Should I get the flu shot to protect mom?

I TOTALLY believe that stress plays a huge role in making people's immunity down to zilch. Especially this time of year, I stay away from sugar, carbs and boost up with nutrient dense food and extra vitamin D since we lack it in the winter months. But nothing can explain how someone got sick, regardless of which kind of illness --- we really can't control it as much as we consciously try.

For example: my uncle was 30 years old. He ate mostly vegetables and fish. Didn't touch red meat or pasta and ate a lot of salad. He jogged and kept himself fit. He died of a heart attack at the age of 30. HIS brother (MY father) was over 300 lbs. He smoked 4 packs of cigarettes, ate everything and anything. Everyone and their mutha' gave him a death sentence.

"Oh you'll be dead by 50."
"Lose some weight, you're gonna die young!"
"Stop that smoking! It's bad for you."

He died of bladder cancer at the age of 75. He lived a long and healthy life and was sick for 2 of his remaining years, back and forth to radiation and operations, etc.

My point is: you just never know when your time is up. I heard just the other day this 40 year old woman who used to act on 7th Heaven died in her sleep of "natural causes".

WHAT???

Just unreal.

Ever see those little old ladies past 100 years old and when they ask them what's their secret? It's usually red wine and garlic.

Hmm.

Ok, now I'm in the mood for chocolate.

Have a nice evening everyone!

FF, you have every reason to feel aggrieved. I don't know what else to say, except sympathies. And maybe stay well! - be more selfish! Hugs.

You can do everything right and illness can still happen. I was a gym rat for decades, did a lot of hiking [hiked 22 miles in one weekend] was never a pound overweight, wasn't big on sweets, never over ate, never smoked, an occasional small glass of wine during birthdays and holiday meals. Loved doing yard work, so I got a lot of sun.

Then bam, I got breast cancer. There were no family markers, so it wasn't an inherited gene. What caused it? Probably stress. It was a year after I started being my elderly parents driver. At my age [now pushing 70], I began to dislike driving but my parents insisted going here, going there.

Juju when the world ends we will know who to ask for help but unfortunately there will be no internet either. Had wood delivered yesterday so we should be warm for a few months when the power grid goes down.

FF I agree about Ebola So called self proclaimed experts come on TV and pontificate but too little is known about it at this time to know really how it can be spread. Come back in five years and we may know more. Stopping travel from the highly infected areas seems to be more effective than taking peoples temperatures. No one has told us anything about decontaminating infected clothing or buildings or what kills the virus or what can carry it. If it comes to our area we will be sheltering in place and not going anywhere. I very much doubt our local preparedness team knows enough to contain an out break and I know from personal experience that the local hospital is so lax in infection control there would be no trained staff to look after the patients. Once again it is up to the individual to make preparations to care for themselves and have enough supplies on hand not to need to pop out for a loaf of bread because you might bring home more than you bargained for. Just my thoughts, but then I don't have a panic attack every time I cross a busy street - I just wait for a boy scout to come along!

TheBoogs: I don't get flu shots or vaccinations anymore either. The last time I did I got sicker than ever. Ditto with my mother. I take vitamins and supplements and try to eat healthy food as my immunizer. There are homeopathic remedies, excellent herb capsules like Oregano Oil, Beta Glucans, and simple body cleansers with apple cider vinegar that work better. They do no interfere with drugs, but I don't take drugs. Consult your health store who often has a knowledgeable staff on the job, or a Naturopath. They are happy to help. Look up foods that boost immunity. The world is full of natural answers that help us heal.
I love herbalhealer.com.

One reason people get sick over the holidays is that they eat too much, and eat too much sugar which lowers immunity. That on top of contacting germs, extra stress, and there ya go!

TheBoogs, those advertisements you see on TV, the drug stores aren't going to drop them because the ads are already in a set airtime and are already paid for.

I called one walk-in type medical center here where I live, and they were out of the flu vaccine, a new shipment could come in within 2 weeks.

What has me upset is how this Ebola had been down played. As for the airport taking ones temps, you are so right, imagine people who have a temp because they have the flu or a really bad cold. People will try to fly when they are sick because of the outrageous cost of re-booking a flight :( Airlines need to start waiving those fees.

My Drs office say they have some but it is first come first served so I will get mine on thursday

Really, freq? So strange because every single drug store are begging people to get the vaccines. So many people are "sick" and say they have the flu when it's actually something else. I wonder how airports are going to manage while taking people's temps to see if they have ebola -- the hold up alone due to the flu and sinus infections are going to be so bad. Imagine waiting for them to get out of isolation because they had a fever? I'm not flying this year! O_O

Eh well, we can only do the best that we can, right?

On tonight's nightly news, there is a shortage of flu vaccine.... mostly for kids.

Gosh, I remember one year the shortage was pretty bad, it wasn't until February before we found the vaccine. Even though the flu season was winding down, we still got out shots.

Well I would just as soon not get any of these diseases and don't live in total isolation so I will continue to get the vaccines that may safeguard me from potentially life threatening infections. There is a choice. no medical care is mandated ----YET.

Ebola vaccine? Nope. Just like HIV/ AIDS, Ebola hides by wrapping it self in some of the host's cell membrane. The antibodies can't find it behind the camouflage. Very tricky stuff.

Just read a bit more on GBS. One of the things commonly preceding onset is respiratory infection. So I guess that flu might also trigger it in susceptible people.

Pam, I love your idea!

I agree with most above. What if they start giving vaccinations for ebola? Then will there be "conspiracy theories" or rumors that we'll get it too? Why with something so important be so 'up in the air'? It's makes me nuts to know, well, this vaccine may kill you --- and if you DON'T take the vaccine, that can kill you too. No concrete answers. But I sit here, having to gone against my will, and got the vaccine for the sake of my mom and everyone around me. But I also sit here with a fever and a horrible chest/head cold that isn't 'verified' of what it is. I'll be going to the doctor if it gets worse tomorrow.

Don't you all find it so very frustrating that there isn't any "concrete" answers with the flu vaccine? I mean -- is it safe or not? And I'm talking about -- all sides agree, that YES this is safe. No debates, no arguing, no 'up in the air' scenarios --- you know?

Wish it was as certain as chicken soup. Not THAT is some good stuff!

Be well and wash dem' hands! ;)

Countrymouse, I understand totally what you mean regarding there goes another escape hatch.

Also, I feel if science came up with a totally side effect free vaccine of any type, there will still be people who will say it is dangerous. It's just human nature.

I don't know what's the matter with me today, I'm not setting out to play devil's advocate, but - another thought is, when someone you love is suffering the very worst indignities of AD, how brilliant an idea is it to prevent her/him from catching 'flu?

Different in a Nursing Home, where other people and other people's relatives may not be in the same kind of situation, or feel the same about it for that matter. But with my mother, who lives at home with just two adults for company, I do wonder from time to time how clever it was to take up our GP's offer of pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine as we did, for example. There goes another escape hatch…

PS, just for the record, I am not suggesting that I would *like* my mother to catch flu, pneumonia or anything else nasty. It's just that we're getting to the stage where none of the available scenarios is attractive.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend who had the bad reaction, JB. That's the thing, isn't it - you're an epidemiologist sitting there thinking "population of 10,000, with vaccine, 0.05 gets GBS; without vaccine, 10 die. No brainer, right?" (I made the numbers up, obviously, for the sake of argument). What they don't appreciate is how people feel about the comparative risks and possible consequences. Emotionally, what we want them to do is come up with a vaccine that doesn't have the undesirable unintended consequences, AND test it on non-sentient beings beforehand, AND never get anything wrong. And preferably cure everything.

I think we might be being a tad unreasonable.

Mind you, for the few people who are very unfortunate, what about a no-fault compensation scheme? That would also encourage manufacturers to put their hands up when there is a rare problem, instead of saying 'nothing to do with us' until they're blue in the face and then complaining when we frightened consumers don't feel totally able to trust them in future. The very least your friend should be entitled to is comprehensive medical care without having to argue about it, surely?

I do have to mention that Guillain Barre syndrome is a concern. The neurological autoimmune condition is linked heavily to the vaccine. Very, very few people get it, but those that do pay heavily. I knew one woman with GB. She pulled through the major episode of it, but wonders if it may return down the road.

Actually when it comes to pharmaceutical manufacturers making the flu vaccine, they barely break even and sometimes take a loss on this product. Don't forget, every year there is new research and development [very costly] to product a new season of flu vaccine.... it's not like they can make millions of batches and put the vaccine on the shelf for next year.

The drug company provides the flu vaccine for the common good of the community nationwide. They don't want to see millions of people, including their own families, die from the complications of the flu. As of mid-March 2010 [the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak], the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about 59 million Americans contracted the H1N1 virus, 257,000 were hospitalized as a result, and 11,690 died, of which 1,180 were children.

And for the internet, there is so much misinformation it is unbelievable. It's not like years ago one could go to the library and pull a book on said subject.... to have a book written, edited and published is no easy task. Yet today, everybody and their brother becomes a writer, and their *opinions* eventually become facts to some readers.

I know two people who were taken down by the flu. One was a girl in her 20s who died. The other was an elder woman who caught the flu. She didn't die, but it robbed her of her vitality. She spent the rest of her life in a NH bed. Most of us live through the flu, but I bet anyone who has ever had a bad case of it hurries each year to get their flu shot. I wouldn't want to go through that again if there is any way to prevent it. I can understand how it kills people. And the smell perversion was so troubling. It lingered for a while after I recovered. Drove me crazy.

CountryMouse, I think we're more jaded (and more informed) than ever before. Smallpox and polio effects were sure and deadly. The evidence was all around us. And the benefits of the vaccines? Clearly definable.

Today, we know drug companies hit the jackpot when they 'push down' mass vaccination to the general public. I knew people who got polio and suffered its horrible effects. Smallpox? Never knew anyone who had it, but it was a terrible disease with a high rate of mortality.

Flu vaccines? Nosomuch. I don't know a soul who's died from the flu. I don't know a single person who was hospitalized with the flu. Yet drug manufacturers and our government want 320 million people vaccinated against it. And remember, "it" is a constantly changing virus that they "guess at" to decide which strain this year's vaccine should inoculate against.

??

Idle thought… I wonder if we'd be having this debate if we were still talking about smallpox or polio?

The Taliban tells people in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the polio immunisation clinics are a CIA plot to make them sterile. Hey! - maybe it's true! Maybe we *are* inveigling contraceptives into the medium heh-heh-heh… Come on, we've all heard crazier ideas eventually verified.

Unfortunately for the children, some parents believe them AND provision for the severely disabled tends not to be great. Double whammy.

Moral? Not sure there is one. Maybe it's that you have to be careful whom you believe, and then still cross your fingers.

Yes! Get the shot. I got the shot last year and this year, no flu. The year before, no shot, and ended up having a really awful flu that kept me bedridden for an entire week. I decided to go for the flu shot after that. It's also to protect my parents (who also get flu shots every year, and haven't had the flu for a long time), and my kid. As Pam noted, you can request thimerisol-free and egg-free vaccines to avoid allergic reactions.

boogs, before there was aspirin, there was tonic and lime. gin is optional.

Sorry Boogs that some are being a bit harsh, especially when you are not feeling good. I still say drink plenty of water and get as much sleep as possible.
You might consider being tested for seasonal flu, as there is an anti flu med, but I think you have to take it within 48 hours...not sure though. Take care.

I'm not allergic to to anything, I don't believe. The only symptoms I have now is a fever of 100 (not too too bad) and headache and a head cold that went right into my chest.

Believe it or not Vegas, I can still type. Amazing. I don't have ebola.

You have to get tested for influenza to actually diagnose yourself with it, so my apologies if my typing is alarming.

I may just cut out of this entire website. I just feel there are such angry people on here.

And thank you for all who said to feel better.

If one is trying to avoid the mercury, ask for a single use injectable...no preservative. If from a vial uses a small amount as a preservative. No mercury is given to any child under 6

Thanks Vegaslady saved me writng that and getting rocks thrown at me.

People with real influenza are usually unable to carry out their daily activities, like blogging.

TheBoogs, it is physically impossible to get the influenza A or B viruses from a dead virus flu shot.

Five years ago when I had cancer, two weeks prior to surgery it was recommended that I get my flu shot immediately.... which I did.

The hospital where I do volunteer work, everyone who is employed or sub-contracted with the hospital [hospitality, guards, cleaning crew] or does volunteer work has to show paperwork that you received your yearly flu shot. Visitors must wear masks if they show any signs of a cold [the flu can mimic a cold].

My mother gets the one without mercury every year and she has not had the flu for years. On the other hand, when I last got the flu vaccine, I had the worst case of flu I had ever had. Same thing with my father. A nurse told me that she never gets it ( but some hospitals are making all health care employees get it) My mother got it again the other day, but I do not plan on getting a vaccine because of auto immune problems. If your mother gets the vaccine, you won't have to worry

Hope you feel better in 24 hours and know that you have done the right thing for yourself and your mother and others you may come in contact with. Drink plenty of water. Take care.