It's that time of year again. Get your flu shots. A relative of mine (a healthy 40 year old nonsmoker) got the H1N1 last year and ended up with pneumonia. They're combining the regular and the H1N1 in one shot this year so man up and get your shot!

Man up and get your nanobots.

Flu shots are full of mercury - and the only time you want to get injections of mercury is if you've got The Great Pox.

I was going to get mine today, plus the vaccine for whooping cough, but the clinic is closed for Columbus Day. There was a kid a few rows back from me on my flight from LA to Billings Saturday who was coughing the whole way. Grrrrrr!

When is it appropriate to take collodial silver?

The value of gold and silver are at an all-time high!!! You should be taking colloidal silver right now to ensure that you'll have enough on hand for the inevitable crash of the Fed's fiat money scam economy.

The vaccine for whooping cough is mixed in with the tetanus vaccine now. They say it's really important for adults to get the vaccine to protect the little ones from whooping cough.

When my kids got it it was called the DPT vaccine. Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. I imagine it is pretty much the same and I haven't had one since I was about 19 years old. I just know whooping cough is rampant in So Cal. right now, and I really don't need to catch it with the shape my lungs are in now!

Whenever I do the Stardust, I am glad for modern medicine! It may be too late for me since I might have been exposed to the flu today but I am hoping I can both shots ASAP.

A shot in the glass is better than one in the hip-pocket. I think I will just depend on Jamisons this yeas to ward off the flu.

If you see a blue man wandering around Miles City you'll know it's Buck. Finally, his identity will be known!

Although whooping cough is considered to be an illness of childhood, adults may also develop the disease. The illness usually is milder in adults than in children, but the duration of the paroxysmal cough is just as long as in children. The characteristic whoop that occurs after paroxysmal bouts of coughing is recognized in only 20%-40% of adults with whooping cough.

Because immunity from the pertussis vaccine decreases over time but does not necessarily disappear, adults who do become infected may have retained a partial degree of immunity against the infection that results in a milder illness. Whooping cough in adults is more common than usually appreciated, accounting for up to 7% of adult illnesses that cause coughing each year. Infected adults are a reservoir (source) of infection for children, so it is particularly important that all family members and caregivers of young infants be properly vaccinated.

Regarding the flu shot- what happened to people's immune systems? I have never had a flu shot and have also never gotten the flu... I also don't run out and take an antibiotic for every cough or bug either. Or a pain releiver for every ache. 'Course that's just my opinion.

I also don't run out and take an antibiotic for every cough or bug either. Or a pain releiver for every ache.

Good for you. Antibiotics do nothing for viruses anyway. Achy muscles have nothing to do with the immune system so do what you like. But getting a flu shot actually strengthens your immune system. It causes your immune system to react as though the actual live virus was present and develop the antibodies needed to fight it if you come into contact with it. Perhaps you've never had the flu because you hang around people who get the shot. It's called herd immunity and it protects the few boneheads who don't acquire immmunity by getting the shot. If you want to go back to the era of no vaccinations against the flu I suggest you read The Great Influenza by John M. Barry before you make any decisions.

You can get your flu shot at the Health Department. They are open late on Wednesdays until 6:00 so everyone can get in! Not all flu vaccines contain thimerisol (the mercury derivative) and the HD carries preservative free, as well as the flu mist!

That's funny, I was told today the County Health Department will not have this year's flu shot available for at least a couple more weeks. I just spent the last two and a half weeks in San Diego County and they were giving them at Albertson's and Walmarts. Whatever, I'm going over there for at least my pneumonia and pertussis tomorrow.

Wendy this must be a touchy subject for you... I didn't think there was a need for petty name calling. I simply asked a question and stated my opinion.

Sincerely,
"Bonehead"

People who think they are "superior" because they don't get flu shots do rather annoy those of us who worry about dying from the consequences. I have asthma and while I do not get antibiotics unless I am sure I need them, I have also had those moments when I try to inhale and nothing happens. Literally. It is the most terrifying feeling in the world. You know there is nothing blocking your nose but it feels as if someone is holding over a pillow over your face. I honestly thought I was going to die. And I could have, as people do die from asthma.

So, I prefer that as many people get flu shots as possible to reduce the possibility of an epidemic because I do NOT want to die of flu-related complications. Do it for me and others with compromised respiratory or immune systems if not for yourself. The fewer carriers, even if they are immune carriers, the better.

I'd like to think that I get the "flu shot" to help keep the babies and kids around me safer, but honsetly...I get the shot to prove I'm not superhuman.

Dstone

Nothing in Wendy's post is "petty name calling."

Edit: changed to the correct verb tense.

[This message has been edited by Kelly (10/12/2010)]

DStone,

It's not a touchy subject for me. I'm glad that you're never sick. But that doesn't mean that you don't spread it around to others and get them sick. An influenza infection could cause me (and my husband) serious consequences. Would you mind wearing a large name tag so that the next time we're in town we can steer clear of you? Thanks.

Typhoid Mary never got typhoid, even if she did kill people by giving it to them. Flu shots are for everyone.

Consider that when you don't get your flu shot you put others at risk. Because my husband has Parkinson's, your exposing him to your flu (before you even know you are sick) could be fatal to him and to many other compromised people. By the time you know you are sick you may have exposed dozens of others, some who may not be able to survive or will be weakened at a very risky level. If you don't do it for yourself, do it out of kindness to others.

It's ironic that the people on this website who are always kvetching about being sick are they same ones who are pushing everyone to get a flu shot. Hmm...

Not quite everyone Amorette. The last flu shot I got resulted in me waking up on the floor of Albertsons. Dazed and confused. Turns out I had an unknown allergy to eggs at the time of the shot. The flu shot is an egg based inoculation. The medical community is not certain what might happen if I elected to take the "mist" instead of the shot. I would love to get the shot, but I feel the 14 - 16 hours of projectile vomiting, and possibly other henious results gives me a pass. I think it's a bit premature to judge everyone that does not get the shot. Some of us really do have valid reasons for not participating.

No one is advocating that people with known serious reactions to the vaccine get vacinated anyway. I know that some folks have conditions which preclude them from getting the shot. Everyone should follow their doctor's recommendations when it comes to medical care.



p.s. to Richard. I hope you're not talking about me. I think I've only complained once in the few years I've been posting and that's because I'm so rarely sick that I find it really offensive when I am. Got your flu shot yet?

I wonder if a vaccination/immunity makes it any less likely that people aren't carrying and spreading the nastiness?

I just returned home from the Custer County Health Department where I got my flu shot. They have plenty on hand and are open until 6pm today. I also got my pneumonia and tetanus/pertussis immunizations while I was there. It was a good opportunity to get caught up on those I was missing. The staff there is wonderful!

It is Holy Rosary Healthcare that is currently out of the flu shot. They should have more on hand in a couple of weeks.

I wonder if a vaccination/immunity makes it any less likely that people aren't carrying and spreading the nastiness?

Actually, yes. That's part of the herd immunity mechanism, I think.

>>A shot in the glass is better than one in the hip-pocket. I think I will just depend on Jamisons this yeas to ward off the flu.<<

Amen.

i REALLY don't know why there was any discussion after this! although i am a little surprised that no one jumped all over your 'yeas'...

i hope i don't get whooping cough. i would hate for people to think i was a texas a&m fan. .

Just wondering...if people don't get flu shots, are they able to pass the flu to the ones that get the shots? I would think the ones that are life threatened with the flu are safe if they get the shot. Many years they have shortages and just suggest it for the young, old and ones with immunity problems.

Some of those who are fragile cannot have the shots. Also, the shot does not guarantee you won't get the flu or that you won't get a lighter case, which could still kill a fragile person.

[This message has been edited by polar bear (10/13/2010)]

If you get a flu shot, your immune system is primed to handle the virus when it arrives. If you are one of those lucky people with a great immune system, then it whacks the virus down and you go on your merry way. Would a lucky person's great immune system whack the virus down anyway? Possibly but it might take longer and the longer it takes for the virus to be eliminated, the longer a person can be contagious.

Will a flu shot make you unable to carry the flu? No, but it will reduce the length of time you are contagious in addition to reducing the length of time of any infection.

Not everyone can get the shots but everyone can get the flu and for some people, that can be fatal. More than 30,000 people every year die of complications from the flu and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, miss work and suffer less serious complications, like a nice case of bronchitis or walking pneumonia. All of which costs money.

So, if you want to help the economy, put less stress on our overtaxed medical systems and protect those with health problems, please get a flu shot. It WILL NOT cause the flu. Unless you are allergic to the ingredients in a vaccine, the worst you will get is a sore arm. I know people claim to get sick from the shot but study after study shows that is psychosomatic. In other words, you expect to get sick so ordinary symptoms are exaggerated and you call in sick the next day from work.

So, please get the flu shot. I haven't gotten mine yet but it is on my list near the top. Especially with my mother's iffy health, I don't want to carry it to her.

I get mine every year, except last year just got the regular one and not the h1n1.