# The flu sucks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 24, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355 "2019-01-24T23:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/21 "2019-01-25T08:34:56Z")
A three year old girl near here just died of the flu. She wasn’t vaccinated. > **[Gatineau child, 3, dies of flu; mother warns 'it can happen to anyone'](https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/gatineau-child-3-dies-of-flu-mother-warns-it-can-happen-to-anyone)** > > Nancy Bouchard lost her three-year-old daughter, Charlotte, to the flu last week. Now the devastated mother is trying to spread the word that elderly people… ---
**Author:** ![Elmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e9a140/32.png) [@Elmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmore)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/22 "2019-01-25T09:15:28Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > For our kid, the flu was marginally worse then the flu shot he got several times before, all and all better not to take the shot for him and play the odds. Then your kid didn’t have the flu. He had a cold. It’s easy for people who’ve never seen the real flu to get them mixed up, because they have the same symptoms. The difference is that with the real flu the symptoms are 100 times more severe. If you’re not sure whether you or someone in your family has the flu, there’s a simple test you can perform. Just ask yourself “If someone offered me ten thousand dollars to get out of bed for five minutes, would I try it?” If your answer is yes, it’s not the real flu. It’s just a cold. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/23 "2019-01-25T12:25:05Z")
> [@Elmore](#): > > Then your kid didn’t have the flu. He had a cold. It’s easy for people who’ve never seen the real flu to get them mixed up, because they have the same symptoms. The difference is that with the real flu the symptoms are 100 times more severe. > > If you’re not sure whether you or someone in your family has the flu, there’s a simple test you can perform. Just ask yourself “If someone offered me ten thousand dollars to get out of bed for five minutes, would I try it?” If your answer is yes, it’s not the real flu. It’s just a cold. I was diagnosed with actual influenza yesterday via nasal swab. I thank the fact that I got my flu shot this year for my ability to function minimally right now. I have a fever and feel weak and cruddy and my diaphragm muscles hurt from coughing, but nothing like people describe actual flu symptoms (with the exception of my first attempt to get out of bed and go to the bathroom yesterday, which left me dizzy and covered in cold sweat). ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/24 "2019-01-25T14:39:59Z")
> [@Elmore](#): > > Then your kid didn’t have the flu. He had a cold. It’s easy for people who’ve never seen the real flu to get them mixed up, because they have the same symptoms. The difference is that with the real flu the symptoms are 100 times more severe. > > If you’re not sure whether you or someone in your family has the flu, there’s a simple test you can perform. Just ask yourself “If someone offered me ten thousand dollars to get out of bed for five minutes, would I try it?” If your answer is yes, it’s not the real flu. It’s just a cold. We used a different test for the flu then you use, it was tested by a doctor via a nasal swap and confirmed to be the flu. Tamiflu was prescribed and seemed to work as the really bad stuff didn’t last that long, about 36 hours, and seems to be pretty much back to normal in 5 days. In the previous years of the flu shot produced a bad reaction that lasted longer, the bad stuff for 4-5 days, and pretty much back to normal in 10 days or so. The bad stuff was not as bad as the flu bad, but still stay in bed and cry type of bad. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/25 "2019-01-27T23:31:19Z")
That was an - _::: stops for hacking cough attack :::_ - unpleasant few days. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/26 "2019-01-27T23:37:36Z")
Immunized myself by contracting the actual flu for 5 days, saved $25 copay and guaranteed effective. Take that, nanny-state libs. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/27 "2019-01-28T13:50:33Z")
Yeah, thanks - assholes like you are why I get sick for a week, have my asthma flare up, and risk spending time in the hospital (or worse). Go to hell. But hey, YOU saved $25 bucks, right? Fuck anyone you might hurt along the way. ---
**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 28, 2019, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/28 "2019-01-28T13:57:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Motherfuckers, get your shots. I envision a new public service ad from the CDC, starring **Broomstick**. 🙂 Get well soon. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/29 "2019-01-28T14:08:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yeah, thanks - assholes like you are why I get sick for a week, have my asthma flare up, and risk spending time in the hospital (or worse). Go to hell. But hey, YOU saved $25 bucks, right? Fuck anyone you might hurt along the way. That was tongue-in-cheek, more about mocking myself for not getting the shot in time. But to assuage your concern, I stayed isolated in a basement room and did not speak to anybody for 5 days except to ask them to slide food under the door and yell at them to stay away from the basement room. Edit: I do not contest the fact that I’m an asshole, except for this particular situation in which I was as conscientious as circumstances allowed. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2019, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/30 "2019-01-28T14:08:48Z")
H1N1 killed my 50 year old sister five years ago. It left her twin girls without a mother. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/31 "2019-01-29T19:41:44Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > We used a different test for the flu then you use, it was tested by a doctor via a nasal swap and confirmed to be the flu. Tamiflu was prescribed and seemed to work as the really bad stuff didn’t last that long, about 36 hours, and seems to be pretty much back to normal in 5 days. > > In the previous years of the flu shot produced a bad reaction that lasted longer, the bad stuff for 4-5 days, and pretty much back to normal in 10 days or so. The bad stuff was not as bad as the flu bad, but still stay in bed and cry type of bad. You didn’t click that link to the CDC, did you? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/32 "2019-01-29T21:48:03Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > You didn’t click that link to the CDC, did you? You came back for that :smack: Yes I clicked. Here is the list of the side effects of his vaccination from [https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flumist-2014-2015:](https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flumist-2014-2015:) Common side effects include: fever over 100 degrees F; chills; runny or stuffy nose; sore throat, cough; loss of appetite; muscle pain; headache; or feeling tired or irritable. Here are the symptoms of the flu from [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719:](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719:) Fever over 100.4 F (38 C) Aching muscles. Chills and sweats. Headache. Dry, persistent cough. Fatigue and weakness. Nasal congestion. Sore throat. Seems like pretty much a wash as far as symptoms go, proof that it can give one the exact 1:1 symptoms of the flu, though I don’t believe that list was available back then. From what I understand it is a attenuated form of the flu that got him sick but should be non-contagious to others . We were not told this is the case There is a certain amount of trust that has to be re-build when something like this happens. We were not going to subject him to the flu intentionally when he has a chance of avoiding it. And he has avoided flu the last 3 years (this year he got the flu with overall the same symptoms as the vaccine). I do see that there are different forms of the vaccine, but after seeing him suffer it’s hard to subject him to that again just to see if a different form may work. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/33 "2019-01-29T22:51:29Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Just what the title says. Get well soon. It’s doing the rounds here. At Bridge tonight, my partner was relating how his wife was currently ill with it and everyone on her side of the family - including children and grandchildren - had had it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/34 "2019-01-29T23:05:26Z")
A couple weeks ago, I went to bed with, and later woke up with, a fever, chills, body aches, and a stuffy nose, and then the first 3 symptoms went away about 12 hours after they started, so I concluded that I didn’t have influenza after all. The next day, a doctor appeared on our local news and said that there was a strain of the common cold going around that started off with a fever, and it was confusing and scaring a lot of people. Is anyone seeing this in their area? I still have a bit of a cough from it. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/35 "2019-01-29T23:18:19Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > You came back for that :smack: Yes I clicked. You may have clicked on the link, but you apparently failed to read it. Here is the key information: > [@CDC](#): > > **[Misconceptions about Flu Vaccines](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm)** > > Can a flu vaccine give you the flu? > > No, flu vaccines cannot cause flu illness. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Here is the list of the side effects of his vaccination from [https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flumist-2014-2015:](https://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/flumist-2014-2015:) > Common side effects include: > > fever over 100 degrees F; > chills; > runny or stuffy nose; > sore throat, cough; > loss of appetite; > muscle pain; > headache; or > feeling tired or irritable. > > Here are the symptoms of the flu from [https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719:](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/symptoms-causes/syc-20351719:) > > Fever over 100.4 F (38 C) > Aching muscles. > Chills and sweats. > Headache. > Dry, persistent cough. > Fatigue and weakness. > Nasal congestion. > Sore throat. > > Seems like pretty much a wash as far as symptoms go, proof that it can give one the exact 1:1 symptoms of the flu… First of all, per your broken link, you are listing the side effects for FluMist, which is a nasal spray flu vaccine that has far more side effects than the shot. (This is likely because the nasal vaccine is a “live virus” vaccine, whereas the flu shot is a “killed virus” vaccine.) In any event, per the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/misconceptions.htm): > [@CDC](#): > > The most common side effects from flu shots are soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. Low-grade fever, headache and muscle aches also may occur. If these reactions occur, they usually begin soon after the shot and last 1-2 days. In randomized, blinded studies, where some people get inactivated flu shots and others get salt-water shots, the only differences in symptoms was increased soreness in the arm and redness at the injection site among people who got the flu shot. There were no differences in terms of body aches, fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat. > > Side effects from the nasal spray flu vaccine may include: runny nose, wheezing, headache, vomiting, muscle aches, fever, sore throat and cough. If these problems occur, they usually begin soon after vaccination and are mild and short-lived. The most common reactions people have to flu vaccines are considerably less severe than the symptoms caused by actual flu illness. So if your child had such a bad reaction to the nasal vaccine, the answer is to not use the nasal vaccine. Get the shot instead. I get the shot every year, and my reaction is a little arm soreness and lethargy that lasts for a few hours. That’s it. I then take some ibuprofen and forget about it. > [@kanicbird](#): > > …We were not going to subject him to the flu intentionally when he has a chance of avoiding it. And he has avoided flu the last 3 years (this year he got the flu with overall the same symptoms as the vaccine). OK, I’m sorry, but this is complete bullshit – YOU ARE NOT SUBJECTING YOUR CHILD TO THE FLU INTENTIONALLY BY GIVING HIM THE FLU VACCINE. Your kid might have gotten a weaker strain of the flu, or maybe it was due to quick administration of the Tamiflu, but in general, there is absolutely no comparison between the side effects of the flu vaccine and flu symptoms. The former is like being tapped in the head with a finger; the latter is like taking the swing of a baseball bat to the forehead. As I noted in another recent thread: > [@Got Your Flu Shot? 40% say, "No, Thanks."](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-your-flu-shot-40-say-no-thanks/826208/130): > > My wife is an RN, and has no patience for people who think the flu is a mild illness, or people who think their sore throat or common cold is the flu. > > She used to say that if you think you’re dying, you might have the flu. If you start praying for death, you’re more likely to have the flu…but it’s only when you start to worry you **won’t** die that you know you have a bad case of the flu. Personally, I have as little patience for people who don’t get the flu shot (who are otherwise healthy and can get it) as I do for people who smoke or don’t wear seat belts. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/36 "2019-01-29T23:27:42Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > My doc said he had just hospitalized another patient with the flu. Two of my great-grandparents died in the 1918 - 1919 pandemic. My best friend died from the Flu just a year and a half ago, right after Thanksgiving, he was in his 40’s. I never really took the flu too seriously, “just a bad cold,” but now, I sure as fuck do. I get the flu shot, and I haven’t had the flu in a few years, but I usually only really get it every several years anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/37 "2019-01-30T02:44:22Z")
I think I figured out who Patient Zero was in our office - one of the lawyers in my group who came down with a virus on the flight back from his annual family vacation to visit the in-laws. He admitted to me that I had done the right thing by staying home when I was obviously sick, whereas he, like an idiot, had gone to work. And probably gotten at least 2 of us in the office sick, and in turn my husband and who knows how many others. Not to mention his elderly mother, who is currently in the hospital in the ICU. I would have given him more shit than I did, but I think he has now realized the error of his ways. I hope his mother makes it. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/38 "2019-01-30T03:01:19Z")
Get Well Soon. Old stand-by comfort food: soup. tea. And, goes without saying… if you cough it up, spit it out. (Screw politeness, spit.) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/39 "2019-01-30T03:20:02Z")
> [@robby](#): > > You may have clicked on the link, but you apparently failed to read it. Here is the key information: > > OK, I’m sorry, but this is complete bullshit – YOU ARE NOT SUBJECTING YOUR CHILD TO THE FLU INTENTIONALLY BY GIVING HIM THE FLU VACCINE. > > . Word. You can’t get the flu from a flu vaccine since it contains a dead, inactivated virus. Why the hell can’t people understand this? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355/40 "2019-01-30T03:27:54Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > And, goes without saying… if you cough it up, spit it out. (Screw politeness, spit.) On to a co-workers sandwich if you can, please. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flu-sucks/828355.md?page=3)