Have you gotten the flu vaccine?

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:29pm #1

Note - not talking about the sniffles or a cold, but a proper flu that lasts for weeks!

Just interested especially with all the talk in the news. I work a desk job in an air-conditioned office, I work out regularly and diet is fairly average (it's going to be better from this month!), but each year over the past couple of years I think I've gotten the flu twice. I am not sure if this is a very frequent amount of times to get it...

So have you gotten the jab? The question and poll only applies to those NOT in the at-risk group..

SEPT 23 1989 · 04-01-2017 1:31pm

proper flu?

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 04-01-2017 1:32pm

Nope haven't had actual flu since I was about 9 so if I'm not broke no need to fix me

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:32pm

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

proper flu?

Yes indeed, was meant to mention that! Edited above.

Interested to hear how often people catch it, whether they get the vaccine and if they think it has helped prevent it..

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:33pm

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Nope haven't had actual flu since I was about 9 so if I'm not broke no need to fix me

It's funny as I rarely used to get it but I got it twice last year I think, and once or twice the year before. Might be the air-con in the office?!

theteal · 04-01-2017 1:33pm

The mother made me get one about 17 years ago. Never had the proper flu. The marvels of modern medicine!

ScumLord · 04-01-2017 1:37pm

I don't think I've ever got the flu. Generally colds don't seem to have much effect on me either, I get sniffles and a bit of a sore head but it's doesn't last more than 2 days.

I make the least effort possible to be healthy.

Crea · 04-01-2017 1:39pm

I've never had the proper flu.
I've had the aches, pains etc which last 3-4 days but not the flu that would have you in bed for 2 weeks.
I did get the flu jab the year after I had pluracy because I couldn't risk getting sick but aside from that I haven't bothered.
I know a man who is in hospital since March with complications from the Swine flu which is covered under the flu jab.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 04-01-2017 1:39pm

I haven't had the flu in about 20 years. Never had the vaccine either.

To get the 'proper' flu twice a year seems extraordinary

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:39pm

I read an article lately by a doctor who said that something that few people know is that 80% of so of your immune system is actually in your gut (or is affected by it), and so if you have a diet high in carbs and processed foods, that cutting back on all of that will really help. This is because it takes a lot more work for the body to process those types of food. Makes sense I guess.

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:40pm

Joziah Long Summerhouse wrote: »

I haven't had the flu in about 20 years. Never had the vaccine either.

To get the 'proper' flu twice a year seems extraordinary

I think it might really only have been once, and then a bad cold was the other one. However I still worked (from home) all the time I had the flu.

Corkgirl18 · 04-01-2017 1:42pm

I get a cold about once a year (usually at Christmas) that lasts a few days but that's it. I'm a teacher so I'm surprised I don't get sick more.
Maybe invest in a decent multivitamin/probiotic if your diet isn't fantastic.

SEPT 23 1989 · 04-01-2017 1:43pm

route9 wrote: »

I think it might really only have been once, and then a bad cold was the other one. However I still worked (from home) all the time I had the flu.

if you had the real flu you can barely move

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:43pm

Corkgirl18 wrote: »

I get a cold about once a year (usually at Christmas) that lasts a few days but that's it. I'm a teacher so I'm surprised I don't get sick more.
Maybe invest in a decent multivitamin/probiotic if your diet isn't fantastic.

I think a combination of too many carbs (cutting back now) and working in an open-plan office with air-con could be factors. I already take a pretty strong multivitamin, so that has probably helped too.

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:44pm

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

if you had the real flu you can barely move

Hmm true, you would be generally be bed-bound. Perhaps it was just a really bad cold that lasted a good while...

The Backwards Man · 04-01-2017 1:46pm

Only had flu once when I was a kid, always makes me laugh when you see someone in the pub or somewhere and they say they're dying with the flu. Ummm, no you're not!

Never had the flu jab, never want it

ScumLord · 04-01-2017 1:47pm

route9 wrote: »

I read an article lately by a doctor who said that something that few people know is that 80% of so of your immune system is actually in your gut (or is affected by it), and so if you have a diet high in carbs and processed foods, that cutting back on all of that will really help. This is because it takes a lot more work for the body to process those types of food. Makes sense I guess.

Mmmm, I don't think it does. Processed foods tend to have done a lot of the work for you which makes them so calorific. If they were hard to process we wouldn't be getting as fat.

route9 · 04-01-2017 1:48pm

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Only had flu once when I was a kid, always makes me laugh when you see someone in the pub or somewhere and they say they're dying with the flu. Ummm, no you're not!

Never had the flu jab, never want it

Yeah exactly! What you have are the sniffles.

I am the same really, I don't think I agree with it as surely you should leave it to your body's immune system to fight these things off.

Gatling · 04-01-2017 1:49pm

Got it ages ago ,

Still suffering from after effects of swine flu 3 years ago

RobertKK · 04-01-2017 1:50pm

Got the flu twice, took about three weeks to feel fully better, it really knocks you out.
Got the Brisbane flu which was one variety around mid 2000's and got the flu again in early 2015.
Each time I say to myself, 'I wish I had went and got the flu vaccination'.
I hate when people label an ordinary head cold or chest infection as the flu when it isn't. There is a big difference.

notsoyoungwan · 04-01-2017 1:51pm

I get the flu vaccine every year, as I work with an at-risk group, so it's for their protection more than mine.

I've had the flu once and I will never forget how ill I was. It was dreadful, lasted around 3 weeks IIRC.

Each year I get a heavy enough cold once or twice, which lingers for around 9-10 days, but that's it.

RobertKK · 04-01-2017 1:56pm

The flu vaccine saves countless lives, and vital for people who may need it as they may have other health problems and the flu could finish them off.

seamus · 04-01-2017 1:59pm

route9 wrote: »

I am the same really, I don't think I agree with it as surely you should leave it to your body's immune system to fight these things off.

That's exactly what a vaccine is; training your body's immune system to defend itself.

You don't need to get every vaccination available, but refusing a vaccine on the basis that you'd prefer to go it alone makes no sense.

I used to get a couple of colds a year. Then I improved my diet and exercised and I stopped getting any colds.

The last 3 or 4 years though I keep getting a cold around the end of November which hangs around as a cough till mid-late December. Though the initial period of aches and pains tends to go away in 2-3 days.

Don't recall having a flu at any point. The worst thing I've had in the last decade is the vomiting bug, which was 24 hours of living hell, but at least it went away quickly.

drake70 · 04-01-2017 2:00pm

Got it last year as I'm in the at risk group. Didn't bother with it this year. Fingers crossed.

Tom Mann Centuria · 04-01-2017 2:03pm

Influenza A is rampant in hospitals this year, like I've never seen before, scary numbers, so I'd strongly advise not visiting people in hospitals unless you have to. In fact I've no idea why apart from one or two hospitals, that advise hasn't been issued for every hospital in the country.

Boggy Turf · 04-01-2017 2:06pm

I got the "proper" flu once, about 20 years ago and I thought I was going to die. It was hellish.

But people do use the word flu way too liberally these days.

I got the virus that was doing the rounds at Xmas and while it was bad, it was nowhere near the proper flu.

To answer the OP, No I do not take the flu vaccine and I don't intend to anytime soon.

RayM · 04-01-2017 2:25pm

I had the flu once, when I was 15. I just felt really tired and achy for a few days, had no appetite and was coughing and spluttering. And then it developed into pneumonia, by which point I had no energy at all. I remember being at school, barely able to drag myself from one class to the next. I knew there was something really wrong when the school bus driver had to reach out and help me climb the two steps onto the bus. It's very scary when your energy and strength just disappears like that. Got over a month off school though, so it wasn't all bad.

ScumLord · 04-01-2017 2:29pm

RayM wrote: »

I had the flu once, when I was 15. I just felt really tired and achy for a few days, had no appetite and was coughing and spluttering. And then it developed into pneumonia, by which point I had no energy at all. I remember being at school, barely able to drag myself from one class to the next. I knew there was something really wrong when the school bus driver had to reach out and help me climb the two steps onto the bus. It's very scary when your energy and strength just disappears like that. Got over a month off school though, so it wasn't all bad.

Back in the day you literally had to be dead before they let you off from school.

I got a huge splitter in my foot when I was about 10, overnight it got infected and it was only when I was hobbling in the school gate that my father eventually took pity on me and took me to the doctor.

suicide_circus · 04-01-2017 2:31pm

Had it once about 15 years ago, barely made it home, literally fell in the front door and lay across threshold for about an hour before dragging myself up the stairs to bed.

If you have the flu, you're not going to work.

Maximus Alexander · 04-01-2017 2:34pm

Had it once when I was about 16 and it was probably the worst experience of my life. A vaccine doesn't sound like a bad idea actually...

mcgiggles · 04-01-2017 2:37pm

I am lucky enough never *touch wood* to have gotten the flu. Few sniffles/ headcolds/ sinus infections but never the flu. I don't get the vaccine, there are new strains of flu coming about all the time, you can't vaccinate against them all, so if you are at risk chances are you may still get it, all the vaccine can do is protect you from previous strains of flu.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 04-01-2017 2:40pm

I'm always bemused when people say they are 'coming down with the flu'. When flu hits it hits suddenly. If it's coming on you, it's almost certainly a cold.

Maximus Alexander · 04-01-2017 2:41pm

mcgiggles wrote: »

I am lucky enough never *touch wood* to have gotten the flu. Few sniffles/ headcolds/ sinus infections but never the flu. I don't get the vaccine, there are new strains of flu coming about all the time, you can't vaccinate against them all, so if you are at risk chances are you may still get it, all the vaccine can do is protect you from previous strains of flu.

They make a new vaccine a couple of times a year and it's generally pretty effective. The flu changes quickly but it can protect you for a flu season. The more people who get the vaccine, the harder it is for the virus to spread.

mcgiggles · 04-01-2017 2:45pm

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

They make a new vaccine a couple of times a year and it's generally pretty effective. The flu changes quickly but it can protect you for a flu season. The more people who get the vaccine, the harder it is for the virus to spread.

Actually didn't know that! For some reason I assumed there was one a year!

Glenster · 04-01-2017 2:45pm

Me to nurse "should I get the jab?"

Nurse "Cant hurt"

Me "OK then, go for it"

Thinking about it more than that seems like a waste of time.

RobertKK · 04-01-2017 2:49pm

I had to work with the flu the last time I had it as everyone else that could have helped also had it.
It was to feed cattle. Just kept them fed as I kept myself alive.
Had milking cows start to calve too, and I had to leave the calves on them while I recovered as I had no energy to do anything else.
It was the biggest struggle ever but had to be done. Mind over matter but you would want to do nothing but lie down and not move.
The simplest thing is exhausting when you have it.

RayM · 04-01-2017 2:49pm

ScumLord wrote: »

Back in the day you literally had to be dead before they let you off from school.

And even then, your parents would drag your corpse in. And then you'd get detention for not doing PE. Try telling that to today's kids, and they wouldn't believe you.

northernpower · 04-01-2017 2:50pm

Glenster wrote: »

Me to nurse "should I get the jab?"

Nurse "Cant hurt"

Me "OK then, go for it"

Thinking about it more than that seems like a waste of time.

You should tell that to the nurses - <20% have taken the flu vaccination this year according to Simon Harris' sources. Shameful

04-01-2017 2:51pm

I got one a few months ago and got another a few weeks ago since there's a second round of 'flu going round.

fixXxer · 04-01-2017 2:55pm

northernpower wrote: »

You should tell that to the nurses - <20% have taken the flu vaccination this year according to Simon Harris' sources. Shameful

What's the source on that stat?

RobertKK · 04-01-2017 2:55pm

At O'Hare airport last October they were administering the flu vaccine to those who wanted it for $30.

northernpower · 04-01-2017 2:56pm

fixxxer wrote: »

What's the source on that stat?

Simon Harris this morning on Newstalk

Glenster · 04-01-2017 2:58pm

northernpower wrote: »

You should tell that to the nurses - <20% have taken the flu vaccination this year according to Simon Harris' sources. Shameful

I haven't seen those statistics, sounds like boll0x to me.

I know that in 2015 over 85% of the nurses in England got the flu vaccine.

sitstill · 04-01-2017 2:58pm

I'm a teacher and I get the flu vaccination every year because I always feel that there's a big chance of getting flu in school. I did still get quite a bad flu last Christmas but aside from that, I think the vaccination has worked for me and I'd recommend it.

Glenster · 04-01-2017 2:59pm

northernpower wrote: »

You should tell that to the nurses - <20% have taken the flu vaccination this year according to Simon Harris' sources. Shameful

Wait, this year, as in the last 4 days?

fixXxer · 04-01-2017 2:59pm

northernpower wrote: »

Simon Harris this morning on Newstalk

Yes but did he say where he got it from? I work in a hospital and the uptake from staff is usually extremely high, so a figure of <20% amazes me.

blue note · 04-01-2017 3:08pm

I had the flu twice - about 10 years ago and once about 5 years before that. It's a truly nasty things to have. The amount of people who have the flu but battles through it is just like the people who battle through migraines when some lesser people take a day or two off for them. The implication being that they're tough for battling through when other people are lazy and would use any excuse to take a day off work.

I haven't been properly sick since that flu back in 2007, just a few coughs, colds and tummy bugs since. And I also used to get very bad migraines when I was growing up but thankfully I grew out of them. Now I often get little migraines - same symptoms but mild enough that you can plough through it. But they're in no way proper migraines - one of those and there's zero chance you're working for at least a day.

Oh, and I've gotten the jab for the last few years. Don't have a reason not to. My girlfriends had sniffles after it for a day. I thought that type of thing was very rare, but it was hard not to link the two.

northernpower · 04-01-2017 3:10pm

fixxxer wrote: »

Yes but did he say where he got it from? I work in a hospital and the uptake from staff is usually extremely high, so a figure of <20% amazes me.

I'm in the hospital too, a presentation from occupational health at the start of the flu season when vaccinations were being rolled out for staff had figures on last years uptake in this particular Dublin hospital, can't remember the numbers but in terms of uptake it was Doctors > Health care assistants > nurses.

So uptake from staff may be high overall but it may mask areas where uptake is lower than it should be, for example among nurses. Now without wanting to derail this thread any further I think unless there's a genuine reason a health care worker can't take a vaccination there should be questions asked, especially when it's offered free in the work place and can be done while on shift.

Tom Mann Centuria · 04-01-2017 3:13pm

northernpower wrote: »

I'm in the hospital too, a presentation from occupational health at the start of the flu season when vaccinations were being rolled out for staff had figures on last years uptake in this particular Dublin hospital, can't remember the numbers but in terms of uptake it was Doctors > Health care assistants > nurses.

So uptake from staff may be high overall but it may mask areas where uptake is lower than it should be, for example among nurses. Now without wanting to derail this thread any further I think unless there's a genuine reason a health care worker can't take a vaccination there should be questions asked, especially when it's offered free in the work place and can be done while on shift.

So no evidence then. Presume you want enforced vaccination? Would be hard/impossible to enforce.

fixXxer · 04-01-2017 3:17pm

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

So no evidence then. Presume you want enforced vaccination? Would be hard/impossible to enforce.

Occupational Health get you to fill out a form when you get your vaccine so I assume their numbers would be very solid on who has and hasn't gotten the jab.

Enforced vaccination should definitely be an option. There's little to no reason not to get it.

blue note · 04-01-2017 3:23pm

I think incentivised vaccination in General is a good idea. For the nurses who are offered it for free you could not pay them sick pay if they get the flu and haven't been vaccinated. I guarantee you they'd all get it then. And you'd lose less of them to sickness. Sorry to be harsh, but if they don't believe in the vaccine they don't really believe in modern medicine so shouldn't be working in it. If they have a genuine reason then fair enough.

Have you gotten the flu vaccine?

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