Getting a Flu Shot?

MMiz

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
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How many of you will get a flu shot/spray this year? Despite getting sick after every time I get the shot, I'll be getting one again this year.
 
I already got mine. I've gotten one for three years not and have been flu-free since I started.

I think that the shot, along with the fact that most of us are around so many sick patients and just germs in general that our bodies built stronger immunities to the diseases more so than the general public, both kinda contribute to not getting sick
 
Already got mine.

I see it not only as a way to protect myself, but to protect my patients.
 
I will be getting mine. Most likely the week after next.
 
never have. not likely i will.
 
I don't like them and I REALLY hate needles!!:ph34r:
 
We have two options, get the shot, or sign a declination form saying that if we miss work with "flu-like" symptoms then we cannot get PTO time for it as we refused the flu shot.
 
Grady_emt said:
We have two options, get the shot, or sign a declination form saying that if we miss work with "flu-like" symptoms then we cannot get PTO time for it as we refused the flu shot.
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I would be calling in with a stubbed toe that is making me nauseous.

I don't take the flu shot for various reasons.

1. I live in a city that has tourists from all over the world. There is no guarantee I will be protected from every possible strain.

2. I remember the Swine flu vaccine and the Gullain Barre results.

3. Took it once and still got sick.


However, I will follow the policy of the hospital and talk it up to my patients.
 
I took it last year for the very first time.

Surprisingly enough, I did not get ill for a change. No flu, no nothing, so most likely I will repeat it this year to see if it was a fluke or not.

Having said that, most people do not take it early enough in the year, which is why they still get ill, or they do not take prophylactic meds immediately after getting the shot and then they complain about being ill and how bad the shot is. I encourage and supply my patients with tylenol and motrin and have them rotate every 4 hours post injection. That way, that low grade fever and sense of misery seems to pass them by.


While on the subject, last year was the first time I had access to the traditional injection or the nasal spray. I gave the patients the choice and most of them did the nasal spray and had no complaints afterwards. This was a very unscientific observation at a small camp with controlled population and a manageable number of people I had access to every day.

I gave approximately 90 vaccines, 80 which were nasally administered and the other 10 were injected. The ones injected were 3 by choice and 7 because of being over the age of 49. None of the nasal patients complained of flu like symptoms, discomfort, or anything at all. The ones that received the injections, 4 experienced symptoms although it could have been due to their age or them not taking the recommended pill regiment as prescribed.

I was going to do the nasal administration as well, but after reading the instructions, I opted not to since I was the only medical provider on the camp. Medical providers, per the instructions SHOULD ALWAYS TAKE THE INJECTION. This is because if you do the nasal route, you are potentially infectious to your patients for up to 20-21 days from natural nasal shedding. So I just injected the deltoid and was done with it.
 
I did the nasal route and got really sick. This year I'm trying the injection. I get ten sick days per year, and after that I don't get paid and have to pay for my coverage. I went into work dead sick last year. I'm not sure I can do it again.
 
Well hopefully the injection will do you better since the virus is dead in that form. It's live attenuated in the nasal form. They recommend that pregnant women get the flu shot but not the nasal spray for this very reason.
 
To me they are pointless....not getting one.....

oneluv79:)
 
Sports fans, how many full on cases of true influenza do you think you've seen?

"Flu like symptoms" is what most people see or experience and that does NOT include nausea and vomiting. In fact, many people report they have the flu when it isn't in their area yet. Rule of thumb: when babies and senior citizens start dying from respiratory illness, it's flu.

You get the shot, you feel achey (hint: head it off with NSAIDS BEFORE injection), maybe a little feverish for a day or two...typical "flulike symptoms", but actually just your immune system kicking in.

"Real flu-like symptoms" would be rapid onset of bad headache, high fever, with strong URI symptoms followed by bronchitis of varying (often distressing) severity and sometimes pneumonia and death. It knocks you DOWN (or, as the books call it politely, "prostration").

If you haven't caught it and you are not hermetically sealed, thank those of us who had our shots, because we act as a "sponge" the advancing virus hits and can't travel further across. You contact a finite number of people a day, and every one immunized is one less "tree" of contacts spreading it into the susceptible community.

So which one is better: potentially fatal prostrating disease, or a couple days of coryza-like symptoms? What's the adult decision?

Sideshots: How many of you are current in your tetanus, typhoid, pertussis, hep B, hep A, and, if you work around animals a lot, rabies? Had your measles, mumps, rubella titres checked at least once?

Do you decon your rig after ALL respiratory cases?

And, about that "stomach flu"...if afebrile, usually food poisoning. If febrile, think about viruses we don't immunize against, and if you develop hepatic signs, hep A. Public health rules of thumb.
 
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PS: What kind of crummy health benefits do you guys get??!!

I think if you check your states' laws they can't dock you for being "flulike" sick if you refuse immunization; to prove you have influenze a genetic exam would have to be performed, and "sick is sick", if they work you around patients when you are communicable you and they can be culpable.
 
I'll have to have the shot, I can't stand things up my nose. Just haven't made it over to the VA for it yet.
Not only is it required for school around here, my hubby is totally immune compromised, so I have to keep from bringing anything home to him. He gets pneumonia every time he gets a cold...I'm pretty sure a bout with the flu would kill him.
And I'm rather fond of him, so flu shots for me every year.
 
Every year hubby gets the flu shot and I don't. He gets sick, I don't. The problem with the flu shot is that they guess what the flu du jour is going to be and formulate the vaccine based on that. Also, being on the west coast, our flu season is after the East Coast and we have had issues in the past with getting enough vaccine allocated to us.

I rely on a healthy immune system to fight whatever bugs I get. I'm not a fan of traditional medicine and use a homeopathic practicioner as my primary healthcare provider.
 
2006 - All Staff given flu shots (Mandatory)

2007 - Staff not given shots. Determined to be "dead money" and "Not Cost effictive".
90% of staff off work sick with flu come flu season, With 30% off at one time.

2008 - All Staff given flu shots (Mandatory)

Ahhhh! Justice! :)
 
One also has to account for the placebo effect also. One takes the shot and believes he will not get sick, another takes it even though believes the shot *WILL* make him/her slightly sick in exchange for protection. How many people do we know (friends/family/co-workers) that tell us "I had the flu last season" simply because they were vomiting with a mild fever but never actually had a nasal swab done to verify.

Will I get the flu shot.....Yep, i always do....For the same reason I always wore a condom before getting married
 
Okay, I might have to get a shot. Just read a letter to the editor in our local paper by someone who is immuno-compromised. She was saying that although your immune system might be strong enough to fight the flu, hers isn't. By getting it, you run the risk of being a carrier to someone who isn't able to fight it... so.... I guess.... I'll have to get the shot......
 
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