Flu and immunity question

[Tiramisu]

The flu stories are scaring me. We are a rather healthy bunch and don't get flu shots, usually, but now I'm re-thinking.

 

This is my question. When H1N1 came around a few years ago. I think my youngest had it. Where I live, doctors don't do flu swabs in their offices; they're only done at the ER. I took my dd into the peds and the ped said, "I can't tell you exactly if it's the swine flu, but it's the flu and the swine flu is the only flu going around right now." 

 

I don't remember anyone else getting particularly sick at the time, though I may have been hit with fatigue. That is usually the way illness shows itself in me. So if there's a good chance that we either had H1N1 or were exposed to it, would the flu shot even help with the scary stuff that's going around?

 

FWIW, we have a bad family history of auto-immune disease and concern about one dd developing one, so I'm careful about using any supplements that boost immunity. 

[J-rap]

The flu vaccine changes from year to year regarding what it covers, but it always covers more than one type.  So, even if you have had one kind of flu already and built up immunity, it still can potentially protect you from others:  This is what I found for this year's vaccine:

 

What flu viruses does this season’s vaccine protect against?

Flu vaccines are designed to protect against the influenza viruses that experts predict will be the most common during the upcoming season. Three kinds of influenza viruses commonly circulate among people today: Influenza A (H1N1) viruses, influenza A (H3N2) viruses, and influenza B viruses. Each year, these viruses are used to produce seasonal influenza vaccine.

The 2013-2014 trivalent influenza vaccine is made from the following three viruses:

• an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
• an A(H3N2) virus antigenically like the cell-propagated prototype virus A/Victoria/361/2011;
• a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.

It is recommended that the quadrivalent vaccine containing two influenza B viruses include the above three viruses and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.

[plansrme]

H1N1 is in the shot this year, but my brother had the shot and still got H1N1. Yes, confirmed flu and the shot was plenty early, so I do not know how useful the shot is. Maybe he got a bad batch or it just failed in him, but the shot is clearly not 100% effective even when when it includes the right strain.

 

We all had H1N1 when it came around before and had relatively mild cases, so yes, I think it is possible that you had it before and just didn't know it. One of the great mysteries of H1N1, though, was how some people had such horrible reactions to it and others sailed through in 24 hours. Maybe that is true of all flu, but it seemed especially so with this one.

[mamaraby]

There are lots of reasons why someone could get the shot and still get the flu, but the idea there is that the severity is lessened. We never used to get the flu shot, but after ending up in the ER a few years ago with a child who went from "I have a little cold" to "I can't breathe and I don't have asthma," we do get one every year, all five of us. Influenza is nasty so if I can do something to mitigate or lessen our chances for a serious case, I figure it's worth it.

 

ETA: As always, if you have a concern about potential reactions, potential health impacts, etc, then regardless of what you end up choosing, I'd start with your doctor and ask whether your doc thinks the flu shot is advisable in your situation.

[Lady Florida.]

Viruses mutate, so even if you had it a few years ago, you had a different version. Mutation is how a virus survives. This is why a new vaccine is necessary each year. You can't really build up an immunity to the flu from season to season.*

 

 

Also, you can get vaccinated and still get the flu. The vaccine takes about 2 weeks to be effective. If you were already exposed, or if you become exposed before the vaccine takes effect, you can get the flu. 

 

 

*Disclaimer for more knowledgeable science folks - I know my explanation is an extremely simple one and that there's more to it than what I posted.

[Lady Florida.]

There are lots of reasons why someone could get the shot and still get the flue, but the idea there is that the severity is lessened. We never used to get the flu shot, but after ending up in the ER a few years ago with a child who went from "I have a little cold" to "I can't breathe and I don't have asthma," we do get one every year, all five of us. Influenza is nasty so if I can do something to mitigate or lessen our chances for a serious case, I figure it's worth it.

 

 

 

I don't want to Like your post because there's nothing to like about being so sick, but I agree with you. The three of us had a horrible case in which ds (5 at the time) almost ended up in the hospital. We always get vaccinated now.

[flyingiguana]

When H1N1 came around, my kids got it really bad -- as did all their friends.  I had a mild case.  My husband didn't get it at all.

 

At the time, I was hearing it was similar to some flus that had gone round back in the 60's(?), so maybe it was just something my kid's immune systems hadn't yet seen.

 

Our experience with the vaccine is that it's probably about 75 percent effective.  If we all get the shot, one of us will likely come down with it anyway.  We still get the shots, because one of my kids has asthma and a heart condition, so any little protection in that lottery seems like a good idea. 

 

 

CDC info:

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

 

Seems the vaccine works best in people who already have a strong immune system.  On a public health level (and within a family), this means it may be most useful to vaccinate those people who have a strong immune system.  They'll actually get some benefit from the vaccine and therefore not bring it home to those whose immune systems aren't so strong.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I too had the flu one year and it took my asthma about 4 years to recover from. We get the flu shot every year. For my kid we get the flu mist and if was not eligible for that we would do the flu shot with him.

[Pawz4me]

Viruses mutate, so even if you had it a few years ago, you had a different version. Mutation is how a virus survives. This is why a new vaccine is necessary each year. You can't really build up an immunity to the flu from season to season.*

 

 

Also, you can get vaccinated and still get the flu. The vaccine takes about 2 weeks to be effective. If you were already exposed, or if you become exposed before the vaccine takes effect, you can get the flu. 

 

 

*Disclaimer for more knowledgeable science folks - I know my explanation is an extremely simple one and that there's more to it than what I posted.

 

Plus, for whatever reason(s), some individuals' immune systems may not respond to a vaccine the way they should, and so fail to build anything near full immunity.  Most people don't want to consider that possibility, though.  They just blame the vaccine.

[Wildiris]

I am rethinking my stance on flu shots. We are a healthy bunch. We never need to go to the doctor. However, I would  now opt for a flu shot even if it isn't 100% effective. At best, a flu shot will lessen the symptoms and possibly shorten downtime. I am on week four recovering from a bad flu. It was the sudden secondary infections with burst eardrums and hacking coughs not to mention the early stages of chills and severe body pain that I don't want to repeat. Feeling lousy for 3-4 weeks when one still needs to keep working and keep the homefront rolling is no fun.

[goldberry]

I'm down with it right now, and DD had it last week.  We don't get shots.  But now that I'm sick I wish I had.  Probably when I am well I will go back to thinking no shots.  But....we've never gotten REALLY sick with it.  DD's lasted a week and she is almost well already.

[OnTheBrink]

I typically don't get flu vaccines. The last time I had the flu was 1979. This year, though, my hospital was strongly STRONGLY encouraging employees to get it. I opted for the weakened live virus  (mist) over the shot. So far, no flu. I've managed to dodge most of the other icky things going around, too. Thank God. 

[KRG]

We got the flu one year(6 or 7 years ago) and after that we started getting the shots and have not had the flu since.  This year my kids got their flu shots late as in just a couple of weeks ago...  I was going to skip them since it was 'late' but then there were 8 deaths due to H1N1 in the next county and every time I turn around someone else we know has a confirmed case of the flu.

[Mergath]

We get flu shots (or in dd's case, the nasal spray) every year.  This is the first year any of us has gotten the flu in quite some time.  Dd is just getting over Influenza A (she was tested so we know for sure) but overall, it's been pretty mild.  She had a couple of bad days, but since then she's been up and playing.  I shudder to think how bad it would have been if she wasn't vaccinated.  And dh and I didn't get sick at all.  Without the vaccines, I'm guessing we all would have been in bed for the last week or two.

[Mona100]

I typically don't get flu vaccines. The last time I had the flu was 1979. This year, though, my hospital was strongly STRONGLY encouraging employees to get it. I opted for the weakened live virus  (mist) over the shot. So far, no flu. I've managed to dodge most of the other icky things going around, too. Thank God. 

 

My hospital strongly encouraged the employees by telling us no flu shot=no raise or bonus. Let's just say everyone who could take a flu vaccine had a flu vaccine. I had my first flu vaccine shot ever this fall. :laugh:

[flyingiguana]

I got the flu shot this year, and still got sick with something very flu like. Everyone I know who HAD been vaccinated got it too. Nurses I talked to were saying they were pretty sure it wasn't the flu -- some people had been tested and it wasn't. (This thing lasted weeks. But it didn't trigger much asthma in my kids. That may be the mark of the flu. Kind of like the mark of Zorro...)

 

So there are still nasty bugs around that the flu vaccine is not going to work against (and there was one particularly bad one just this year).

 

Fwiw, though, I don't think I have caught the flu or a nasty virus on my own since I was pregnant with my first kid. Every other episode has been brought home by the kids. So if I didn't have kids, I might be able to get by without a flu shot. Apparently I only get it (in past couple decades at least) if I'm exposed in close proximity for a long period of time.

[Ali in OR]

I got the flu shot this year, and still got sick with something very flu like. Everyone I know who HAD been vaccinated got it too. Nurses I talked to were saying they were pretty sure it wasn't the flu -- some people had been tested and it wasn't. (This thing lasted weeks. But it didn't trigger much asthma in my kids. That may be the mark of the flu. Kind of like the mark of Zorro...)

 

So there are still nasty bugs around that the flu vaccine is not going to work against (and there was one particularly bad one just this year).

 

 

I started reading the CDC flu site during last year's horrific flu season. This statistic (this is from the current week posted, Dec. 22-28) helped me understand this phenomena a bit more:

 

"Nationally, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses in the United States during the week of December 22-28 increased again this week to 26.7%. During the last three weeks, the regional percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza viruses ranged from 11% to 34.9%."

 

This testing is based on people who are sick enough that they go to the doctor with what is called an ILI or "influenza-like illness." You have to be pretty sick to go to the doctor, and yet only a little more than 1/4 of those people are sick with influenza. I think the highest I saw last year was about 1 in 3 ILI patients had influenza. So there are a lot of viruses out there that can mess with you and leave you feeling like you have the flu. The flu shot protects you from 4 of them. Those 4 can make you pretty miserable, and they are perhaps the most serious illnesses, so I definitely think the shot is worth it. But it is no guarantee that you won't get sick.