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Same question to you: The last time you had "the flu", did you get tested for Influenza? Are you sure it was Influenza and not a common cold, for which there is

Same question to you: The last time you had "the flu", did you get tested for Influenza? Are you sure it was Influenza and not a common cold, for which there is no vaccine anyway?

Gibbon1 7y ago
Taking to some nurse friends they say a lot of people think they have the flu when it's a bad cold. And some people just appear to not be very susceptible. Friends that have gotten the flu appear to be laid out flat for week or more. Based on that I think I've never had the flu.
- karatestomp 7y ago
  I didn’t get the flu until well into my 20s. Never got vaccinated, either. Ditto strep throat and sinus infections. Get all of them now. My diet and lifestyle are vastly healthier now than then and I have less exposure, so I guess HGH and massive amounts of testosterone are just a hell of a drug.
- rootusrootus 7y ago
  > laid out flat for week or more That sounds about right. I did not really appreciate the distinction between a bad cold and the flu until I finally got the flu. I gained a real appreciation for why it kills weaker people.
jtbayly 7y ago
It doesn't matter. The point still stands. So far he's been worse off when getting the shot than when not. But who's to say what would have happened those two years without the shot? Perhaps it saved him from a severe flu case or even death.
- gridlockd 7y ago
  > It doesn't matter. It does matter. The claim here is basically "for certain people (me), the flu shot has been worse than the flu". If that person never experienced an actual Influenza infection, then that claim was made in error.
  - viklove 7y ago
    The claim has not been made in error. If he has never experienced the flu, but has experienced symptoms from the flu shot, then the statement "the flu shot has been worse than the flu" is 100% true.
    - Ididntdothis 7y ago
      I am not claiming I had the flu. What I am saying is that the flu shots made me more miserable than any cold/flu I ever had. I am very reluctant to intentionally make myself sick for a few days every year.
      - gridlockd 7y ago
        That's an important distinction. You may never have had the flu in the first place. In that case, it would be like saying "my reaction to the vaccine was worse than any infection I never had". That is equivalent to "my reaction to the vaccine was worse than my reaction to nothing", or more simply "I had a negative reaction to the vaccine". Fair enough, there's no questioning that. Now, if you had ever had an actual Influenza infection, my guess would be that you would prefer the vaccine. If you react that strongly to just the vaccine, why should you react less strongly to the actual virus? To be on the safer side, why not just assume that the actual virus would completely overwhelm you? > I am very reluctant to intentionally make myself sick for a few days every year. That's the tradeoff. Feel miserable for a few days per year versus taking the risk of contracting a severe infection and potentially being dead for the remaining years of your life. To complicate the matter, flu vaccines are only about 50% effective, though I'm told they help even with actual infections. I'm not telling you what to do, except to re-evaluate your thinking on the matter.

Same question to you: The last time you had "the flu", did you get tested for Influenza? Are you sure it was Influenza and not a common cold, for which there is no vaccine anyway?

Gibbon1 7y ago

Taking to some nurse friends they say a lot of people think they have the flu when it's a bad cold. And some people just appear to not be very susceptible. Friends that have gotten the flu appear to be laid out flat for week or more. Based on that I think I've never had the flu.

karatestomp 7y ago
I didn’t get the flu until well into my 20s. Never got vaccinated, either. Ditto strep throat and sinus infections. Get all of them now. My diet and lifestyle are vastly healthier now than then and I have less exposure, so I guess HGH and massive amounts of testosterone are just a hell of a drug.
rootusrootus 7y ago
> laid out flat for week or more That sounds about right. I did not really appreciate the distinction between a bad cold and the flu until I finally got the flu. I gained a real appreciation for why it kills weaker people.

jtbayly 7y ago

It doesn't matter. The point still stands. So far he's been worse off when getting the shot than when not. But who's to say what would have happened those two years without the shot? Perhaps it saved him from a severe flu case or even death.

gridlockd 7y ago
> It doesn't matter. It does matter. The claim here is basically "for certain people (me), the flu shot has been worse than the flu". If that person never experienced an actual Influenza infection, then that claim was made in error.
- viklove 7y ago
  The claim has not been made in error. If he has never experienced the flu, but has experienced symptoms from the flu shot, then the statement "the flu shot has been worse than the flu" is 100% true.
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    I am not claiming I had the flu. What I am saying is that the flu shots made me more miserable than any cold/flu I ever had. I am very reluctant to intentionally make myself sick for a few days every year.
    - gridlockd 7y ago
      That's an important distinction. You may never have had the flu in the first place. In that case, it would be like saying "my reaction to the vaccine was worse than any infection I never had". That is equivalent to "my reaction to the vaccine was worse than my reaction to nothing", or more simply "I had a negative reaction to the vaccine". Fair enough, there's no questioning that. Now, if you had ever had an actual Influenza infection, my guess would be that you would prefer the vaccine. If you react that strongly to just the vaccine, why should you react less strongly to the actual virus? To be on the safer side, why not just assume that the actual virus would completely overwhelm you? > I am very reluctant to intentionally make myself sick for a few days every year. That's the tradeoff. Feel miserable for a few days per year versus taking the risk of contracting a severe infection and potentially being dead for the remaining years of your life. To complicate the matter, flu vaccines are only about 50% effective, though I'm told they help even with actual infections. I'm not telling you what to do, except to re-evaluate your thinking on the matter.