Originally Posted by EmilySusie

My mother is allergic to the flu shot. When she was younger she was very sick after taking it and hasn't taken it since. She would never let me take it either. I think her allergy has something to do with a particular ingredient they put in it.

I had the fly shot once, was so sick afterwards that I couldn't get out of bed without vomitting for over three months... I've never been so sick since then, and that was a long, long time ago.

Flu shot can definitely make you sick- had no idea it had to do with allergies, just thought it was a bad reaction.

the only flu shot i had was when I was in grade 8. I got an allergic reaction to it and was so sick that i had to miss about two weeks of school. I never got the flu shot again after that incident.

Originally Posted by sdiddy

This isn't nice, but I couldn't resist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulIH6Ok2hOw

This thread was much in need of lulz. Thank you for that.

Originally Posted by kenvin100

i doubt it'd be funny if that happened to your girlfriend, or a close friend of yours..

AW DAMN YOU SURE TOLD HIM SON!

No, but seriously, I can't watch that video without laughing either.

Originally Posted by Flag

I had the fly shot once, was so sick afterwards that I couldn't get out of bed without vomitting for over three months... I've never been so sick since then, and that was a long, long time ago.

Flu shot can definitely make you sick- had no idea it had to do with allergies, just thought it was a bad reaction.

No, the flu shot cannot make you sick. It's impossible for dead virus antigens to make you sick. Do you know if you turned out to be allergic? If you did, then that really sucks, but even still - an allergic reaction to a vaccine won't last for 3 months, that's crazy. It almost sounds like you got Mononucleosis or something like that. Either way, that's awful and I'm sorry you went through that!

Originally Posted by jonphillip

No, the flu shot cannot make you sick. It's impossible for dead virus antigens to make you sick. Do you know if you turned out to be allergic? If you did, then that really sucks, but even still - an allergic reaction to a vaccine won't last for 3 months, that's crazy. It almost sounds like you got Mononucleosis or something like that. Either way, that's awful and I'm sorry you went through that!

If you're recieving the inactivated flu vaccine, then indeed you can't catch the flu from it. Side effects include:

- mild soreness + redness + swelling at shot location
- fever
- aches

So, for a day or two you could have some flu-like symptoms, but you cannot contract full-on flu.

Yes, the flu shot can make you sick when it's weakened forms of a disease being injected into your body.
This is why COPD patients are asked to consult their doctors and get all the information before risking a flu shot; once your immune system is already compromised, it can't fight infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/hiv-flu.htm

If all flu shots were just fine and none made people sick, that article should state all advanced-stage AIDS patients should be vaccinated with the live attenuated vaccine, which is precisely the opposite of what it indicates.

EDIT: My point here was not just to fuel the fire. It was to urge all loved ones with elderly, sicker relatives to ensure they speak to their doctors before getting vaccinated, especially with the flu shot. It is NOT recommended for ALL people. It is a mistake for a minority of the population who should have consulted their doctors before rolling up their sleeves. And yes, I understand that this argument is centered around the majority but I'm not contributing to argue, I'm contributing to point out an important fact. When that minority is hit with crippling effects and includes somebody we love, it becomes a big deal. Speak to your doctor (preferably one that isn't needle happy nor one that bans them) before getting vaccinated.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Yes, the flu shot can make you sick when it's weakened forms of a disease being injected into your body.
This is why COPD patients are asked to consult their doctors and get all the information before risking a flu shot; once your immune system is already compromised, it can't fight infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/hiv-flu.htm

If all flu shots were just fine and none made people sick, that article should state all advanced-stage AIDS patients should be vaccinated with the live attenuated vaccine, which is precisely the opposite of what it indicates.

EDIT: My point here was not just to fuel the fire. It was to urge all loved ones with elderly, sicker relatives to ensure they speak to their doctors before getting vaccinated, especially with the flu shot. It is NOT recommended for ALL people. It is a mistake for a minority of the population who should have consulted their doctors before rolling up their sleeves. And yes, I understand that this argument is centered around the majority but I'm not contributing to argue, I'm contributing to point out an important fact. When that minority is hit with crippling effects and includes somebody we love, it becomes a big deal. Speak to your doctor (preferably one that isn't needle happy nor one that bans them) before getting vaccinated.

Of course, you are correct. I think I was just trying to make a distinction between "getting sick" from the flu vaccine and your body initiating an immune response which, of course, the vaccine is designed to do. I also agree that consulting a doctor is essential before getting any vaccine - that's a good point. Also, thank you for posting the link.

Originally Posted by Mowicz

With a mild blend of 'statistical fear mongering' I might add. Even the 'scientific' evidence is subject to bias and 'fear mongering' tactics, because of the problems with statistics.

Is there a correlation between child autism and childhood vaccinations? Certainly. Does this demonstrate a causal link between them? Anyone who reads the study can see it's only speculatory...but sometimes even scientific studies can 'speculate.' And in those cases, the media's exaggerations are epic.


The biggest example of this is smoking: Any person who died of any sort 'non-accidental' death (ie. not a car accident, not a murder, etc.), and happened to be a smoker has been declared 'a victim of smoking' by StatsCan...even someone who dies of say, AIDS**, which common sense will tell you, has to do with fornication (mostly) and not smoking. I believe they even include people who have been in contact with second hand smoke in this statistic (ie. nonsmokers who work in bars).

So when you hear a statement like "Every eight seconds, someone dies from tobacco use," even if it 'came from a 'legitimate study' you really need to think about the biases that have gone into selecting who is considered a 'victim of smoking.'

**For the nerds in the audience: yes, I actually mean complications due to AIDS and not AIDS itself.

Exactly. Correlation is not causation, but these types of studies (with an evident bias) link two points and pass one off as causing another.

Originally Posted by goodnews.inc

Yes, the flu shot can make you sick when it's weakened forms of a disease being injected into your body.
This is why COPD patients are asked to consult their doctors and get all the information before risking a flu shot; once your immune system is already compromised, it can't fight infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/hiv-flu.htm

If all flu shots were just fine and none made people sick, that article should state all advanced-stage AIDS patients should be vaccinated with the live attenuated vaccine, which is precisely the opposite of what it indicates.

EDIT: My point here was not just to fuel the fire. It was to urge all loved ones with elderly, sicker relatives to ensure they speak to their doctors before getting vaccinated, especially with the flu shot. It is NOT recommended for ALL people. It is a mistake for a minority of the population who should have consulted their doctors before rolling up their sleeves. And yes, I understand that this argument is centered around the majority but I'm not contributing to argue, I'm contributing to point out an important fact. When that minority is hit with crippling effects and includes somebody we love, it becomes a big deal. Speak to your doctor (preferably one that isn't needle happy nor one that bans them) before getting vaccinated.

I don't see where it says that HIV+ patients should not get a flu shot; it says that they should not receive live attenuated flu vaccine (the nasal mist -- not the injection, which is inactivated (killed) flu vaccine, and it is recommended that they do get that).

"People with advanced HIV disease who are not expected to mount an adequate antibody response to influenza vaccination should consider chemoprophylaxis with antiviral medications for the duration of influenza activity in the community, if antiviral medications are available in adequate supply locally."

Would indicate to me that the person's immune system is just so weakened that the vaccine is just not going to work for them.

I agree completely with you that speaking with one's doctor is really important, as they are the people who are most informed about this issue , including being able to answer the question about whether or not a person can get sick from the inactivated flu shot...I sure as hell am no expert, haha!

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/20...gs_cure d.php

http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=1195

Ta-da!