Dianekkdi

We don't have the flu. We do have a business friend who has been wagging his finger at us all week about not having gotten the flu shot.

We finally decided to somehow fit in a doctor. One asshole said new patients require an hour and the first available appointment is April...oh yippie...wait til I'm healthy or dead? Another wanted to do us one at a time in the middle of the workday come Wednesday and they are 35 minutes south. There are some local pill pushers but we were hoping for medical attention.

I found an "Urgent Care Clinic" open Sundays. Yay--Not missing work made the unknown gamble worthwhile.

These people actually took temperature and blood pressure and height and weight and the Dr. used a stethoscope and one of those ear nose thingies. Quite impressive for these here parts.

Turns out we both have Sinus infections combined with Acute Bronchitis. It's not the flu. It is however, my sister the nurse told me, a dangerous recipe for pneumonia.

We have antibiotics and prescription decongestants.

So...if you think you have the flu -- make sure.

I might be snot dripping, phlegm coughing, head spinning sick...but I'm already a little less miserable than I was yesterday.

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anhailla

The flu shot does not cause the flu. It's utterly impossible...it's not a live virus.
people may experience some flu like symptoms afterwards, but that is not because the flu shot CAUSED the flu..it can be one of three things.

First, you may have been exposed to the virus before the shot became effective.
Secondly, sometimes the body will develop mild respiratory symptoms which means the immune system is responding..but that actually is a good thing...it's called developing immunity.
Third and most likely, there are several respiratory viruses each year that are NOT influenza. The shot doesn't keep you from developing other viruses...only the flu virus.



The flu shot has been studied extensively...it is not dangerous and does not cause illness.

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StillNoScript

If you have a fever, definitely go to the doctor. That's all I said. A lot of people are complaining that they can't shake their cold, and think there's something seriously wrong with them, but they aren't running fevers. They're also not losing weight. Any infection usually comes with a fever. If not, then it isn't much of an infection. You've got a fever on like day 4, definitely go to the doctor. Go earlier if you're in pain.

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Cookie

I totally agree.

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StillNoScript

I don't believe the flu shot is dangerous, but I do believe it's a waste of time, perhaps even a scam, and will eventually be ineffective. You don't know how many people I've talked to this year that have said they got the shot, and are still sick. And I mean sick multiple times, all winter long. Viruses mutate. It's Science 101. The vaccine was designed for the flu virus that went around probably a decade ago. As viruses mutate, the flu that floats around now is more powerful, and the vaccine is useless against it. And, like someone above said, the flu shots only work for the flu, anyways. There are thousands of viruses and parasites that give you similar symptoms to the flu. The smart money is keeping your immune system healthy. But people are too stupid to do that. They eat fast food everyday, they don't eat fruits and vegetables, and drink lots of water, and wonder why they're sick all the time.

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Sharon den Adel

I had my first flu shot last year, and I admit that I did have a reaction to it. I became ill, nothing bad, just a feeling of being generally unwell, and also a mild headache. It was a few weeks later before I came down with the worst cold I have ever had in my life.
I spoke to a few people who had received their flu shots, and they all seemed to become ill with severe colds just weeks after receiving their injections.
However, it has been an entire year since my flu shot, and I have only suffered one cold in that entire time, when usually, I would suffer at least four or five colds a year.
The flu shot does work - I think the illness afterwards is just a 'clean out' of sorts, before the drug starts working.

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BleedingPinky

Naaw, i don´t think so. A couple of friends of mine do take the shots for flu, around November every year. They get sick for a few days, due to those little bugs that get inside the veins. They say it´s worthwhile. I guess it is, but I prefer not to visit the doc while I can.