Flu Shot

[polak]

So I'm thinking of getting the Flu Shot this year. I have never gotten one before and I'm fed up with getting sick around my birthday almost every single year so I feel like maybe this will be the solution.

Is it best to go just go to an Alberta Health Services clinic? How long is the wait usually if you go during lunch or after work?

Oh and most importantly, do they actually work? What are the side effects?

I've read some of the stuff online but I'm looking for some personal experiences/answers.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by polak

Oh and most importantly, do they actually work?

nope, it's a scam

Note: that is the shade of tinfoil.

[Ashartus]

If you can go to an Alberta Health Services clinic on a weekday it's pretty fast - pretty much go straight in. Aside from the H1N1 debacle I've never had major waits though.

As far as do they work - that depends on whether they get the strains right this year - it's generally targeted to the 3 strains that epidemiologists expect to dominate that year, but sometimes they get it wrong. Even for the right strain it isn't 100%, but it's pretty good if you've got a healthy immune system. I usually get a sore arm after; other side effects can happen but are extremely rare. Overall the risk-benefit is weighed pretty heavily in favour of getting the shot.

[Swarly]

I hear they cause Autism.

seriously tho they do seem to work, I hardly get sick either way, but most of my family gets them and seems to keep them from getting sick.

Any co-op, safeway pharmacy looks to be signing up appointments for them.

[Nyah]

I've gotten the regular flu shot two times in my life - and both times I got the flu within a month of the shot. That was five or six years ago, and I haven't had one sinse. I also haven't gotten the flu sinse. They work for some people, but definitely not me!

[undercoverbrother]

Why would anyone take a shot to get the flu. Why not just lick door knobs.

[Royle9]

Just had our office shots yesterday, this year they are a bit different. The shot doesn't go into the muscle like in the past, its basically right under the skin and leaves a mosquito bite like lump on your arm (still see it today). Don't really see any side effects myself but this time the arm was a bit sore.

Most of the negative things you hear are all myth's or random coincidences. You don't "get the flu" from the shot, the what they inject into you amongst other things is a dead virus, nothing can come of it.

[Jimmy Stang]

I don't usually get one, but during my infant son's immunizations I was offered one and accepted. I don't usually get sick anyway, but living in close quarters with someone with a weaker immune system where the flu can be serious business if they catch it, I'll take one for the team. I didn't experience any side effects, except for autism and mercury poisoning.

[vektor]

can't wait for 10 pages of 1 or 2 irrational conspiracy theorists arguing with an army of sarcastic condescending narcissists saying things in green text. The middle ground for objective rational thought is like the fat girl at a party, nobody gives a damn.

If you want to know whether flu shots are good for you go read as many peer reviewed medical journals about it as possible, don't listen to the people on here. They will tell you authoritative answers without providing any proof besides personal experiences and anything counter to the status quo means you are crazy or that the government wants to kill you. Ignore everyone that doesn't tell you to think for yourself because parents will almost always rationalize their choices and most conspiracy theorists already have their minds made up, neither viewpoint will help you find the truth.

May sound like a lot of work reading, but in my opinion it's worth it because injecting yourself with any kind of laboratory produced substance has inherent risks aside from the malevolent and conspiratory.

[Jimmy Stang]

The OP asked for personal experiences, and they are getting personal experiences.

That being said, I agree that finding information from reputable sources is the key. But nobody here is providing medical advice, just personal experiences. This doesn't replace doing your own research and coming to your own informed conclusion.

[vektor]

Problem with personal experiences is that there are people who have smoked cigars and eaten bacon regularly for decades with no obvious health effects. I've known people that have had anaphylactic shock from a swine flu shot, and I've known people that went back to work the same day. Neither one really proves it's safety, maybe my buddy was just allergic to the metal needle, I don't know.

[Muffins]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Why would anyone take a shot to get the flu. Why not just lick door knobs.

I think the whole point of the shot is so that you can lick door knobs without any negative consequences.

[Canuck-Hater]

Havn't had one in 5 years, why get one now? Its really not even necessary if you utilize a proper diet.

[vektor]

Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater

Havn't had one in 5 years, why get one now? Its really not even necessary if you utilize a proper diet.

A fellow nutrition enthusiast. I'm always trying to incorporate new things into my diet, if you don't mind me asking what are some of the essential foods in your diet that you would consider unconventional (i.e. not fish).

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by vektor

If you want to know whether flu shots are good for you go read as many peer reviewed medical journals about it as possible, don't listen to the people on here.

The problem with that approach is that most people, to be blunt, don't have the expertise to actually understand those peer reviewed studies, tell which ones are good and which ones are garbage, know the weaknesses and limitations of each study, and grasp the implications. That's why we have expert authorities to make recommendations based on the current state of the science.

[The Goon]

Go get it at Safeway - they'll give you a coupon for 20 Air Miles if you spend $20 in the store.

[Northendzone]

i used to get the flu shot and would feel crappy for a few days.

i now skip the shot and sometimes throughout the year, I feel off (the aflu, a flu, just plain tired who knows).

so i quit getting the shot. perhaps i am doing mankind a general diservice by not getting the shot.

[Rerun]

Everything you wanted to know about vacines and the flu shot and what everyone thinks about it here on CP

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...t=79650&page=6

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=100212

[Phanuthier]

Scientifically, they work as well as scientists can guess which are the 6 most common strains of flu that will be coming out the season. Its a probability, no guarantee it will work. By injecting a carcus of the guesstimate flu strain, your body can develop anti-bodies for it. I believe (this part I am less sure about) that the carcus can cause the flu.

I was talking to my gf who is a researcher in this field, and I remember her saying one of the problems is by having all these flu shots, flu strains are having their own evolution and it will be tougher and tougher for scientists to fight these flues as they evolve via evolution. In general, its probably better to saturate the flu's out there and people get sick once in a while, but we don't end up with Avian Flu.

[J epworth]

As a MPH candidate I'm currently taking analytical and infectious disease epidemiology courses. My informed opinion is that getting the influenza vaccine is a very important aspect of improving population health. For most of you, you have a fairly strong immune system and are in general healthy people. Getting the vaccine will help improve your chances of not getting the flu, which is already very low.

Where it does make a difference is by you getting the vaccine, you help insure that others that have low, or compromised immune systems don't get influenza. When you look at how many people you interact with everyday, from friends and family to strangers on the CTrain, you are potentially coming into contact with people with compromised immune systems every day. You easily could become a carrier of influenza without showing any symptoms yourself, because your immune system is strong. But as a carrier you could be inadvertently affecting someone else's health severely.