something similar and will go away in a few hours.

We are all different.

[Kathlen]

I've been getting a flu shot for about 20 years with one exception. I never had a reaction ... even from the over-65 version when that started.

The year I didn't get the shot, I got the flu and was so sick - I ended up on a saline drip at the doctor's office, and was out of work for a week.

[Wolfpack Fan]

I taught sixth-grade from 1970-2001, and I never took a flu shot because I was afraid. I decided to this year because I was tired of staying inside most of the fall, winter, and early spring. My husband and I took the Fluzone high dose, and my adult son took the quadrivalent shot(covers four strains of flu instead of the usual three). Because of health problems, both my son and I were encouraged to take the shots. My son only had a sore arm for a few days. My husband had no side effects. I took my shot when I already had a little headache and sore throat (allergies from not having any heat for hours three days beforehand) because that doctor's office only had nine shots left. After an hour or two, I itched just a little, and then it stopped. I did not break out. My arm was sore for several days if I hit it against something or pushed on it. Our garage is part of our basement. When we got home, my husband started working in the basement. He accidentally knocked a shelf off the wall, and transmission fluid got all over the basement floor. Most of the upstairs smelled like transmission fluid also except for the bedrooms on the other end of the house. Strong smells, even paint, bother me. When I wasn't in the bedroom, I wore a mask over my nose and mouth. I woke up about 3:30 a.m. the next morning with a terrible headache and also had a low-grade fever (never got above 100). I had the shot on Tuesday and felt bad for most of the day Wednesday. I took Extra-Strength Tylenol every six hours and drank a lot of fluids. I also did a sinus rinse. I felt great when I got up Thursday. I don't know how much of my problems came from being stopped-up some before the shot, how much came from the transmission fluid smell throughout the house, and how much came from the Fluzone shot. I had extremely low vitamin B12 six or seven weeks ago and was told that I would probably need to take shots the rest of my life because my body wasn't absorbing all the B12 I was taking in through food. The nurse who gave us our flu shots had told me that the Fluzone high dose was four times as strong as the regular dose because older people sometimes couldn't absorb all of what was injected. I was scared to death to take the shot, but I figured that since I had been having so many health problems this year that the regular dose wouldn't be enough for me.

[Q4u]

While I didn't have a severe reaction to the shot, every member of my family experienced a reaction this year. I believe it was because of the additional protection, but yes, I've heard that the reactions this year have been from mild to severe and more than the last few years... glad you're ok...

[chucky12345]

A friend of mine got Guillian Barre Syndrome and died from the flu shot.

You didn't ask, but I'd never get the flu shot. I take 10,000 IUs of D3 a day. Hope you are feeling better.

[pitdakota]

On 11/7/2014 40nu20 said:

chrystaltree--sounds like you work in the medical profession as do I. Do you even know what the ingredients are in a flu shot? Have you bothered to research that or do you just get it because you are required to, no questions asked? As an educated and health conscious person, I have researched the flu shot. The flu shot contains mercury (also present in the preservative free version just in a smaller dose), formaldahyde (a know carcinogen used to embalm those who have past) , aluminum ( a metal used to stimulate the immune response) as well as antibiotics, latex, egg product and gelatine from bone marrow.To get the flu shot or not is a personal choice. People are responsible for their own health and their choices. Any immunization can trigger the immune system in a less than positive way. Dormant things in the body can be awakened such as guillian barrett syndrome which is life threatening. And yes I have seen this happen. Although rare, it does happen and it is quit debilitating. There are documented reactions such as encephalopathy, wheezing, increased heart rate, fever, muscle aches and pains, as well as localized injection site pain and swelling. There are studies linking the shot to dementia. With a flu shot every year all those "trace preservatives" add up. That poor child received the shot and is now paralyzed. Yes the side effects are not common but are you willing to take that chance? No, I am not bashing immunizations or the flu shot. For certain populations like the chronically ill, immune compromised, or elderly people living in a group setting it is recommended. But again, I feel it is every persons responsibility to research and decide if it is best for them. I eat well, exercise religiously and get sufficient and quality sleep. I do not pick my nose or bite my fingernails. I am religious about washing my hands. I know this does not completely protect me. I trust my body. The immune system is a miraculous thing. I am required by my employer to wear a mask while at work to protect our patients and visitors from me because I am not vaccinated from the flu. Funny thing is, the vaccine is only 60% effective as per the vaccine manufacturer. As low as 15% effective in other independent studies. Also, if the strain the manufacturers have predicted is not correct, there goes that! JUST SAYING you should not downplay peoples experiences. They are real and significant to those who experience them.

If you work in the medical profession you might want to get up to date with your information.

All flu vaccine does not contain mercury. All of the single dose vaccines contain no mercury at all. There are multiple companies that make the flu vaccine with no thimerosal. In fact, it isn't even needed in the single dose preparation. The multi-dose vials do contain a small amount of mercury which contains 25 mcg mercury per dose.

To compare that, you would get more mercury eating canned tuna. Canned tuna can contain on the low side of 0.018 parts per million.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/january/food/mercury-in-tuna/overview/index...

That equals .18 mcg of mercury per 1 gm of tuna. So 6 ozs of tuna(170 gms) would have 30.6 mcg. of mercury. That certainly exceeds the 25 mcg contained in a one time flu vaccination. And that is on the low side, since some tuna can contain around .77 parts per million of mercury.

At any rate, flu shots without mercury are readily available . Not to mention that there are large epidemiological studies in multiple countries that document no association between thimerosal and autism.

As far as Gullian-Barre syndrome, a 2010 study conducted found the risk of Gullian-Barre to be higher in the general population than in individuals that had received flu vaccines.

For individuals receiving flu vaccines it is around 6 cases per 10 million people. The incidence of Guillian Barre in the general population (those not even taking flu vaccines) is around 34 cases per 10 million people on the low side. And that assumes that every case of Guillian-Barre occurring in vaccinated individuals is related. Which we know it isn't. But it does point out the risk is much greater even in the general population.

http://www.drugs.com/news/guillain-barre-syndrome-very-rare-after-h1n1-vaccine-23779.html

Over the years hundreds of millions of flu vaccines have been administered in this country. Even if only 25% of today's population receives a vaccination this year that means around 75 million vaccinations just this year alone.

It is anyone's decision whether to take a flu vaccination or not. But people need factual information, not hyperbole to make that decision.

[Fona]

Christaltree: I find it strange that you state so strongly that reactions to flu shots are a coincidence. How do you actually know this? qvcaddition: I totally agree with you (and some other posters) that the reactions to the Fluzone high dose flu shot can be very bad. For many years I had the Regular shot, with absolutely no side effects. Then two years ago I had the Fluzone high dose shot and had the most terrifying reactions ever. I was a very healthy and active senior who was persuaded by a Walgreens pharmacist that this high dose was the best thing since sliced bread for seniors. The very next morning I woke up with a bright red, swollen, sore upper arm covered in hives, the worst headache ever, nausea and diarrhea. This lasted for four days, then for the next YEAR I had very little energy and almost constant headaches, and in general my life slowed almost to a stop because I couldn't be bothered to do anything. After about a year, I gradually began to feel better again. The very scary thing (to me) was that not one single medical professional I talked to (my doctor of many years, the pharmacist at Walgreens, a couple of other doctors I had to see, plus a couple of nurses) had any idea at all just what this Fluzone vaccine was capable of, and I blame the pharmaceutical company (Sanofi Pasteur) for a big cover-up in this regard. I was also horrified to learn that the FDA had released this flu shot in 2009 while it still had years of testing to be carried out and the tests wouldn't be completed until about 2015. So, in effect, we have all been guinea pigs. I know there have been deaths of seniors attributed to this vaccine, and I believe it should be removed from the market - but of course it won't be. I was very healthy at the time, but I kept thinking about any very old and frail seniors who were going through this. My doctor recently said he thinks I was allergic to a preservative in the vaccine. And, ladies and qvcaddition, one more thing that I think is important. If you have had a bad reaction to a vaccine, you should NOT get another flu shot in subsequent years. A second and very knowledgeable pharmacist I found said that if you do have even a Regular shot in subsequent years, you can have some very nasty side effects. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him for how many years this should apply but I have not had any flu shot since. So, please ladies, be very careful.