Are you getting a flu shot?

[sibhusky]

Got my free flu shot at work last week; knock wood, the years I have gotten one, I've been flu-free. I'm usually pretty healthy any way but, in the past few years, now I also take hand washing very seriously.

After witnessing how many women in public ladies' rooms do not wash their hands , I'll take the paper towel I used to dry my hands and use it to open the restroom exit door too, then discard it at my desk. I've gotten sick a lot less often since I started doing that. But it doesn't mean I still can't call in "sick" to lounge/cuddle on the couch, snack and watch TV!

I often use my shirt sleeve this way and have gotten pretty slick at opening the door with the towel then quickly tossing it in the trash before I went through the closing door.

 

[abc]

I often use my shirt sleeve this way and have gotten pretty slick at opening the door with the towel then quickly tossing it in the trash before I went through the closing door.

Yep! Second that.

 

[Calgal]

I do this any time I am in a public washroom, and now my daughter is picking up on it !

 

[hp72]

As a health care "professional" it was a no-brainer for me. I get exposed to alot of sick people and can't afford to get sick myself. I've gotten flu shots for years and (knock on wood) have managed to stay healthy with only a few sniffles here and there.

 

[skigrl27]

Something sketchy about "free shots" being handed out so easily. (Unless we're at the bar, of course) Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I just can't justify being shot up with some concoction to prevent me from "maybe" getting sick. Usually its some new strain of the flu that goes around anyway...that the shot doesn't even prevent.

I know lots of people who get it, but it just ain't my thing.

 

[Severine]

I know this may sound a bit weird, but a friend of mine is an NLP coach and she swears that you get colds/flu when you want or need to be sick. It sounded bizarre at first, but basically her point is that in your overstressed life, sometimes your body and mind has a "need" to sit on the sofa with a cup of soup and do nothing. And therefore you can avoid it altogether by addressing your own needs. You can give yourself a break when you need it or you can wait for your body to force you to take a break.

I totally agree with this. If you don't slow down when you need to, your body will make sure you do.

As for flu shot, no for me. Even though I'm high risk (asthma) we made the decision 1.5 years ago to not vaccinate our children for many reasons. Therefore, it would be hypocritical of me to vax myself if I won't vax my children.

 

[persee]

No flu shot for me. I'm asthmatic so I can qualify to get one any time I want, however since I moved to eastern Massachusetts I've been much healthier in terms of my asthma and allergies. Since moving 8 years ago I've only gotten a flu shot twice. One of the years I was sicker than normal - although the intestinal bug I can't even remotely blame on the flu shot. So I don't have any big conspiracy theory or other justification for not getting the shot, just that I seem to be just as healthy with or without it.

(of course right now I've got a nasty cold, but I seem to be fighting it off)

 

[pinto]

I know this may sound a bit weird, but a friend of mine is an NLP coach and she swears that you get colds/flu when you want or need to be sick. It sounded bizarre at first, but basically her point is that in your overstressed life, sometimes your body and mind has a "need" to sit on the sofa with a cup of soup and do nothing. And therefore you can avoid it altogether by addressing your own needs. You can give yourself a break when you need it or you can wait for your body to force you to take a break.

The funny thing is that I remember the last time I was sick - a couple years ago now - my husband was sick first and I had this weird jealousy - obviously not of being sick, but of skipping work and being snuggled on the sofa all day with a good book. So she says the key is to notice when you feel like that, figure out what you really want, and take care of it.

And I went from having a cold/the flu several times a year to not having been sick since. Maybe it's just luck, or eating better, (I'm certainly still around plenty of sick people) but I think it's part of taking care of yourself. And I think most of us get so busy we forget to do that sometimes.

I think this is spot on.

I occasionally give myself a day like this .... don't bother getting out of bed until noon or so, and never bother changing out of pj's. I'm lucky in that my kids can get themselves ready for school by themselves, and that I don't have a "real job" to go to -- and I still feel guilty for doing it. But I KNOW I need to do it every so often.

 

[pinto]

As for the flu shot ... I have never gotten one. My parents have gotten sick twice after getting the shot, so I guess that turns me off. I have had the flu twice before, and it's definitely no fun. (When I was 15, I got it and missed two full weeks of school and lost 15 lb. I was 5'9" and 110 lb. Yikes. I looked like death.)

 

[playoutside]

Have gotten a flu shot the past 2 yrs. Less for me and more for the weak immune system people I am around. Mom lives in assisted living and they recommend frequent visitors get a shot so that they are less likely to carry an illness to those at higher risk. Easy to get the shot when you think about harming others.

That said, have only had the flu once in my adult life about 10 yrs ago and it was at the end of a ski trip to France! Felt like I was hit by a freight train. Crazy fevers, chills, aches. Ugh.

This year I'm frustrated by my newly weak immune system. Had surgery in Sept and lost a bunch of blood. I'm dealing with my second serious cold this winter! I usally get barely a cold all season. Guess I should prob take iron again for another month.

 

[SueNJ]

I've gotten a flu shot every year for the past 5--after getting pneumonia twice in 3 months because of getting the flu, I don't care to go through that again. Also got the pneumonia vaccine the year after I was so sick. Haven't had the flu since (knock wood). I know it's not 100%, but it's good enough for me. The injected flu vaccine is made from inactive ("killed") virus, so it won't give you the flu.

 

[snobound]

Didn't have a choice if I wanted it or not, Uncle Sam made that one for me.

Funny enough tho 3 weeks after I got the shot I came down with strep throat and mono..lol

 

[jaydog]

Haven't had the flu since before high school, never had a flu shot. However, now that I'm working as a health care provider, I had to get one. Less to protect myself, more to protect my patients. And not too long after I got the shot, I came down with a severe sinus infection. I've had sinus infections before, but never that bad.