Flu shot

[smilie]

Can you get sick from the flu shot?

 

[got2travel]

Yes you can. The shot is actually a small amount of the flu virus. Most of the time the amount is small enough so that you don't get sick but large enough for your body to build up antibodies to fight it. Some people are very sensitive to the virus and do end up getting a mild case of the flu shortly after getting the shot.

 

[Goofyluver]

I did! Really, really sick. I can't get it anymore.

 

[famofsix]

yesterday my DH was forced to get one. He works in healthcare.

 

[GoodFairies]

Yes you can. The shot is actually a small amount of the flu virus. Most of the time the amount is small enough so that you don't get sick but large enough for your body to build up antibodies to fight it. Some people are very sensitive to the virus and do end up getting a mild case of the flu shortly after getting the shot.

It contains killed virus, not live virus.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

My grandmother got sick every year, right around the time she got the shot, and stayed sick all winter. A few years ago, she told her doctor "absolutely not" and refused to get it. Didn't get sick at all. Hasn't had it since and hasn't been sick.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

No, you cannot get the flu from a killed virus.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm
The nasal spray is different.

I have got a shot the last 10 years and stayed extremely healthy. DH has never had a problem. Kids have not had the flu and seem to be less ill since they started getting the shot 9 years ago.

Some people do not understand what influenza is, and call any illness they get "the flu". It is an upper respiratory illness, not a cold or stomach bug. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

Someone could get the real flu after immunization as antibodies are not formed for 2-3 weeks after the shot. So no immediate protection. They could also get a cold or another sickness after the shot, coincidentally.

 

[got2travel]

Live or not, every year my dad gets a flu shot, he ends up with the flu within a few weeks. The years he does not get a shot, he doesn't get sick all winter.

 

[Cindyluwho]

The disclaimer that you sign when you get the flu shot explains it pretty well. It basically states that the shot may give you "flu like symptoms" including fever, muscle aches, etc. Those are the symptoms I have gotten from the shot so my feeling now is, why the heck take a shot that makes me feel like I've got the flu? Why not just take my chances with the "real" thing?

 

[mrsmom]

I get the shot every year and i haven't gotten sick from it. I just received mine this year, a month ago and i was fine.
Kim

 

[taximomfor4]

If your reaction is to the flu shot, symptoms will begin within 6 to 12 hours. Also, the (not likely) side effects of flu shot are soreness/redness at injection site, some general malaise, and some muscle aches. HOWEVER these side effects, if caused by the flu shot, only last 1 to 2 days. Influenza (the real thing) lasts much longer, and the symptoms are much more severe, much more debilitating, and the risk of complications (pneumonia or other secondary infections) are much, much greater. That said, the vaccine takes WEEKS to give you immunity, so anyone getting influenza before that, your shot may not have been protecting you yet.

Getting wordy -- I'll finish up quickly. It is a very individual decision, whether or not to get the flu shot. I get mine, because, with clinicals and the zero absence requirement, getting an illness would be catastrophic. I tell dh to get one because as a teacher, he is mega-exposed.

Oh...a pp mentioned that flu-mist is different. TRUE. It is a nasal spray, and is not the same killed virus that is used for the flu shot. The hospital I had clinicals at last semester didn't let anyone onto the oncology floor if they'd had the FluMist vaccine in the past 7 days.

 

[John VN]

The disclaimer that you sign when you get the flu shot explains it pretty well. It basically states that the shot may give you "flu like symptoms" including fever, muscle aches, etc. Those are the symptoms I have gotten from the shot so my feeling now is, why the heck take a shot that makes me feel like I've got the flu? Why not just take my chances with the "real" thing?

Why?, because flu like symptons are not the flu. The symptoms might make you feel lousy but the flu can kill you.

 

[shortbun]

I always have a one day ache after my flu shot. I make sure I have nothing going on the next day. It's never been worse than that.

 

[justhat]

Like someone else said, the flu shot is not a live virus so no, you cannot get the flu from the flu shot. Just like any other vaccination using a killed virus. People don't seem to ask "Will I get Hepatitis B from the Hepatitis B vaccine?" so I wonder why it's so prevalent with the flu vaccine.

And just to clarify, I'm talking about the IM vaccine, not FluMist.

 

[noodleknitter]

Why?, because flu like symptons are not the flu. The symptoms might make you feel lousy but the flu can kill you.

The flu is very unlikely to kill you, however.

 

[denisenh]

I FINALLY got my flu shot yesterday. Yea for me! Anyway, here's a link for flu facts..... http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

 

[DawnCt1]

Yes you can. The shot is actually a small amount of the flu virus. Most of the time the amount is small enough so that you don't get sick but large enough for your body to build up antibodies to fight it. Some people are very sensitive to the virus and do end up getting a mild case of the flu shortly after getting the shot.

that actually isn't true. it is a killed virus. if you are exposed to the flu in the 6 weeks that it takes to build immunity, you can still get the flu. the flu shot is also not 100% effective. the only people who shouldn't get the flu shot are those allergic to eggs, those with Gillan-Barre syndrom, those who have had an ALLERGIC reaction to the shot in the past. because it sets up an inflamatory response to build antibodies you may get localized tenderness or general malaise with a low grade temp but it is NOT THE FLU.

 

[DawnCt1]

Live or not, every year my dad gets a flu shot, he ends up with the flu within a few weeks. The years he does not get a shot, he doesn't get sick all winter.

maybe he was exposed to the flu prior to building full immunity. remember, nothing is 100% effective.

 

[DawnCt1]

I FINALLY got my flu shot yesterday. Yea for me! Anyway, here's a link for flu facts..... http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm

me too! dh waited until i was trapped in the recliner and couldn't escape. i hate shots but i am glad i got it.

 

[beavismom]

There are many strains of flu. The flu shot is based on which versions of the flu the docs think is going to be most prevalent. Sometimes they are right and you are protected and sometimes they are wrong and you are either only partially protected or not protected at all.

I will get a shot for the rest of my life if it could keep me from getting as sick as I was from the flu 4 years ago. I would gladly have stepped in front of a bus in my miserable delirium.