Re: The Flu

June222 · ‎06-15-2015

I have not had even a head cold in 3 years. Had the flu last about 15 years ago. I take very good care of my immune system though diet, supplementation and healthy life style. I do not fear the flu even if I did catch it. My immune system will take care of it.

Toppers · ‎01-01-2015

@Zhills wrote:
@Mz iMac wrote:
I have never in my life had the flu or pneumonia. Have not had a cold since 1968.
No shots for me.

My motto: "Don't fix what ain't broken"
Congratulations! I do not get sick or get colds easily either but I had the Asian Flu (yes, that many years ago) and it was the sickest I have ever been. Never again if I can help it. I will get a Flu shot.

I remember that flu. It was horrible. My whole family was sick with it at the same time, and I remember feeling so sick and horrible from it, like I could barely move.

The last time I had a flu virus, I ended up in the ER, because I had trouble breathing. This was years ago, before the shots were readily available. I was sick for quite awhile.

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

@Zhills wrote:
@Mz iMac wrote:
I have never in my life had the flu or pneumonia. Have not had a cold since 1968.
No shots for me.

My motto: "Don't fix what ain't broken"
Congratulations! I do not get sick or get colds easily either but I had the Asian Flu (yes, that many years ago) and it was the sickest I have ever been. Never again if I can help it. I will get a Flu shot.

Was that the Hong King Flu? When I was in college, I had to take a semester off from college to return home to take care of my family which included parents & 2 siblings who all came down w/it.

I never got so much as a sniffle.

My S.O. gets the flu just about every year. I take care of him when he does. He never mentioned if he gets the shots & I never asked. Again, never got so much as a sniffle.

However, I should mention that when I care for him, I am wearing a mask & surgical gloves. I may be dumb but I am not stupid!!!

There are some folks who are immune to the flu no matter what the strain is. It is a very small persentage. My "young" GP suspects I am in that small persentage.

This same GP also told me that the flu shots does NOT prevent the flu. The shots prevent the flu from KILLING you.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

dooBdoo · ‎06-27-2010

The vaccine isn't perfect... I don't know of anything on this earth that's perfect... but it's been a life-saver for years and I, for one, am grateful we do have this option.

~~~~~~

From the CDC:

"While how well the flu vaccine works can vary, there are a lot of reasons to get a flu vaccine each year.

Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick from flu. Protecting yourself from flu also protects the people around you who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness.

Flu vaccination can help protect people who are at greater risk of getting seriously ill from flu, like older adults, people with chronic health conditions and young children (especially infants younger than 6 months old who are too young to get vaccinated).

Flu vaccination also may make your illness milder if you do get sick.

Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of more serious flu outcomes, like hospitalizations.
- A recent study* showed that flu vaccine reduced children’s risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission by 74% during flu seasons from 2010-2012.
- One study showed that flu vaccination was associated with a 71% reduction in flu-related hospitalizations among adults of all ages and a 77% reduction among adults 50 years of age and older during the 2011-2012 flu season.
- Flu vaccination is an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions. Vaccination was associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease, especially among those who had had a cardiac event in the past year. Flu vaccination also has been shown to be associated with reduced hospitalizations among people with diabetes (79%) and chronic lung disease (52%).
- Vaccination helps protect women during pregnancy and their babies for up to 6 months after they are born. One study showed that giving flu vaccine to pregnant women was 92% effective in preventing hospitalization of infants for flu.
- Other studies have shown that vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-related hospitalizations in older adults. A study that looked at flu vaccine effectiveness over the course of three flu seasons estimated that flu vaccination lowered the risk of hospitalizations by 61% in people 50 years of age and older.

*References for the studies listed above can be found at Publications on Influenza Vaccine Benefits. Also see the What are the Benefits of Flu Vaccination? [264 KB, 2 pages] fact sheet."

(from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm)

Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova

sktchy · ‎03-10-2010

I just received my flu shot at Hopkins yesterday. I try to avoid getting my injections there - they let the absolute worse people give them out - but the Nurse promised she would be gentle. I usually get mine in late August early September from the County Nurse when she takes care of the Clients where I volunteer.

I had a 2 week head cold and spent 7 days out of 14 days - LITERALLY - in bed. My Transplant Team advised me to call no matter what and if the 'head cold' reappears to call them and they would do a swob in the nose to check for a virus. They are worried it may migrate to my lungs.

I have a compromised immune system and I do not get sick - stomach issues and falling are my 'problems'.

I would not take a chance not getting the flu shot - even if I had a good immune system