# PP each year- the flu shot



## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Okay so tons of people are on the bandwagon of trying to get us all to get the flu shot.....here's a news flash...me getting the flu shot does nothing to help anyone else. The flu is highly unlikely to kill me so I have chosen to develop my immunity the old fashioned way...by normal exposure to the virus if and when that happens. For people who are in high risk situations, ie. The elderly, people with immune disorders, etc. you should get your shot to protect yourself, end of story. 

To all those who oppose this view, I'd like to hear your argument. However, I will expect you to have at least a basic understanding of human physiology with regards to how immunity develops rather than just regurgitating what government and the pharmaceutical companies are trying to sell us. 




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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I will get mine because, while not "elderly", I am a cardiac patient.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Exactly mhammer. You have a reason to do so and should therefore, absolutely get one! My issue is with those who try to insist that I need to get one to somehow "protect the public", complete hogwash. Cheers.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I get my flu shot simply because I like the grape flavor. 

My credentials include knowing that my shin bone is connected to my knee bone.


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## Krelf (Jul 3, 2012)

The flu shot may be fine for some people, but it literally makes me ill for two days after. I'm better off taking a chance on getting the flu. I was told by my doctor and pharmacist that such reactions were rare and unlikely to reoccur, but I saw people interviewed on the national news and they experienced flu-like reactions as well.

Also, how many times have you heard that the current flu shot is not affective against the newest strain? You're getting last year's germs injected into you to fight this year's version. Why? Because it's a great money maker for both the medical professions and now the pharmacies.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

I don't get the flu shot.
simply because I do not get sick very often. I've really never had the full blown flu, mild symptoms and over in 2 days at most.
I do get a cold every year like everyone else, the occasional bout with food poisoning from Chinese food take out places that I should know better than to order from. 
But that's it. 

I agree. There is a lot of weak immune systems being developed by over medication and over use of satnitizers and anti bacterials


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

itf? said:


> I have chosen to develop my immunity the old fashioned way...by normal exposure to the virus if and when that happens. For people who are in high risk situations, ie. The elderly, people with immune disorders, etc. you should get your shot to protect yourself, end of story.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You nailed it. Let your body deveop natural antibodies. The overuse of vaccinations and antibiotics (including immunizing the animals we eat) is reducing our own ability to fend off illness. I never get sick, even if the whole house has the flu...and no flu shot for me ever.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I don't get the flu shot. I did get a mild form of the flu last year but it was the first time in 50 years. When we were in Florida last year we could easily see the competition between the pharmacies to have its customers get their flu and other immunization shots at their store. Almost every pharmacy had huge an/or multiple signs that flu and other vaccines were available at their store. This has now started in Canada this year.

As has been said, there is a bucket load of money being made in this industry.


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Steadfastly said:


> As has been said, there is a bucket load of money being made in this industry.


Much bigger than people think. Theres Billions and Billions to be made by keeping millions on treatments. Imagine how many cures are surpressed. 

THERE IS NO MONEY TO BE MADE ON HEALTHY PEOPLE


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Flu s aren't my problem, colds are. No vaccine for that though.
so I usually pass on the flu shot.
and if I get the flu, i quarantine myself.


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## Taylor (Oct 31, 2014)

My girlfriend has Cystic Fibrosis. I regularly look after my 82 year old grandma. I work in customer service. I get the shot just to reduce the risk of me (who is in good health and has a solid immune system) getting a flu and passing it on to my girlfriend (who is neither of those) or my grandma.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

I got it for the first time this year. Had no reaction, I'm not allergic to anything so didn't think I would. No illness or even soreness next day or 2. A pharmacy student administered it, and was horrified when I wouldn't wait 15 min before leaving. I laughed and left. He didn't know whether to shit or go blind.

Gonna be traveling, there are little kids here all day every day due to my wife running day care. I just hate being sick, in general. As to the part about protecting the public, while I'm no crusader for that viewpoint I can certainly see it and don't understand why it would be 'hogwash'. Prevention of and of spread of diseases is one of the big things that has contributed to our longer lifespan these days. Right?


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## esau (Sep 8, 2014)

This is a hard one for me.
Late in 2011 I went to the Dr. to get my flu shot and was planning to take my wife who was bed ridden with a brain injury and other injuries from a car accident in 1996. I cared for her for 15 yrs. 
She was too ill and unable to travel. So I went without her to the DR. and begged her to give me a flu shot to bring home and administer to my wife. This she would not do, So I thought OK I'll approach one of the churches in my area they were having flu clinics at that time at the church in my area. I just had to wait for the date that it was being done in my area.
Not to far away from me , I should be able to bring my wife or if not maybe they will be a little more lenient than my DR. when I explain my situation to them and let me bring the shot home to administer it to her.
A couple of days after my flu shot my wife started having mini strokes . got her to the hospital and tests were done , appointment's made to the stroke clinics . Took about a month to get through it all as it was happening through the xmas holidays . She had multiple strokes during that period. 

Finally all the test were done and the blockage was not to bad just had to go on some medication.. We were very happy to say the least . Creastor was what she was put on.
Just a few days after she was put on Creastor I go into the bedroom and she unresponsive on the floor . She's taken to emerg. and then into ICU . Within six days she is dead. She sufficated.
I didnt know what happened .. An autopsy was done this took a few weeks I believe . and when the results were presented to me It was revealed she had died from complications of the flu which I didn't realize she even had. With the strokes and the worry and fear of losing her that went with it. I completely forgot about getting her the flu shot . For almost year I was consumed with grief and guilt. I attempted to end my own life I felt so guilty and couldn't handle the pain.
I laid on my floor unconscious for 3 days before I was discovered and taken to the hospital. Where I spent some time in lock up and in therapy.

I know that the elderly are responsible for their own flu shot and they should get one like you say to protect them selves . 
But sometimes they just don't. 
Every year I get a flu shot to protect myself and others that I come into contact with. 
Trust me after witnessing it .. It is a horrible way to die. 

Esau.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

As my current signature indicates, no, I will not accept a flu shot.

No way.


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Well isn't this a contentious issue, to get the shot or not... hmmm big pharma is in it for the cash and there must be a conspiracy as the govt keeps telling us to give the cash to big pharma... no way man, they're not getting my cash... or maybe they will, but what if it gives me the flu, can I sue... oh no now I don't know what to do, well if milkman doesn't want one then I probably should get one because as my current sig indicates...


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

I read somewhere that this year's flu shot formulation missed the mark in covering probable flu viruses prevalent this season. At best it's a gamble when you get your shot so no, I didn't get one, never have. Now I'll tap myself on the head (knock on wood) to counteract cursing myself.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

I don't get flu shots, like others I get and prevent it the old fashion way.....I get sick. The wife gets one, provided by the company she works for.....too many people in a rather small area. So did she get the flu, nope; strep throat......yup. Someones kid had it, the wife and five others got it. She was off work for a few days.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Perhaps it should just be administered to those that need it and are not just inconvenienced. That should free up some health dollars for so many other areas in need - like 8 hour ER wait times. It's attacking an easy problem rather than focusing on the difficult - in the same way the police justify their existence by handing out traffic tickets rather than catching/stopping criminals.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Milkman said:


> As my current signature indicates, no, I will not accept a flu shot.
> 
> No way.


You must feel stronger about this issue than most to actually make it your signature


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Scotty said:


> You nailed it. Let your body deveop natural antibodies. The overuse of vaccinations and antibiotics (including immunizing the animals we eat) is reducing our own ability to fend off illness. I never get sick, even if the whole house has the flu...and no flu shot for me ever.


Vaccinations and antibiotics are two fundamentally different things. The former presents your own immune system with deactivated versions of the pathogen so that your own body can develop antibodies - the way it usually does - to those pathogens, without being severely challenged by too much of them at once. The latter interrupts the cellular division of microbe-based pathogens, but given the very short lifespan and rapid reproductive cycle of microbes serves as a kind of enhanced natural selection, such that the microbe will evolve in a manner that eventually becomes unsusceptible to the antibiotic's mechanisms.

So, while there are sound reasons to want to minimize unnecessary use of antibiotics as much as is possible, vaccinations are a whole other thing, and should never be confused with antibiotics.


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

itf? said:


> To all those who oppose this view, I'd like to hear your argument. However, I will expect you to have at least a basic understanding of human physiology with regards to how immunity develops rather than just regurgitating what government and the pharmaceutical companies are trying to sell us.


Ha ha. Can't be bothered developing an argument given you've already decided that any argument presented can be interpreted by you as a "regurgitation" of stuff you've decided you don't agree with.

Neil


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

keto said:


> I got it for the first time this year. Had no reaction, I'm not allergic to anything so didn't think I would. No illness or even soreness next day or 2. A pharmacy student administered it, and was horrified when I wouldn't wait 15 min before leaving. I laughed and left. He didn't know whether to shit or go blind.
> 
> Gonna be traveling, there are little kids here all day every day due to my wife running day care. I just hate being sick, in general. As to the part about protecting the public, while I'm no crusader for that viewpoint I can certainly see it and don't understand why it would be 'hogwash'. Prevention of and of spread of diseases is one of the big things that has contributed to our longer lifespan these days. Right?


It's hogwash for one simple reason. Me getting a flu shot does not protect other people from catching the flu from infected individuals. Nor does it prevent me from being a carrier of the virus if I have recently been exposed. High risk individuals still need to be vaccinated themselves in order for the vaccine to help them. Therefore, those who might be in danger of the flu causing undue hardship should have the opportunity to get the vaccine. The rest of us have no need to expose ourselves to the risk of untested/unproven chemicals.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

Option1 said:


> Ha ha. Can't be bothered developing an argument given you've already decided that any argument presented can be interpreted by you as a "regurgitation" of stuff you've decided you don't agree with.
> 
> Neil


What I mean is that there has been a lot of misinformation regarding vaccines used to promote its distribution. Like the idea of preventing the spread to high risk populations by vaccinating everyone. What use does a vaccine serve for the vast majority of people? The flu is a nuisance, sure but it's not exactly the Black Plague.






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## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

nkjanssen said:


> In the office I used to work in, there was a small group of people (led by the HR director) who essentially tried to shame people into getting their flu shots. The exact same group also tried to shame people into giving to the United Way every year. I started to wonder if maybe the flu shot wasn't a flu shot at all. _*Maybe the nurse was really implanting a mind-control microchip that caused people to give to the United Way.*_ You just never know.


And now the truth comes out!:smile-new:

In many places there is subtle pressure to give to United Way.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

When I go for my yearly checkup. My doctor always say's "have you had your flu shot yet" to which I answer "did you get it". When he say's yes, I get it.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Guitar101 said:


> When I go for my yearly checkup. My doctor always say's "have you had your flu shot yet" to which I answer "did you get it". When he say's yes, I get it.


Ya, but remember your Dr is in a high risk occupation, and also works in close contact with people with weakened/ vulnerable health. Not exactly the same for some ink stained wretch like myself. Ymmv of course. But I would think it be almost mandatory for people in the healthcare industry.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

My wife and son get a flu shot every day.

I lovingly administer it to the back of their heads when they put their fingers in their mouths. 

Realistically, it's the cure, but different people require different doses. Doctors should be wearing steel toes as far as I'm concerned.







---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

itf? said:


> It's hogwash for one simple reason. Me getting a flu shot does not protect other people from catching the flu from infected individuals. Nor does it prevent me from being a carrier of the virus if I have recently been exposed. High risk individuals still need to be vaccinated themselves in order for the vaccine to help them. Therefore, those who might be in danger of the flu causing undue hardship should have the opportunity to get the vaccine. The rest of us have no need to expose ourselves to the risk of untested/unproven chemicals.


You are simply wrong, and in the most ignorant and arrogant way possible (and this is the most polite way one can possibly put this). Educate yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity and much much more: https://www.google.ca/search?q=herd+immunity


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## Krelf (Jul 3, 2012)

nkjanssen said:


> In the office I used to work in, there was a small group of people (led by the HR director) who essentially tried to shame people into getting their flu shots. The exact same group also tried to shame people into giving to the United Way every year. I started to wonder if maybe the flu shot wasn't a flu shot at all. Maybe the nurse was really implanting a mind-control microchip that caused people to give to the United Way. You just never know.


The chip has nothing to do with giving to the United Way. All it does is make you line up at Tim Horton's everyday with all the other programmed coffee drinkers.


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## itf? (May 27, 2009)

LexxM3 said:


> You are simply wrong, and in the most ignorant and arrogant way possible (and this is the most polite way one can possibly put this). Educate yourself:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_immunity and much much more: https://www.google.ca/search?q=herd+immunity


Wow, polite? Hmmm...okay. So, because of herd theory we should ignore the fact that trying to enforce vaccinations upon the general public violates personal rights and freedoms? This also ignores issues associated with vaccinations ( consider DTaP). In addition, natural immunity has been proven more effective in terms of long term immunity.

Consider please that I am not anti-vaccination. Rather I'm against forced vaccination for diseases that are not deadly to the majority of individuals.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

esau said:


> This is a hard one for me.
> Late in 2011 I went to the Dr. to get my flu shot and was planning to take my wife who was bed ridden with a brain injury and other injuries from a car accident in 1996. I cared for her for 15 yrs.
> She was too ill and unable to travel. So I went without her to the DR. and begged her to give me a flu shot to bring home and administer to my wife. This she would not do, So I thought OK I'll approach one of the churches in my area they were having flu clinics at that time at the church in my area. I just had to wait for the date that it was being done in my area.
> Not to far away from me , I should be able to bring my wife or if not maybe they will be a little more lenient than my DR. when I explain my situation to them and let me bring the shot home to administer it to her.
> ...


e 

I admire you~ You were there for your wife in her time of need! ***APPLAUSE***

- - - Updated - - -

I don't believe in these stupid flu shots! I got the flu shot and the Hn1 shot together because I was a caregiver to my 84 year old MIL! I got them both at once. I had a reaction from them. Swollen arms, felt sick and was pissed off that I even got them. I swore I would never get them again. What a scam for the doctors and pharmaceutical companies that manufacture this crap!


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## esau (Sep 8, 2014)

_"I don't believe in these stupid flu shots! I got the flu shot and the Hn1 shot together because I was a caregiver to my 84 year old MIL! I got them both at once. I had a reaction from them. Swollen arms, felt sick and was pissed off that I even got them. I swore I would never get them again. What a scam for the doctors and pharmaceutical companies that manufacture this crap!"_

Since I was a child my history has been to catch the flu just about every year and a couple of times it turned into pneumonia . Since I've been getting a regular flu shot, and even though it leaves me with a tender arm at the injection site and some years very mild flu like symptoms I haven't had a full blown flu in many years so I thank the Doctors and Pharmaceutical companies that manufacture that crap though I recognize that it's not for everyone.


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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

It is not often that a good quality A/B comparison can be made in epidemiology -- too many variables, can't run controls for ethical reasons, etc. But the current measles outbreak seems to be a case that allows this. It's one case, of course, and science conclusions are not made on anecdotal single cases, but it is a rare high quality case to test herd immunity: http://www.m.webmd.com/children/news/20150206/measles-theme-parks


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

By far the best article I have read on the topic was Richard Schabas' OP ed in the Globe and Mail last month. He was the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario for over a decade.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...g-the-flu-shot-too-seriously/article22602526/

He basically sets out the argument that the flu shot isn't bad per se, its the best we have at this point, but given the often limited effectiveness (a recent cochrane article reviewing effectiveness of flu vaccination showed that on average we prevent 1 case of flu for ever 71 people vaccinated), is it a good use several billion dollars per province per year. Could we achieve the same thing just vaccinating the higher risk individuals and the elderly? Most importantly, why aren't we pushing the vaccine manufacturers for more effective and cheaper solutions.

https://summaries.cochrane.org/CD001269/ARI_vaccines-to-prevent-influenza-in-healthy-adults

I think the government in provinces like Ontario (and other provinces) need to look long and hard at the cost effectiveness of universal vaccination. I think its reasonable to vaccinate the elderly and higher risk individuals, but the with low overall protective effect, and limited public uptake we don't really ever achieve herd immunity like we do with measles. The other useful intervention might be vaccination when there is a known outbreak or pandemic strain like H1N1.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

zdogma said:


> By far the best article I have read on the topic was Richard Schabas' OP ed in the Globe and Mail last month. He was the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario for over a decade.
> 
> http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...g-the-flu-shot-too-seriously/article22602526/
> 
> He basically sets out the argument that the flu shot isn't bad per se, its the best we have at this point, but given the often limited effectiveness (a recent cochrane article reviewing _*effectiveness of flu vaccination showed that on average we prevent 1 case of flu for ever 71 people vaccinated*_), is it a good use _*several billion dollars per province per year.*_ Could we achieve the same thing just vaccinating the higher risk individuals and the elderly?_* Most importantly, why aren't we pushing the vaccine manufacturers for more effective and cheaper solutions.*_


When you see signs on the drug store's property advertising these vaccinations you know it is economics not vaccinomics.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I haven't had anything worse than a moderate cold in many years (if we discount things that required surgery), and I've never had a flu shot. I see kids (and some of their parents) from a dozen or more schools every week in my home studio for music lessons. My wife works in an elementary school and is exposed to whatever the urchins are carrying, and then could be bringing it home. I don't know whether all this minor exposure inoculates me, or whether I'm just lucky. Whatever it is, I haven't had a bad flu since before the shot, if I remember correctly.

Every time I go to Victoria hospital in London Ontario, reception at the clinic asks me if I've had the flu shot and then insists that I wear a mask. I dutifully put one on but as soon as I see the doctor or nurse I'm told to take it off and I'm never told to put it on again. They even kind of scoff at the idea...at least that's my impression. Evidence of nothing but my own anecdotal experience.

I wouldn't say the shot isn't necessary, and assuming the industry gets better about it, it's likely I'll need to get one eventually. That is unless I'm bitten by a radioactive spider or something and get super powers.

Peace, Mooh.


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## fredyfreeloader (Dec 11, 2010)

I get a shot every year,I have an autoimmune disorder called Polymyalgia Rheumatica and have been on steroids for approx. 5 years, not the anabolic kind, just Prednisone.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Wow. I googled Polymyalgia Rheumatica and I feel your pain so to speak. I will now quit whining about the pain I get from my inflamed tendon in my thumb (De Quervain's tendinosis) that should disappear with physio. As for the flu shot. It looks like they missed the mark this year when guessing what flu strains would be prevalent. Some experts say 25% or less effective against the strains going around. When I get my yearly physical every year in Jan, my doctor gives me the flu shot. This year, he didn't even ask if I have had it.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Not only does getting a flu shot deny your immune system the opportunity for "excercise", the flu as a living thing, does what it needs to to survive. That's why it adapts into different strains, survival.

I don't see the mass proliferation of flu vaccinations going anywhere good. The over-use, combined with improper use of antibiotics eventually led to drug resistant strains of various infections. It's certainly within reason that this flu shot craze could have a similar effect, only serving to create a new, improved, super flu.


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

JBFairthorne said:


> Not only does getting a flu shot deny your immune system the opportunity for "excercise", the flu as a living thing, does what it needs to to survive. That's why it adapts into different strains, survival.
> 
> I don't see the mass proliferation of flu vaccinations going anywhere good. The over-use, combined with improper use of antibiotics eventually led to drug resistant strains of various infections. It's certainly within reason that this flu shot craze could have a similar effect, only serving to create a new, improved, super flu.


No. Don't confuse antibiotics with vaccinations. They don't work in the same way. Vaccines target the immune system to produce resistance to (mainly) viruses - i.e. to keep them from getting a foothold in the body. Antibiotics target bacterial infections already present in the body. Use of vaccines has no chance of creating a "super flu".

Neil


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## urko99 (Mar 30, 2009)

Just as a point of reference. I got my flu shot late this year(December), and for the whole month of November I was sick (which delayed the Flu shot). Now I'm sick again, for two weeks now with no improvement. My voice is shot and I can't sing, which puts rehearsals with the band on hold,..Again. Pretty fed up to say the least. Antibiotics don't seem to be helping either. 
The only thing positive is my Daughter called me yesterday and her boyfriend Proposed to her on Valentine's day! Destination wedding to Mexico this August! Oh yeah,! Looking forward to that one!


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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

JBFairthorne said:


> Not only does getting a flu shot deny your immune system the opportunity for "excercise", the flu as a living thing, does what it needs to to survive. That's why it adapts into different strains, survival.
> 
> I don't see the mass proliferation of flu vaccinations going anywhere good. The over-use, combined with improper use of antibiotics eventually led to drug resistant strains of various infections. It's certainly within reason that this flu shot craze could have a similar effect, only serving to create a new, improved, super flu.


Yeah, sorry, this is complete fantasy. You've described antibiotic overuse issues (which IS a disaster) and completely and utterly confused it with vaccination -- completely different things with almost no biological similarities.


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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

urko99 said:


> Just as a point of reference. I got my flu shot late this year(December), and for the whole month of November I was sick (which delayed the Flu shot). Now I'm sick again, for two weeks now with no improvement. My voice is shot and I can't sing, which puts rehearsals with the band on hold,..Again. Pretty fed up to say the least. Antibiotics don't seem to be helping either.
> The only thing positive is my Daughter called me yesterday and her boyfriend Proposed to her on Valentine's day! Destination wedding to Mexico this August! Oh yeah,! Looking forward to that one!


Sorry that you're sick, but ...

- You're on antibiotics? Why? Did you or the doctor CONFIRM that you have a BACTERIAL infection rather than a viral one? Cause if you/doc didn't, a) it's guaranteed to not help, b) may even hurt by killing your body's billions of good bacteria for no good reason (bacteria that you need for digestion and other survival-critical functions), and c) you're helping create the superbug bacteria on this planet. Seriously.

- Both "common cold" and influenza are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Different kinds of viruses, but still viruses. We (humanity) got a bit lucky with influenza in that we're been able to create a process to regularly create non-reproducing versions of some influenza viruses and look-alikes to train our immune systems before seeing the real thing -- that's called a flu immunization. We haven't figured out how to do that with quite all the other common viruses, in particular cold viruses, so ...

... are you sure you have the flu, rather than a cold? Symptomatically, you can usually tell, search online for "tell difference between cold and flu", but unfortunately our practice of mostly relying on symptoms is superbly inaccurate

Even so, yes, it does appear that this year's flu vaccine didn't predict the future of influenza virus structure and reproduction patterns as well as at other times. But I've heard that predicting the future is hard in general, even for things larger than a virus.

And sincere congratulations on your daughter's engagement. That's pretty cool.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2015)

JBFairthorne said:


> Not only does getting a flu shot deny your immune system the opportunity for "excercise", the flu as a living thing, does what it needs to to survive. That's why it adapts into different strains, survival.


Seriously? Do you even understand the basics of how vaccines like the flu shot work?

The exact way the flu shot functions is to introduce a small amount of the flu to your body so it's forced to create the antibodies it needs to fight it. It is highly controlled exposure to various (inert, non-reproducing) strains of the flu virus.



> It's certainly within reason that this flu shot craze could have a similar effect, only serving to create a new, improved, super flu.


It's only within reason if you have no clue what you're talking about. The use of antibiotics and the use of vaccines are not comparable in their immediate or (possible) long term effects.

Edit: Scrolled down *after* I responded and saw Option1 and LexxM3 gave you the same lecture. Sometimes it's good to hear things repeatedly. 



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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I find the whole phenomenon of "it's going around" and "I caught what's going around" a goldmine for behavioural medicine, and social cognitive, research.

First, there is the matter of how people come to believe they have the same specific disease as others around them, based on "match" between symptoms that are shared by any of a whole gamut of bacterial and viral problems. But secondary to that is the matter of the associations and inferences they form with respect to the efficacy of the treatments they use/seek. 

If one's assumption about what is ailing you is inaccurate, then chances are good that the treatments you use, and the expectations of their efficacy will also be inaccurate. Of course, in the realm of illness that is not under rigorous study, those inferences are never dispelled and tend to stick.

But as has been amply demonstrated by the history of how we've collectively reacted to AIDS, how the Taliban have reacted to polio vaccinations, how West Africans initially reacted to Ebola, and how we responded to SARS, Avian flu, and a host of other things, you're never going to run out of people who misunderstand how diseases function and are transmitted.


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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

mhammer said:


> you're never going to run out of people who misunderstand how diseases function and are transmitted.


I suspect we will [run out of pople who misunderstand], but it will take a long time. Evolution works even if you don't believe in it or don't understand it .


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## Stonehead (Nov 12, 2013)

You want to prevent colds and flu's? First and foremost wash your hands! Then, don't pick your nose or rub your eyes! These are the two most common ways to contract these illnesses. Try to eat healthy, exercise, and if you can't do that... get the shot!


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

I don't get the shot but I just might start. Had the flu for the last week and when your chest and guts give severe pain when you hack it is no fun.:frown-new:


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

According to our doctor both the wife and I had the flu.....two different strains. We figure the wife got hers at work, not too sure where I got mine but the grand daughters were feeling a bit under the weather when they were here just before I got sick. I was sick for a week-end, the wife for about a week. Asprin for the pain and chicken noodle soup for the rest. Then the wife got strep throat, confirmed by the lab. Antibiotics for the wife and as a preventative some for me....and a couple of days sleeping in the basement.


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## LexxM3 (Oct 12, 2009)

Strep is bacterial and is exactly the kind of thing that antibiotics MUST be reserved for. If antibiotics remain effective, strep is minor. If not, strep can be extremely serious and even fatal, particularly if it spreads to other organs and tissue.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Stonehead said:


> You want to prevent colds and flu's? First and foremost wash your hands! Then, don't pick your nose or rub your eyes! These are the two most common ways to contract these illnesses. Try to eat healthy, exercise, and if you can't do that... get the shot!


+1.
And Id add, stay home when you aren't feeling well.

i hate going to see clients and someone comes into the meeting shakes your hand, as is customary, and then you notice (or sometimes they tell you) that they're sick with something. f-off and stay home. you aren't that important that your company cant run without you for a couple days. almost none of us are.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Stonehead said:


> You want to prevent colds and flu's? First and foremost wash your hands! Then, don't pick your nose or rub your eyes! These are the two most common ways to contract these illnesses. Try to eat healthy, exercise, and if you can't do that... get the shot!


Keeping my hands out of my eyes would be almost impossible for me. I am always rubbing them for some reason.

I have always ended up with 2-3 bad colds every year until last year. A friend told me about Carnavora. It's not cheap but I never had a cold last year for the first time in a long time. I never had one this summer either and the naturopath we go to gave me some immune boosters this year and to date I haven't even had a sniffle. For me and some of my friends who are doing the same thing, building up your immune system really helps. Following Stonehead's suggestions are excellent too.

www.carnivora.com


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Steadfastly said:


> Keeping my hands out of my eyes would be almost impossible for me. I am always rubbing them for some reason.
> 
> I have always ended up with 2-3 bad colds every year until last year. A friend told me about Carnavora. It's not cheap but I never had a cold last year for the first time in a long time. I never had one this summer either and the naturopath we go to gave me some immune boosters this year and to date I haven't even had a sniffle. For me and some of my friends who are doing the same thing, building up your immune system really helps. Following Stonehead's suggestions are excellent too.
> 
> www.carnivora.com


sounds like another Cold FX. ie many claims, very little direct proof.
prob about as good as any other multivitamin.

its funny how skeptical we are of big pharma, yet complete rubes to the mostly unregulated supplement industry.


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