# Should I get a flu shot? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210 "2013-01-06T00:29:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/21 "2013-01-07T21:39:27Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Disclaimer: for the first time I can recall, I had a reaction to my flu shot this season - my arm was sore for a few hours afterward. At least I didn’t turn into the [Incredible Hulk](http://momswhovax.blogspot.com/2011/10/incredible-hulk-vaccine-side-effect-or.html). I had the sore arm the first time I got it (and by sore, I mean, “holy hades, this hurts worse than tetanus and Rocephin shots combined don’ttouchmedon’ttouchmeOWWW!!!”), and never have since. I’ve come to suspect it has far more to do with A) luck of the stick and B) skill of the administer than anything actually in the vaccine itself. That first time just caught a nerve or somethin’. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/22 "2013-01-07T22:19:31Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > So you ride the bus a lot and you’re worried that you might catch the flu in a 15 minute visit to a clinic? Your estimate of probabilities is skewed. The thing is: 1. People who are really sick don’t usually ride the bus. 2. There is rarely a such thing as a 15-minute visit to a clinic. Wait times here are insane. ---
**Author:** ![TurboNuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@TurboNuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TurboNuke)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/23 "2013-01-07T23:20:12Z")
My work changed the way we get the flu shot so I procrastinated on getting the flu shot. Christmas day I got the flu. For about 2 days, I wanted to die. For about 4 or 5 days I was unable to do any activity but sit around and watch TV. So essentially a week of my life shot to hell cause I didnt get the flu shot. Flu shots are definitely worth it. My wife had the shot and she didnt get sick at all. Anyway I got the shot on Sautrday. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/24 "2013-01-08T00:43:09Z")
Okay, based on the responses in this thread, I think I’ll get the shot. I can either go to a local clinic, or a pharmacy downtown. I’ll call the clinic tomorrow and see if they’re still offering shots. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/25 "2013-01-09T13:30:11Z")
This year I felt like crap after getting the flu shot. Horribly sore arm, and mild cold like symptoms for the first 24 hours. Then I felt fine, had a cold before Christmas that was _just_ a cold, no sinus infection or ear infection like my past 3 infections. I always get a flu shot. In theory it was mandatory (and free!) at work, unless I wanted to wear a mask for the rest of the flu season. Then my union (British Columbia Nurse’s Union BCNU) made a big stink and the Health Employers union overturned the decision. I am still pretty annoyed by this move. When they sent around an email asking us to email our Minister of Health (or someone…might have been Minister of Labour) asking them to overturn the decision, I emailed the person and asked them \*\*not \*\*to give in to the BCNU demands. They still did. There are an appalling number of anti-vaxers among nurses. But that is a rant for a different thread. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/26 "2013-01-09T13:57:06Z")
On the one hand, apparently thousands of people die of influenza every year, though I’ve never heard of anyone I know dying of it, even friends of friends of friends, so I’m not sure what the truth is. On the other hand I have never had the flu, never had a flu shot, and think that what most people call the flu is actually just a bad cold and so they think they’re susceptible to it when in reality they’re not and the flu shot prevents nothing. Disclaimer: My medical knowledge is not worth listening to. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/27 "2013-01-09T14:02:36Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I had the sore arm the first time I got it (and by sore, I mean, “holy hades, this hurts worse than tetanus and Rocephin shots combined don’ttouchmedon’ttouchmeOWWW!!!”), and never have since. I’ve come to suspect it has far more to do with A) luck of the stick and B) skill of the administer than anything actually in the vaccine itself. You may have something there. When I got my most recent flu shot it was by someone who did a slooow stick and there was an unaccustomed twinge. I’m a big boy though, I can handle a few hours of arm soreness. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > On the one hand, apparently thousands of people die of influenza every year, though I’ve never heard of anyone I know dying of it, even friends of friends of friends, so I’m not sure what the truth is. And none of Pauline Kael’s friends voted for Richard Nixon, so it’s a mystery how he won 49 states. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/28 "2013-01-09T16:02:11Z")
We get a flu shot every year - I work at a school and with all the cooties floating around there, it is almost a given I would get the flu if I didn’t get the shot. My SO has some health issues and his doctor insists he gets the shot every year. We got ours at Walgreen’s in October (or early November?) - free with our insurance - and they have a “new” needle this year that is so tiny I seriously didn’t even feel “the pinch” I normally feel. At any rate, if today’s newscast is to be believed, it is already a bad season for the flu and hospitals are starting to overflow. Regarding dying from the flu - mostly children and older folks are at risk of dying from the flu, but others feel like they are dying from it while they are sick. Getting a flu shot takes just a couple of minutes - seems sort of like a no-brainer to me - but I guess it isn’t to other people. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/29 "2013-01-09T16:17:40Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > \ > > On the other hand I have never had the flu, never had a flu shot, and think that what most people call the flu is actually just a bad cold and so they think they’re susceptible to it when in reality they’re not and the flu shot prevents nothing.\ I’ve had the full-blown influenza once as an adult - when it’s really the flu, you know it. When I have a cold, I can still do stuff if I want to - I just feel crappy and headachey and stuffed up and miserable. With the flu I had, I missed three days of my life - I spent them on the couch, not being able to do anything except (I’m pretty sure) get to the bathroom and back to the couch. It came on like a freight train - I was healthy in the morning, and flat out on the couch by noon. I have also heard that this flu season is a bad one, but it doesn’t need to be a bad flu season for me to never want to have the flu again. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/30 "2013-01-09T16:35:56Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I don’t know about Montreal, but in the United States, every chain drugstore (Walgreens, CVS, etc) and every large grocery and discount store with a pharamacy department (Safeway, Walmart, Target, KMart, etc) has a big banner outside that says “Get your flu shot today, no appointment needed.” The Walgreens stores with 24-hour pharmacies can give you a flu shot 24 hours a day!.. Yep, that’s where we did it as a family this year. Much easier than dragging the kids to the pediatrician (until this year, a lot of such places wouldn’t take anyone under 18). If you’re in Montreal, call around and find if there are any “flu shot clinics”. Some doctors’ offices around here will have days where they have a dedicated staff member - you pop in, get your shot, and leave, with no waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/31 "2013-01-09T16:39:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sorry, I just realized I said I had the flu shot - I actually had the flu nasal spray. I had no symptoms from it that I noticed; I seemed a bit tired, but that was right at Christmas, and it could have just been from all the Christmas running around. > > The nurse who gave me the spray said that it might not be okay for people with asthma to get the nasal spray, since it might set off asthma symptoms. My poor husband - doesn’t want the shot because he hates needles, and might not be able to get the nasal spray since he has mild asthma. ☹ Have him ask his doctor. They are probably being overcautious. I have asthma (requires daily medication) and one year when the shots were in VERY short supply, that was very nearly my only option. As my asthma isn’t especially brittle, the doc said it was OK. I wound up getting an actual shot, by dint of standing in line for several hours, so I didn’t actually try the spray. Not sure why it’s contraindicated, actually, unless it’s because it’s a live virus and might set of enough of a localized reaction to cause the asthma to flare. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/32 "2013-01-10T02:38:20Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Have him ask his doctor. They are probably being overcautious. I have asthma (requires daily medication) and one year when the shots were in VERY short supply, that was very nearly my only option. As my asthma isn’t especially brittle, the doc said it was OK. > > I wound up getting an actual shot, by dint of standing in line for several hours, so I didn’t actually try the spray. > > Not sure why it’s contraindicated, actually, unless it’s because it’s a live virus and might set of enough of a localized reaction to cause the asthma to flare. That is what the nurse said - he shouldn’t get the nasal spray at a clinic, but through his family doctor if the doctor okayed it. I think he would, too - Jim’s asthma is pretty mild. I think they are concerned because of it setting off an asthmatic reaction, like you said. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/33 "2013-01-15T18:10:43Z")
Just thought I’d bump this thread to say that I got the flu shot today. I had an appointment with the doctor anyway (nothing serious, just a check-up) and he said I could just get the flu shot there at the clinic, right away. So I got it. I felt sick for a while, but I think I’m feeling better now. Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/34 "2013-01-18T15:38:44Z")
I get the flu every other year on average and thanks to this thread I am going to go for a shot for the first time. People who think it can be confused with a bad cold clearly haven’t had it. The last time I did, I was lying on my side and my wife had to get a straw to get fluids to me as I felt I could not even lift my head to meet the cup. The time before that, I was so feverish and delirious I thought I was Barack Obama. ( Literally–no hyperbole.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/35 "2013-01-18T16:13:18Z")
In 2008 I got FluMist because I had a baby on the way. Just being in a drug store near other people getting shots, coupled with the inexplicable design decision to make the FluMist sprayer look like a hypodermic needle, was enough to trigger my phobia; I panicked, tried to get to a bathroom to splash cold water on my face, passed out, smashed open the back of my head, and got an ambulance ride out of the whole deal. Concussion, nausea, big hospital bill–great fun. After I’d healed, I went somewhere else late at night with my wife and got the FluMist; no biggie. And hadn’t gotten it since, because good Lord that sucked. But I have another kid on the way, so I got FluMist this year. I was careful to tell the health department about my insane (and I use the word advisedly) reaction, and they were very good and calming, and all my anxiety turned out to be for nothing. FluMist FTW! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/36 "2013-01-18T16:37:08Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I get the flu every other year on average and thanks to this thread I am going to go for a shot for the first time. People who think it can be confused with a bad cold clearly haven’t had it. The last time I did, I was lying on my side and my wife had to get a straw to get fluids to me as I felt I could not even lift my head to meet the cup. The time before that, I was so feverish and delirious I thought I was Barack Obama. ( Literally–no hyperbole.) ::::cringe:::: I would think one dose of the flu would have you swearing to get a shot every year thereafter. I had a mini case of the flu one year _despite_ the shot (a lot of people did that particular year). “Mini” as in I was praying for death for just a few hours one afternoon / evening. After that I just felt like I’d been worked over with a baseball bat every time my ibuprofen wore off, for a few days (and it turned into an asthma flareup / bronchitis). ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/37 "2013-01-18T22:58:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I get the flu every other year on average and thanks to this thread I am going to go for a shot for the first time. People who think it can be confused with a bad cold clearly haven’t had it. The last time I did, I was lying on my side and my wife had to get a straw to get fluids to me as I felt I could not even lift my head to meet the cup. The time before that, I was so feverish and delirious I thought I was Barack Obama. ( Literally–no hyperbole.) I agree - I know a lot of people with GM (aka Generous Motors) health insurance who run off to the doctor demanding antibiotics for every case of the sniffles while almost proudly announcing they have “the flu.” I had it for the first time in my life at age 53, two years ago, and was immobilized for several days. Didn’t eat anything for three days, ran a fever, lost my voice, felt like someone had taken a hammer to every joint in my body, the trip to the bathroom 40 feet away was a serious endeavor, sweated and shivered, had a friend leave a thermometer and Theraflu on my porch because I surely didn’t want to give that shit to anyone…yuck. Hadn’t felt that sick since I had dysentary in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/38 "2013-01-18T23:54:53Z")
And you decided to skip the flu shot after went through all that? I’d probably want one every month for the rest of my life, headaches be damned. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/39 "2013-01-19T00:18:41Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > And you decided to skip the flu shot after went through all that? I’d probably want one every month for the rest of my life, headaches be damned. Dunno if you posted that in response to me, but no, I made the conscious decision to continue not getting the flu shot. Since in 55 years, I’ve had the flu precisely once in my life. And the one year I got the flu shot I came down with a ghastly, sinus-swelling cold within two weeks of getting it. I’m sure that was complete coincidence and I acknowledge that almost every medical professional on the planet recommends getting them. I tend not to get sick. At all. Just, not. Not colds, not stomach things, not anything, almost never. I’ve had colds maybe three or four times in my adult life - averaged out, about once every seven years. How many people have you met who can claim that they’ve gone, on average, seven years with not so much as a cold? So, since not getting a flu shot has worked for me in 54 out of 55 years and I appear to have the constitution of a cockroach, I shall continue not getting the flu shot. But it does seem wise for those with more vulnerable immune systems to get the darn thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210/40 "2013-01-19T00:40:27Z")
You sure you haven’t aged out of your super-immune system years? In case the question was asked of me: I didn’t get the shot in previous years because I had been under the impression that its efficacy was close to nil and was sort of a feel-good thing to make people feel like the authorities were doing something. This thread, as I say, convinced me otherwise, and I went out to the health dept. today and got a free shot. No side effects to speak of so far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-a-flu-shot/646210.md?page=3)