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June 2013 Moms
arkeenan
member
Flu Shot - Why NOT to get it
arkeenan
member
I took my friend to the ER just last week.
There was a nurse there who had a surgical mask on (you know...those paper mouth cover thingys). Well my friend is deaf in one ear, so she relies heavily on lip reading, so she told the nurse that she couldn't understand her.
The nurse said "great! I hate wearing this thing". My friend asked why she was wearing it, if she was sick, etc. The nurse said no, but that she refused to take the flu shot so her punishment from upper management was to wear a mask at all times until the end of February.
My friend asked why she didn't take the flu shot.
The nurse looks at her in a very concerning way and simply says "I've seen all the negative results that they cause.".
I will NEVER get a flu shot. My friend has 4 boys. Of her family the only two that had a flu shot was her youngest and her and now they both have unexplained health issues, unexplained meaning: The dr's don't know whats wrong with them but there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with them.
I don't want to post this to "scare" you into not taking the flu shot....but I just want people to know what's out there. It's a scary world of medicine these days.
EDIT: I'm also not saying that everyone who gets the flu shot will have problems, but why potentially cause problems when there isn't a problem to begin with. People have lived through the flu for years and years and years.
- Amanda
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Re: Flu Shot - Why NOT to get it
People have also died from the flu for years and years. Just sayin.
I get that people have differeing opinions on this topic, and it's been a much discussed topic on these boards for years. I'm not into discussing it because I am going to do what I believe is best for me and leave everyone else to make their own decision.
Your post adds no value to the discussion. You have an atecdote about your friend whose boys have health problems. There's no proof that it's connected with the flu shot.
So if you have an interesting article with scientific information, please post. But this serves no purpose, imo.
Evelyn (3.24.10), Graham (5.30.13) & Miles (8.28.16)
Thanks for posting this. Its nice to hear actual personal stories instead of just articles, as I have a hard time trusting the validity of an article.
This is really convincing.
But see, this is a story where someone is tying something that can't be explained to a random something. That should not be convincing to you. Her kids could be sick from a genetic mutation, a med she forgot she took, a fluke, a bajillion reasons. What makes you like hearing that someone is blaming their kids' illness on something that has not be determined?
I ate a lot of cheese while I was pregnant. My kid is awesome. Ergo, cheese makes kids awesome. See how that doesn't work?
This is ridiculous and irresponsible. I'm guessing the "punished" nurse isn't long for that position, for one thing; for another, given the dangers of the flu during pregnancy, nebulous "negative things" and anecdotal bullsh!t is nothing more than useless fearmongering.
Updated September 2012.
You weigh the pros and cons and what's best for you. I've almost always gotten the flu shot. I'm asthmatic and it can be fatal for me. I will also do it to protect DD, since with her last bout of bronchitis she needed breathing treatments. I will also do it for this LO as high fevers are a probable cause for certain birth defects, including CP. Give me some concrete evidence that the flu shot has more adverse effects than those that I listed and I will certainly consider not getting it, but anecdotes are not scientific proof to me.
Well, I took one this morning for the first time ever and now you've freaked me out. I've never had one before, but mostly because Ive always felt that if I get the flu, I get the flu, I'll deal with it. But this year is different because of LO and I feel like his/her health is much more important than that non-challant attitude.
I also work at a hospital part-time and we have to wear a mask this year if we don't get it, but I'd never tell a patient that. EVER! My full time job is a speech therapist that works with children. I've worked with many kids whose parents are convinced that vaccinations have caused their children's "conditions". I'm not saying its impossible, but it is irresponsible to throw accusations around like that. With less and less people getting vaccinated, more and more diseases are going to be going around.
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CJ 05/29/2013
I am a nurse, I have seen very few negative reactions to the flu vaccine. I have seen more then enough people
die from the flu, including a pregnant woman.
As for the mask, she takes care of immunocompromised people. You can spread the flu for days before you show symptoms. So, she could give he flu to those who aren't strong enough to live through it. It's not "punishment" to make her wear a mask, it'sher responsibility to protect her patients.
Thanks so much for posting! You seem really smart and I am totally comfortable taking your ill-informed anecdotal "advice" over my educated physician's.
Honest to God, your post seems legitimately crazy.
My aunt Alice died of bread once. I mean, she was sitting there eating a roll and she just died at the table so I mean, the only reasonable conclusion can be that the roll killed her. I haven't touched one since.
PLEASE get a flu shot.
As someone who can't get one (I am allergic to egg whites, and they culture flu shots in egg whites) I would love to be able to get one, especially while pregnant.
Thank you SO MUCH for posting. I was JUST about to eat a roll! Little did I know it could have ended my life. Should I look for a new OB? Why wouldn't she have warned me about the dangers of roll eating?! Doesn't she know about your aunt?!?!
As a fellow asthmatic (mine is moderate to severe), what Spolan wrote is exactly how I feel.
The 1 year I didn't get the flu shot, I got the flu which then contributed to my developing bronchitis and long story short, I was in the ICU for almost a week. It's possible that I was going to develop bronchitis anyway even with the flu shot. Just as it's possible that there may be some negative side effects to the flu shot, pregnant or not. But it's just not worth risking my health which in turn risks LO's health.
(Edited for clarification. I "thought" I'd quoted Spolan's response.)
A friend of mine's son is allergic to eggs and they administer the shot to him in smaller doses over time. Maybe something to ask your doctor about depending on the severity of your allergy? Or maybe just thank your lucky stars you're being saved from these killer flu shots...?
Given the opporutnity, I would not hire a nurse that dumb. Also, not only is an anecdotal account like that useless, but it does little more than illustrate the stupidity of the nurse. Making her wear a mask isn't punitive, it was for her safety because she's too stupid to ensure it properly herself. Any nurse who made it through nursing school and has a basic understanding of epidemiology would know better, unless they were intolerably stupid. Why would you work in a medical facility and subject yourself to that much unnecessary risk unless you really were a few sandwiches short of a picnic in the intellect department?
The flu is deadly. It kills adults, children, and yes, even in utero babies. The pros greatly, greatly outweigh the (virtually nonexistant) cons of being vaccinated against flu. There have even been studies showing lowered rates of stillbirth for women who were vaccinated during their pregnancies. The nurse is particularly ridiculous, because she is exposed to more illness than people in the general public because of the nature of her job. There's a reason why hospitals offer free vaccination for all of their staff.
I hate ridiculous, non-scientific "accounts" like the OP's. Medical science isn't perfect, but it's far from "scary". Can you imagine these uneducated and ill-informed attitudes at the time we were eradicating Polio? "Gosh, my cousin's husband's sister knows a guy who dated a girl whose left elbow is now numb for life because she got a vaccination, so therefore, I will never get one."
I knew there was something magical about cheese! I'll be sure to eat lots of it over the next 7 months!
I don't have anything to add that PPs haven't covered. I feel a lot better about this board in general after reading people's responses.
I
Science.
DS born 6/2013
Also, this last bit is total bullsh!t. Flu is one of the greatest killers in the history of mankind. Go read up on the Spanish Flu.
I was just about to comment on that part because I had missed it earlier. People have also survived riding in cars without seat belts. Well, some people. Not, you know, the dead ones.
Eat lots of it oh and lime popsicles and key lime pie. My kid is the coolest kid ever so if you do that you might get one as cool :-p
This is good news! I have craved cheese nonstop.
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Yes! I think a lot of people don't understand what "influenza" means. They think a nasty cold they caught is the same thing.
All influenza cases are the flu. Yes there are some strains that are much worse than others, such as the Spanish flu and swine flu, but they are all caused by influenza. The vaccine is made by looking for the likeliest variations for each season.
Eat lots of Honey Bunches of oats! That is how I got my super beautiful smart and hilarious little girl! They should guarantee it on the box for crying out loud every pregnant woman should know!
Ps Your little boy is adorable!
Oh this is good info. I'd really like a girl so I'm getting some Honey Bunches ASAP. (and thanks - I'd comment on your daughter but I can't see signatures at work and don't want to talk out my ass in case you don't even have her picture up there LOL)
Yikes. This is why the internet (and honestly this board) is scary.
Please don't trust posts like this. Talk to your doctor and get your shots people.
The increase in life expectancy in the 20th century (the reason you will live to 90 and your great grandparents only lived til 60) is largely due to improvements in child survival - this increase is associated with reductions in infectious disease mortality, due largely to vaccinations.
This is something I've know for years, maybe because my brother is a doctor, or maybe because I'm well informed, but one thing is for sure it is NOT because I listen to random people telling me stories about their kids being sick for pie in the sky reasons. Personal ancedotes are not good basis for decisions. Research and education are.
Please don't be dumb.
So their unexplained health issues are somehow explained by the flu vaccine? Interesting. It has nothing to do with millions of other variables, including genetics? Why you would ever jump to the flu shot being the cause of these children's issues without any evidence is beyond me. Stop posting garbage. People can make their own decisions with their DOCTORS about getting the flu shot.
BFP #1 12/28/09 D&C 2/15/10
BFP #2 DS
BFP #3 5/13/12 M/C 6/10/12
BFP #4 8/12/12 M/C 8/18/12
September 2012 - 2.5mg Femara + Ovidrel + TI = BFP #5 Beta #1 - 61 @ 12 dpo, Beta #2 - 183 @ 14 dpo, Beta #3 - 1466 @ 19 dpo
Married 07/29/10 and blessed with our Baby Boy Bowen on 06/17/2013
Married 07/29/10 and blessed with our Baby Boy Bowen on 06/17/2013
I'm laughing so hard over this I can barely quote it, obviously. Bump fail!
Seriously though, your kid is ADORABLE.
Married 07/29/10 and blessed with our Baby Boy Bowen on 06/17/2013
But the "common winter stomach bug" the other poster is referring to is NOT caused by influenza. UGH this topic is so frustrating with all the misinformation and misunderstanding about it. Influenza is high fever, body aches, headache, runny/stuffy nose, cough, and can eventually cause pneumonia. So many people say they get the "flu," meaning a gastrointestinal illness, and that is not what influenza is.
I'm not sure if you just worded it in a way that made it sound like you are confused or if I read it wrong, but it sounds like you may be confused. You a right about the shot having the three most likely strains every year.
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But, seriously arkeenan....seriously? You post THIS as reasons to not get the flu shot? An unprofessional nurse's opinion and some crazy person's ranting about how her kids' 'unexplained' medical issues must be due to vaccines? Givemeafuckingbreak. What makes this nurse's opinion outweigh the opinion of millions of doctors?
Flu shots are studied extensively. It's fine if you don't want to get it, but you should really do some actual medical research first. It's very upsetting to me that you're putting your health and the health of your unborn child at risk based on anecdotal stories and opinions from fear mongering idiots.
Co-signed me.
I mean, I would with people with diabilites. I can give you anecdotal stories all day long about [insert common item here] but I know what to shut my trap.