Are you getting a flu shot? If you don’t usually, but are now, what motivates you?

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, Quill said:

Thank you for offering your explanation. You sounded so resolute, I expected a more passionate reason. 🙂

And yes, it is a best guess, which is a bummer...I do wish it could be a fool-proof, permanent immunity thing. I think, for me, it seems better than nothing, even in years it is only 45%-55% accurate. Kinda like keeping my umbrella in the car, even though it’s rare I’m truly in a fix without one. It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. 

I’ve also generically been lazy about it, but reading about how many older folks it kills changed my mind. And I’m lucky that I don’t tend to have bad vaccine reactions. My arm was sore for a day is all.

[catz]

All 3 of us here got a flu shot, encouraging college student to get one too and he definitely will at some point.  None of us have never had a real reaction.  This year I woke up in the middle of the night with chills after the shot fell back asleep, woke up fine.  I am menopausal age and the weather was changing and we didn't have heat on that week so meh, could have been coincidence too and I easily could have slept through it.  

Every year we have been lazy/late with the flu shot someone here gets it.  I've had it 2 or 3 times since having kids including H1N1 the summer of 2009.  No thank you!  None of us have ever gotten after the shot.   It's about time I started ramping up elderberry here again too.

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said:

All 3 of us here got a flu shot, encouraging college student to get one too and he definitely will at some point.  None of us have never had a real reaction.  This year I woke up in the middle of the night with chills after the shot fell back asleep, woke up fine.  I am menopausal age and the weather was changing and we didn't have heat on that week so meh, could have been coincidence too and I easily could have slept through it.  

Every year we have been lazy/late with the flu shot someone here gets it.  I've had it 2 or 3 times since having kids including H1N1 the summer of 2009.  No thank you!  None of us have ever gotten after the shot.   It's about time I started ramping up elderberry here again too.

How do you take your elderberry? 

[Momto6inIN]

3 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Last I checked, it decreased frequency and severity of the flu most years. But it certainly isn’t perfect.

Yeah, I know it's supposed to. And probably statistics wise it does over the whole population that gets them. But that wasn't our experience and the seeming randomness of it made it hard for me to spend the time and mental energy required to schlep all the kids to the dr for something that seemed to have no payoff for us.

[catz]

43 minutes ago, Quill said:

How do you take your elderberry? 

Oh I just make a syrup.  This is my bookmarked recipe I use

https://wellnessmama.com/1888/elderberry-syrup/

The only thing to note is if you use an instant pot, you should let it boil off a bit after finishing and taking the cover off (push saute I think?) until it is at 2 cups or it won't end up at the same concentration.  And then we typically just take a tablespoon a day with a decent multivitamin.  I am taking D right now too.  

I am not a huge alt medicine person, but I have hardly had a cold since I started regularly using elderberry through cold and flu season.  My college student got through his first year in a dorm without the sniffles with a multivitamin, elderberry gummies, and an air purifier in is dorm room.  They were falling like flies all around him.   Possibly luck or coincidence but I'll take it.  And we have consistently done flu shots at least the last 6-7 years.  

[Junie]

We usually get the flu shot but I don't think we will this year.  We are leaving the house only for grocery pick-up and a few random trips to the hardware store.  Oh, and dd14's orthodontist appointments once per month.  Our exposure this year is going to be much, much less than usual during flu season.

[madteaparty]

8 hours ago, Quill said:

What are your reasons, if you care to expand upon this? 

The general reasons people don’t take flu shots. They’re not especially effective. I’m not an anti-vaxer. 

[Kassia]

2 hours ago, Junie said:

We usually get the flu shot but I don't think we will this year.  We are leaving the house only for grocery pick-up and a few random trips to the hardware store.  Oh, and dd14's orthodontist appointments once per month.  Our exposure this year is going to be much, much less than usual during flu season.

I almost didn't this year for that reason, but got it anyway.  I get it every year because I've had the flu twice (both times didn't have the shot) and never want to go through that again.  I'm the only one in my family who has gotten it so far, but DH and my four kids (all 18 and over) will get it.  DH and dd almost always have reactions to vaccines, so they need to time theirs when things are quieter for them.  

[EKS]

My husband and I have been been getting a flu shot every year for the last 22 or so years.  We started getting them when my son was in daycare and bringing home every disease known to man.  Then when he was 4, he got what I'm pretty sure was the flu, and even though we were sleeping in the same room as he was when he was sick (and doing everything else that virtually guarantees transmission), neither of us got sick.  The next year everyone in the family got flu shots continued to do so every year without fail.  No one ever got the flu.  Then the older one last year didn't get the shot--and lo and behold he got the flu.

I am a staunch advocate of vaccines.  They, along with modern sanitation practices, are far and away the most important public health advances in human history.

[Moonhawk]

I don't think I've gotten a flu shot since I was 14. Maybe during my pregnancies? But there are so many needles involved in pregnancies, I just kind of sat and took whatever they jabbed me with. 

I remember getting really really sick as a kid right after my last two shots (missed 2 weeks of school both times). My mom said it must be giving me the flu and she wouldn't take me for them anymore. In my mind, that door was closed. 

I'm reading all of you people saying you had the flu once in the past 20 years?? I think I've had it 3-4 times in the past 11 years. I thought everyone got it pretty regularly and so the vaccine was more miss-than-hit, and since I seemed to have a bad reaction, what's the point? 

So yeah, maybe this strategy isn't working out so well for me.

[stephanier.1765]

Usually there is no rhyme nor reason as to why I get the flu shot. Some years I do and some years I don't. This year I did. I was already waiting at Walmart to get a new battery installed in my car and so I thought I'd use that time productively and got my flu shot at the Walmart pharmacy. I was planning on doing that sometime this year anyway because if I do get Covid I don't want the flu on top  of it. And if it some how mitigates some of the symptoms or other by products of getting Covid, then that's a bonus. I don't know that it will do any of that but I hope secretly that it does. LOL

[stephanier.1765]

9 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

I don't think I've gotten a flu shot since I was 14. Maybe during my pregnancies? But there are so many needles involved in pregnancies, I just kind of sat and took whatever they jabbed me with. 

I remember getting really really sick as a kid right after my last two shots (missed 2 weeks of school both times). My mom said it must be giving me the flu and she wouldn't take me for them anymore. In my mind, that door was closed. 

I'm reading all of you people saying you had the flu once in the past 20 years?? I think I've had it 3-4 times in the past 11 years. I thought everyone got it pretty regularly and so the vaccine was more miss-than-hit, and since I seemed to have a bad reaction, what's the point? 

So yeah, maybe this strategy isn't working out so well for me.

I can't tell you the last time I had to the flu. Probably once in the last 20 years is close to accurate. I wonder why you get it so often? Are you exposed more to those who might be carrying it?

[KungFuPanda]

We’re a family that ALWAYS gets flu shots but haven’t this year. I’m torn. DS has been home since March. I can’t decide if taking him out in public is a greater risk that catching the flu when nobody ever leaves the house. How are we even supposed to catch the flu with this level of human interaction? 

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, madteaparty said:

The general reasons people don’t take flu shots. They’re not especially effective. I’m not an anti-vaxer. 

Ah, okay. 

In the past, I didn’t get the flu shot. It was mostly just lack of inertia/apathy about it. I also wasn’t too concerned about getting it, though I do remember being pretty concerned about H1N1. A child local to me died or it and a teenager I knew very tangentially also died from it. 

I did get the flu several years ago, though and I thought, “If I could avoid this, that doesn’t seem like a bad plan to me.” I felt dreadful and it lasted and lasted and lasted. I actually remember waking up in the morning, day after day, trying to stand up, getting punched in the head with illness, and flopping back on the bed saying, “Crap. Still sick.” 

My reasons for committing to it this year, though, have more to do with the pandemic. 

[madteaparty]

37 minutes ago, Quill said:

Ah, okay. 

In the past, I didn’t get the flu shot. It was mostly just lack of inertia/apathy about it. I also wasn’t too concerned about getting it, though I do remember being pretty concerned about H1N1. A child local to me died or it and a teenager I knew very tangentially also died from it. 

I did get the flu several years ago, though and I thought, “If I could avoid this, that doesn’t seem like a bad plan to me.” I felt dreadful and it lasted and lasted and lasted. I actually remember waking up in the morning, day after day, trying to stand up, getting punched in the head with illness, and flopping back on the bed saying, “Crap. Still sick.” 

My reasons for committing to it this year, though, have more to do with the pandemic. 

That’s another thing. We never get the flu shot, or the flu*. This year we are especially protected as everyone is home. Not that I would consider the vaccine anyway, I would take the flu.
*of course I may have just jinxed self. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, madteaparty said:

That’s another thing. We never get the flu shot, or the flu*. This year we are especially protected as everyone is home. Not that I would consider the vaccine anyway, I would take the flu.
*of course I may have just jinxed self. 

Let’s hope not! 

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, Moonhawk said:

 

I'm reading all of you people saying you had the flu once in the past 20 years?? I think I've had it 3-4 times in the past 11 years. I thought everyone got it pretty regularly and so the vaccine was more miss-than-hit, and since I seemed to have a bad reaction, what's the point? 

I've had it once in the past 20 years - it was almost 16 years ago.  I remember it well because it was so horrible.  The weird thing is, DH didn't get it and he wasn't vaccinated (that was the year of the flu shot shortage).  My youngest was 2 1/2 then and she was climbing all over me and she didn't get sick, but she was vaccinated.  The only other time I can remember having it was before I was pregnant with my oldest and he'll be 30 soon. 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Moonhawk said:

I don't think I've gotten a flu shot since I was 14. Maybe during my pregnancies? But there are so many needles involved in pregnancies, I just kind of sat and took whatever they jabbed me with. 

I remember getting really really sick as a kid right after my last two shots (missed 2 weeks of school both times). My mom said it must be giving me the flu and she wouldn't take me for them anymore. In my mind, that door was closed. 

I'm reading all of you people saying you had the flu once in the past 20 years?? I think I've had it 3-4 times in the past 11 years. I thought everyone got it pretty regularly and so the vaccine was more miss-than-hit, and since I seemed to have a bad reaction, what's the point? 

So yeah, maybe this strategy isn't working out so well for me.

When I was a kid, we got sick constantly all fall and winter long and I’m sure a couple of those bouts were the bona fide flu, though my mom had a habit of using the term “flu” for any such illness. (I think a lot of people do that.) 

In our case, I think poor hygiene was a significant factor. My mom was not fastidious about that and took a very blasé approach to kids constantly having colds and illnesses. The school I attended, too...I don’t remember any particular emphasis on cleaning surfaces. 

[SKL]

I wonder if there are personal characteristics that make people less susceptible to serious flu, as is the case for Covid.  I have never had the flu shot, and I assume I've had the flu an average number of times, since I haven't done anything particular to avoid it.  But I've never had an illness so bad that I would go get a shot to avoid having that happen to me again.

There is a correlation between people who got the flu shot and people who got symptomatic Covid.  I am curious as to whether they have figured out why.  Just the age group, or something more?  Someone posted something about vitamin D rendering the flu shot less effective or less relevant ... I didn't have time to read the study to find out what was behind that.  But, I wonder if people who are low risk for Covid are also low risk for serious flu symptoms.  Anyone know?

[SKL]

Sound familiar?

Following is a list of all the health and age factors that are known to increase a person’s risk of getting serious complications from flu:

• Adults 65 years and older
• Children younger than 2 years old¹
• Asthma
• Neurologic and neurodevelopment conditions
• Blood disorders (such as sickle cell disease)
• Chronic lung disease (such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD] and cystic fibrosis)
• Endocrine disorders (such as diabetes mellitus)
• Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease)
• Kidney diseases
• Liver disorders
• Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders)
• People who are obese with a body mass index [BMI] of 40 or higher
• People younger than 19 years old on long-term aspirin- or salicylate-containing medications.
• People with a weakened immune system due to disease (such as people with HIV or AIDS, or some cancers such as leukemia) or medications (such as those receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, or persons with chronic conditions requiring chronic corticosteroids or other drugs that suppress the immune system)
• People who have had a stroke

Other people at high risk from the flu:

• Pregnant women and women up to 2 weeks after the end of pregnancy
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
• People from certain racial and ethnic minority groups are at increased risk for hospitalization with flu, including non-Hispanic Black persons, Hispanic or Latino persons, and American Indian or Alaska Native persons
• ¹ Although all children younger than 5 years old are considered at high risk for serious flu complications, the highest risk is for those younger than 2 years old, with the highest hospitalization and death rates among infants younger than 6 months old.

[SKL]

27 minutes ago, Quill said:

When I was a kid, we got sick constantly all fall and winter long and I’m sure a couple of those bouts were the bona fide flu, though my mom had a habit of using the term “flu” for any such illness. (I think a lot of people do that.) 

In our case, I think poor hygiene was a significant factor. My mom was not fastidious about that and took a very blasé approach to kids constantly having colds and illnesses. The school I attended, too...I don’t remember any particular emphasis on cleaning surfaces. 

Yeah, pretty much anything we got that didn't have a rash was either a "cold" (sinus stuff) or the "flu" (which is what we called pukey stuff).

The only things we went to the doc for were strep and pinkeye, because prescription meds made a big difference on those.

[StephanieZ]

Got mine today. I'm usually flaky about doing them -- got them when my mom was elderly and frail -- to protect her. But other than that, it's been really rare for me to get them, mostly just because it was a very low priority for me. I was at the dr today for something totally unrelated, and I gladly accepted their offer of a flu shot as it was high on my priorities to get it done in October. 

Why? Because COVID19 is already swamping our urgent/ER facilities, several areas in my state (WV) are already having to divert critically ill patients to other parts of the state or out of state because their ICUs are at capacity and/or their medical staff has been impacted and so they're short staffed. If me getting a flu shot can reduce the chance that someone else will die due to lack of access to medical space and/or help reduce the incredible pressure on our front line medical workers, then that's good enough for me. Right now, I think we all have a duty to try to minimize the risk of getting or spreading any serious illness, especially flu that could cause "double infections" with COVID and dramatically increase fatalities. 

WV is already one of the sickest and poorest states in the country. We really don't need any more problems. So, I got the shot. And I wear my mask. And I stay home as much as possible. 

[HS Mom in NC]

I got my first flu shot on Tuesday. I've been holding out for a Universal Flu shot, but I wouldn't be surprised if that research has been temporarily derailed due to COVID.  (The one the guy in the Nextflix doc Pandmenic is working on.) I don't usually get the flu-maybe once every 3-5 years.  In my 20s I was hospitalized for dehydration due to the flu twice.  I'm 47 now.

I had a ruptured disc and a compressed spinal cord with bone spurs that required emergency surgery on Leap Year Day.  I could need surgery at any point in the future should my already problematic neck degenerate more. The idea of possibly going into surgery again and getting the flu in the hospital or during recovery from surgery is hard to take. Leaning over puking with that kind of neck pain during recovery would require major pain meds.

My neighbor is an ER nurse at one of the major medical centers here.  We haven't pushed capacity yet, but it's been close, and I don't want to add to the numbers unless I've done everything I possibly could to reduce the chances I would need hospitalization.

[StillStanding]

Everybody in my family does. Every year. Three of us have asthma. 

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, SKL said:

Yeah, pretty much anything we got that didn't have a rash was either a "cold" (sinus stuff) or the "flu" (which is what we called pukey stuff).

The only things we went to the doc for were strep and pinkeye, because prescription meds made a big difference on those.

Same here, except we weren’t taken for the doctor even then. AFAIK, I never even had a strep test in all my childhood, though I’m guessing I had strep now and then. 

[Tanaqui]

14 minutes ago, Quill said:

Same here, except we weren’t taken for the doctor even then. AFAIK, I never even had a strep test in all my childhood, though I’m guessing I had strep now and then. 

 

Ooof. I know that scarlet fever has gotten a lot less serious* since the mid-20th century for reasons that aren't fully clear (it can't boil down to "antibiotics" because this is true even when untreated) but still.

 

* This statement refers to recovery time and likelihood of death or other long-term physical complications. I have no idea if PANDAS is a novel thing, getting worse, getting better, or what.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Tanaqui

[GoodGrief3]

My husband is required to get the flu immunization every year because he works at a hospital. My kids and I have never gotten it. It wasn't a job requirement back when I worked in nursing. I've never had the flu as far as I know, though I'm convinced I'm at least partially immune to many common respiratory illnesses as a result of several winters of working with inpatient pediatric patients (holding nebulizers for babies, can't imagine what all ended up in my lungs.) My older two were day care kids for a time, and definitely had a sicklier course as small children, but not so much as they got older. My youngest, who did not do daycare and was homeschooled through fourth grade, is the one who has frequent illnesses now. She has had confirmed flu twice in the last three years (interestingly, the last bout was late February, just before the big Covid shutdown. I had a memorable conversation with the military pediatrician that day about the large number of unexplained viral infections with fevers he had been seeing over the winter) Relatively mild illness for her though. We only tested to rule out strep. Neither her vaccinated dad or unvaccinated mom got it either time.

I'm not an anti-vaxxer, but certainly a selective vaxxer. I dislike the intense load of vaccinations to which our babies are subjected in such a short period of time, and wonder about the relationship to the vax schedule and the seeming rise of autoimmune dysfunction in the population. I'm not anti-intevention, but do recognize there will typically be some sort of health tradeoff for the times we choose to interfere with natural processes. So I want to pick my battles carefully, so to speak. My kids have ended up mostly vaccinated, albeit on a slower schedule and with a couple of exceptions. I'll continue to pass on the flu vaccine unless I see a compelling reason to add it to my healthcare routine.

[Nanax6]

My husband is a pharmacist and we always get our flu vaccine.  

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Nanax6 said:

My husband is a pharmacist and we always get our flu vaccine.  

That’s handy! 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SKL said:

I wonder if there are personal characteristics that make people less susceptible to serious flu, as is the case for Covid.  I have never had the flu shot, and I assume I've had the flu an average number of times, since I haven't done anything particular to avoid it.  But I've never had an illness so bad that I would go get a shot to avoid having that happen to me again.

There is a correlation between people who got the flu shot and people who got symptomatic Covid.  I am curious as to whether they have figured out why.  Just the age group, or something more?  Someone posted something about vitamin D rendering the flu shot less effective or less relevant ... I didn't have time to read the study to find out what was behind that.  But, I wonder if people who are low risk for Covid are also low risk for serious flu symptoms.  Anyone know?

I don’t know the answer to that. I did just look up the assertion “getting the flu shot makes you more susceptible to COVID”. (I’m not sure if that’s what you’re saying; just that it reflects what somebody else just told me.) What I see is a bunch of credible sources saying that is inaccurate. So 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I would be curious to know if being at low risk for serious flu symptoms translates to low risk for serious COVID. Everything I have seen so far seems to say there is a significant randomness to all the things about Covid? 

[Not_a_Number]

Just now, Quill said:

I would be curious to know if being at low risk for serious flu symptoms translates to low risk for serious COVID. Everything I have seen so far seems to say there is a significant randomness to all the things about Covid? 

I'd guess being low risk for serious flu symptoms does make you lower risk for serious COVID, because it seems highly correlated with age. But in terms what seems to cause very mild versus serious COVID... I doubt it's the same as with the flu, since it does seem quite random, from what we've seen. I'm sure the flu is also somewhat random, but I haven't heard of so many really bad courses of the flu unrelated to other conditions, and that hasn't been true for COVID. 

[Not_a_Number]

38 minutes ago, GoodGrief3 said:

I dislike the intense load of vaccinations to which our babies are subjected in such a short period of time, and wonder about the relationship to the vax schedule and the seeming rise of autoimmune dysfunction in the population. I

Are there any studies on this? Are autoimmune disorders less common in less vaccinating families? 

[SKL]

1 hour ago, Quill said:

Same here, except we weren’t taken for the doctor even then. AFAIK, I never even had a strep test in all my childhood, though I’m guessing I had strep now and then. 

Or maybe you didn't get it.  I never got strep except once in my final year of high school, and that time I didn't know it until it was full-blown scarlet fever.

My sister used to get strep every year, so I always had to go get a throat culture after she was diagnosed.  Always negative.  I would have rather not been tested!

Edited October 23, 2020 by SKL

[SKL]

stupid double post again.

Edited October 23, 2020 by SKL

[Moonhawk]

3 hours ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I can't tell you the last time I had to the flu. Probably once in the last 20 years is close to accurate. I wonder why you get it so often? Are you exposed more to those who might be carrying it?

I don't think so, though it's been much better since I stopped working. But my work sponsored flu shot days so that everyone could get a shot, and I know I was in a very small minority that didn't get it. 

 

2 hours ago, Quill said:

When I was a kid, we got sick constantly all fall and winter long and I’m sure a couple of those bouts were the bona fide flu, though my mom had a habit of using the term “flu” for any such illness. (I think a lot of people do that.) 

In our case, I think poor hygiene was a significant factor. My mom was not fastidious about that and took a very blasé approach to kids constantly having colds and illnesses. The school I attended, too...I don’t remember any particular emphasis on cleaning surfaces. 

I know 2 of the 4 times were verified by test to be the real thing. The other two felt exactly the same and so I just did the same thing as the previous times to recover. Now that I think about it: I think DH got it once with me, but none of my kids have ever gotten it. Generally once I realized I was getting a serious sickness I'd send them to my mom's. 

2 hours ago, SKL said:

I wonder if there are personal characteristics that make people less susceptible to serious flu, as is the case for Covid.  I have never had the flu shot, and I assume I've had the flu an average number of times, since I haven't done anything particular to avoid it.  But I've never had an illness so bad that I would go get a shot to avoid having that happen to me again.

There is a correlation between people who got the flu shot and people who got symptomatic Covid.  I am curious as to whether they have figured out why.  Just the age group, or something more?  Someone posted something about vitamin D rendering the flu shot less effective or less relevant ... I didn't have time to read the study to find out what was behind that.  But, I wonder if people who are low risk for Covid are also low risk for serious flu symptoms.  Anyone know?

Well, now realizing that I am apparently in the "probably more susceptible" to flu category, I seriously hope there's no correlation. 😕 

Also, bronchitis. I get bronchitis any time I'm sick for more than a few days. Cold? --> bronchitis. Weird thing that went around earlier this year? --> Bronchitis. I know there was one year I got it 4 times (nicely ruining all my holidays that year: Valentine's, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving). I thought this was another everyone-gets-this-all-the-time thing. Please someone tell me that it totally is a normal thing...? 

[SKL]

18 minutes ago, Quill said:

I don’t know the answer to that. I did just look up the assertion “getting the flu shot makes you more susceptible to COVID”. (I’m not sure if that’s what you’re saying; just that it reflects what somebody else just told me.) What I see is a bunch of credible sources saying that is inaccurate. So 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I would be curious to know if being at low risk for serious flu symptoms translates to low risk for serious COVID. Everything I have seen so far seems to say there is a significant randomness to all the things about Covid? 

No, I'm not saying that, just wondering if there is any known cause of the correlation, other than old age.

But it does turn out that most of the risk factors are the same for flu and Covid, based on my next post after the one you quoted.  (Taken from the CDC website.)  The notable exception being very young age.

I don't see the Covid stuff as random at all.  I have seen and heard of many clear patterns, since the very beginning of this mess.

One thing I find interesting that doesn't get much air time is blood group.  But a quick google search tells me that type B correlates with both Covid and flu.  Information like this could help inform people's decisions about optional vaxes.

[SKL]

1 minute ago, Moonhawk said:

I don't think so, though it's been much better since I stopped working. But my work sponsored flu shot days so that everyone could get a shot, and I know I was in a very small minority that didn't get it. 

 

I know 2 of the 4 times were verified by test to be the real thing. The other two felt exactly the same and so I just did the same thing as the previous times to recover. Now that I think about it: I think DH got it once with me, but none of my kids have ever gotten it. Generally once I realized I was getting a serious sickness I'd send them to my mom's. 

Well, now realizing that I am apparently in the "probably more susceptible" to flu category, I seriously hope there's no correlation. 😕 

Also, bronchitis. I get bronchitis any time I'm sick for more than a few days. Cold? --> bronchitis. Weird thing that went around earlier this year? --> Bronchitis. I know there was one year I got it 4 times (nicely ruining all my holidays that year: Valentine's, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving). I thought this was another everyone-gets-this-all-the-time thing. Please someone tell me that it totally is a normal thing...? 

If I've ever had bronchitis, it was never bad enough to go to the doc for a diagnosis.

[stephanier.1765]

5 minutes ago, SKL said:

No, I'm not saying that, just wondering if there is any known cause of the correlation, other than old age.

But it does turn out that most of the risk factors are the same for flu and Covid, based on my next post after the one you quoted.  (Taken from the CDC website.)  The notable exception being very young age.

I don't see the Covid stuff as random at all.  I have seen and heard of many clear patterns, since the very beginning of this mess.

One thing I find interesting that doesn't get much air time is blood group.  But a quick google search tells me that type B correlates with both Covid and flu.  Information like this could help inform people's decisions about optional vaxes.

Is B good or bad for Covid and flu?

[SKL]

4 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

Is B good or bad for Covid and flu?

Apparently it's bad for both.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

Or maybe you didn't get it.  I never got strep except once in my final year of high school, and that time I didn't know it until it was full-blown scarlet fever.

My sister used to get strep every year, so I always had to go get a throat culture after she was diagnosed.  Always negative.  I would have rather not been tested!

No way to know at this point, of course, but I remember a time or two having such an exquisitely sore throat I could barely swallow my saliva. I remember that. I don’t know if I ever got scarlet fever, or any fevers concurrent with strep. I almost never went to the doctor as a child for anything except vaccinations. I had a couple of terrible UTIs and never went then either. I had an allergic reaction to an insect sting that swelled my hand up like a baseball glove and went to school! I broke my toe and went to school with a toe so swollen, I couldn’t put a shoe on. A friend lent me crutches after I spent the entire day hopping to classes on one foot. Never went to a doctor for that. Lots of stories like that...my folks weren’t big on doctors or hospitals. 

Strep cultures do seem quite unpleasant, though. Right up there with getting a COVID swab. 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

No, I'm not saying that, just wondering if there is any known cause of the correlation, other than old age.

But it does turn out that most of the risk factors are the same for flu and Covid, based on my next post after the one you quoted.  (Taken from the CDC website.)  The notable exception being very young age.

I don't see the Covid stuff as random at all.  I have seen and heard of many clear patterns, since the very beginning of this mess.

One thing I find interesting that doesn't get much air time is blood group.  But a quick google search tells me that type B correlates with both Covid and flu.  Information like this could help inform people's decisions about optional vaxes.

Interesting. I’m A+ blood type. Maybe im in good shape for that. 

By random I mean...stuff I am not knowledgeable about that have to do with who gets sick and who doesn’t. It’s not as patterned as it would seem. That’s my layman’s understanding anyway. I’m not at all well studied on it, not even as much as some of the posters here. 

[Syllieann]

Dh, kids, and I always do.  DH gets it at work, kids get it at pediatrician, and I usually go to cvs.  This year dh has already gotten his at work.  Kids usually see ped in summer but got pushed back until next week due to shutdown backlogs, so they will just get flu shot at their regular checkup next week.  I haven't decided if I will get one this year.  Kids and dh are the routes it would take to get to me and I'd have to make a special trip (with related exposure risks) to get one.  DH wants me to get one mainly so i can rule it out if I get sick.  I'll probably get one of I can get an appointment at a convenient time.

[BeachGal]

Yes, we all get flu shots here to prevent getting flu or to mitigate symptoms. If we can prevent getting infected, then we will not be exposing vulnerable people to the flu as well who might not survive it.

A number of promising universal flu vaccines are in the works. If approved, I plan to get one at some point.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-universal-flu-vaccine-horizon.html

https://asm.org/Articles/2019/August/A-Universal-Influenza-Vaccine-How-Close-Are-We

[Not_a_Number]

12 hours ago, Quill said:

No way to know at this point, of course, but I remember a time or two having such an exquisitely sore throat I could barely swallow my saliva. I remember that. I don’t know if I ever got scarlet fever, or any fevers concurrent with strep. I almost never went to the doctor as a child for anything except vaccinations. I had a couple of terrible UTIs and never went then either. I had an allergic reaction to an insect sting that swelled my hand up like a baseball glove and went to school! I broke my toe and went to school with a toe so swollen, I couldn’t put a shoe on. A friend lent me crutches after I spent the entire day hopping to classes on one foot. Never went to a doctor for that. Lots of stories like that...my folks weren’t big on doctors or hospitals. 

Strep cultures do seem quite unpleasant, though. Right up there with getting a COVID swab. 

Yowza. Why were your folks so anti-doctor? 

DD8 somehow got strep as a one year old, and she really didn't drink at all for a bit... it's a terrible sore throat, I think. 

[Tanaqui]

If you get bronchitis after every minor illness, I'd wonder if it's really asthma.

[TechWife]

I've gotten one annually for the past five years. Before that, I was sporadic.

 

[Btervet]

I used to just be lazy and get them sporadically. Mainly if I or the kids were already at the doctors.

Two years ago a relative died from the flu. He was immunocompromised, middle aged - however, no one but his parents and brother knew he was immunocompromised. He caught the flu from family who didn't bother with the vaccine, again due to laziness not being anti-vax. They were also of the opinion that flu just wasn't that bad, and for them it wasn't. However, now our relative is dead, and they bear so much guilt over it.

Even at 50% effectiveness, the vaccine halves your chance of catching it, decreases symptoms significantly, and significantly shortens the period of time when you are contagious. The last is the most important to me.

I will never miss it again, and neither will my kids while I have a say. It's too important to protect the people who are vulnerable, and my family taught me you may never know who those people are until it is too late.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Btervet

[Halftime Hope]

I have been doing everything I can to improve the function of my immune system, and I will not be getting a flu shot.  With COVID around, I will especially not be getting a flu shot, as there are studies to document that the immune system takes a functional hit (those are lay terms) for awhile afterward.  The shot may help mitigate or prevent flu, but some fraction of those getting a flu shot tend to get more URIs for some months afterward.  I will not be going there. 

I've never had the flu, nor has dh, in spite of being around A LOT of people, and I think anti-COVID measures will probably help this be a light flu season. 

If we were to get flu, we have a robust treatment plan, involving very proactive medical care and aggressive at home self-care, so that's our plan.  

Disclaimer:  take or leave what I have to say, your choice, I don't have time to defend it or go look up journal references.  All of us here are good researchers, and I'm sure anyone interested can go find the information just like I did.   :-)  

[Plateau Mama]

My kids normally get the flu shot.  They will probably still get one this year.  Oldest is high risk so she always gets one.  I will not get the shot.  I normally don't because I am allergic to eggs. 

The flu season was so bad in 18/19 the school I worked at we were sending home 10-20 kids (out of 300) a day.  So last year I decided to get the flu shot just to be safe bc I thought it was a miracle I did not get it the previous year.  Big, big mistake.  I had such a bad reaction that I almost went to the ER.  If my husband had not been out of town I would have gone but I did not want to leave my kids at home alone.  I was in bed for 3 days.  It felt almost like the time I had iron poisioning.

That being said I work really hard with my naturopath at keeping my immune system strong so I rarely ever get sick.

 

Edited October 25, 2020 by Plateau Mama

[twovetteslater]

We got our flu shots early this year (two months ago) due to the virus. We get them every year.