I think the "flu shot" debate comes down to being a personal decision based on personal experiences! I get one every year, and apart from a sore arm have never (thankfully) had any side effects. What really annoys me, though, is people who think you're actually getting a dose of "the flu" when you get a needle! Not only absurd, but not true, they're not injecting you with "the flu". That's not to say that people are lying when they say they get sick after receiving the shot, but it's not sick with "the flu" (i.e. "I had the flu shot and I got sick with the flu right after").
Speaking of myths, it also drives me crazy when people have the sniffles, or stomach ailments (diarrhea etc.) and say they have "the flu". I think Masaki will back me up when I say that stomach ailments are rarely attached to influenza (although sometimes in children whose high fevers cause vomiting etc.).....influenza is respiratory, and it kills. Thousands of people die from influenza related illnesses every year in Canada and the US. Particularly the elderly, people with weakened immune systems and pre-existing respiratory ailments. I personally suffered a severe case of influenza in 1979, at which time my respiratory system was severely compromised. I was blissfully unconscious for several days, worrying my sister/physicians/caretakers, and awoke without much recollection of the ordeal, but weakened, and at high risk of future chronic bronchitis/pneumonia, COPD, asthma etc. So, side effects be damned, I've had the REAL thing, and I'll do whatever I can to never have it again. Influenza is terrifying.
I'm not disputing Ngaire's personal experiences, or Wes's, both of which are horrible. In Canada flu shots are readily available, I don't know many people who choose not to get them annually (of any age or health circumstance), except those who "don't like them injecting me with the flu"???, and thankfully I've never known anybody to get GB or have an allergic reaction.
And whether or not it's completely coincidental, I have never had influenza again, even WITH my weakened system, since receiving annual flu shots.
So, make a decision based on your own health and experiences.
And have a happy, healthy winter!
Charlene
