Got your flu shot?

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Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
106
There are antiviral drugs for influenza that help to mitigate the symptoms if administered early enough.


You mean the ones that don't work for most, the makers would not release their data on, and the side affects include such things like death?
The ones that studies have said...

"This week, the British medical journal BMJ published a multi-part investigation that confirms that the scientific evidence just isn’t there to show that Tamiflu prevents serious complications, hospitalization, or death in people that have the flu."

"Conclusion Neuraminidase inhibitors have modest effectiveness against the symptoms of influenza in otherwise healthy adults. The drugs are effective postexposure against laboratory confirmed influenza, but this is a small component of influenza-like illness, so for this outcome neuraminidase inhibitors are not effective. Neuraminidase inhibitors might be regarded as optional for reducing the symptoms of seasonal influenza. Paucity of good data has undermined previous findings for oseltamivir’s prevention of complications from influenza. Independent randomised trials to resolve these uncertainties are needed."

Heres a news story on them...
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Antivirals-snubbed-in-flu-fight-4176548.php
 
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clamum

Lifer
Feb 13, 2003
26,255
403
126
I did as a kid but I haven't gotten one for over a decade. I think in that span of time I've had the flu only a couple times.
 
Dec 10, 2005
24,433
7,356
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You mean the ones that don't work for most, the makers would not release their data on, and the side affects include such things like death?
The ones that studies have said...

"This week, the British medical journal BMJ published a multi-part investigation that confirms that the scientific evidence just isn’t there to show that Tamiflu prevents serious complications, hospitalization, or death in people that have the flu."

"Conclusion Neuraminidase inhibitors have modest effectiveness against the symptoms of influenza in otherwise healthy adults. The drugs are effective postexposure against laboratory confirmed influenza, but this is a small component of influenza-like illness, so for this outcome neuraminidase inhibitors are not effective. Neuraminidase inhibitors might be regarded as optional for reducing the symptoms of seasonal influenza. Paucity of good data has undermined previous findings for oseltamivir’s prevention of complications from influenza. Independent randomised trials to resolve these uncertainties are needed."

Heres a news story on them...
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Antivirals-snubbed-in-flu-fight-4176548.php

Seems to me that there are plenty of papers available on oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and influenza: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=influenza%20AND%20Oseltamivir (2000+ papers using the terms together).

Regardless, the conclusion of your linked study says that the drugs can be somewhat effective. They won't cure people, but they will reduce the severity of symptoms.
 
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Jimzz

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2012
4,399
190
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Seems to me that there are plenty of papers available on oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and influenza: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=influenza AND Oseltamivir (2000+ papers using the terms together)


Did you read anything you just linked? Most are not even studies just papers on other studies or where they MIGHT help or how a test should be done etc...

The one I linked to actually was a full study that looked at how helpful those drugs are for those that get/have the flu. For most normal people they will do little to nothing other than give a chance of very bad side affects.
The one place they can help is those that are very ill in the hospital and the virus is still replacting.
 
Dec 10, 2005
24,433
7,356
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Did you read anything you just linked? Most are not even studies just papers on other studies or where they MIGHT help or how a test should be done etc...

The one I linked to actually was a full study that looked at how helpful those drugs are for those that get/have the flu. For most normal people they will do little to nothing other than give a chance of very bad side affects.
The one place they can help is those that are very ill in the hospital and the virus is still replacting.

No, I have not read most of those papers because I have neither the time nor the interest to become an expert in clinical research. I prefer to spend my time reading papers more directly relevant to my own work.

Regardless, I was simply pointing out that there were drugs available (since you said "I hope they are not handing out antibiotics like candy since people just know that will fix a flu virus" in your post). I was not pointing out whether the antiviral therapy was particularly effective. I figure and from what little I know and the cursory look of some papers, it is more effective than doing nothing, but it is highly variable from case to case based on type of influenza, health factors of the individual, and when treatment begins.

Being a fan of structure-function relationships (and studying molecular recognition in multidrug resistant proteins found in bacteria), I would hazard to hypothesize that the targets of these drugs are prone to fairly rapid evolution, which would lead to varying effectiveness of these drugs across the different strains of influenza.

The best way to avoid influenza is to be vaccinated, practice basic hygeine (wash hands, don't rub your dirty hands into your eyes, nose and mouth), and stay away from sick people. It would help if more of the general public was vaccinated, as herd immunity effects could kick in; I suspect that too few people get vaccinated for herd immunity to be effective for influenza.
---

I hope they are not handing out antibiotics. The rise of antibiotic resistance has been a problem since the first antibiotics were discovered (the first reports of streptomycin resistant TB were only a few years after streptomycin was introduced to fight it). The free-wheeling and improper use of antibiotics continues to be a problem as research has not been able to keep up with antibiotic discovery (there are only about 5-6 classes of antibiotics; basically building off earlier generation molecules).
 
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techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,561
4
0
You've probably never had influenza.

Imagine a gang of truck drivers beat the shit out of you and now your entire body is sore. You have a 104F fever, a headache, runny/stuffed up nose, and don't feel like moving. After 2-3 days your fever begins to break and you start to recover. After about 4-5 days you start feeling like your old self again.

So its pretty much like how I feel after binge drinking for a weekend.
 

Wyndru

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2009
7,318
4
76
Well, I thought i was getting mine today, but just found out my doctors office is out of them. Oh well.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,606
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Got mine. Looks like the flu is just starting to hit here. It will only be a matter of time before I mock coworkers with similar attitudes to those in this thread, and wind up with the flu. It's a free shot for just about everyone I know - Zero cost, virtually zero inconvenience; just a prick. Until you get the flu, you have no clue what the flu is. And, Canadian Squirrel - there's no such thing as "the 24 hour flu."
 

thebestMAX

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
7,487
121
106
Dr wanted me to get one on my last visit.

I told him I dont do well with flu shots. He insisted, I left.

Not saying if they are good or bad but I only got sick the years I got them.

Now he wants me to get a pneumonia shot.
 
Dec 10, 2005
24,433
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Dr wanted me to get one on my last visit.

I told him I dont do well with flu shots. He insisted, I left.

Not saying if they are good or bad but I only got sick the years I got them.

Now he wants me to get a pneumonia shot.

Did you get the flu those years or was it just a cold? It sounds like you're saying there was a correlation in your sample size of yourself between the flu shot and getting sick (with a mysterious illness) and then leaping to the conclusion that one led to the other.
 

thebestMAX

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
7,487
121
106
Did you get the flu those years or was it just a cold? It sounds like you're saying there was a correlation in your sample size of yourself between the flu shot and getting sick (with a mysterious illness) and then leaping to the conclusion that one led to the other.

I dont "leap to conclusions", thank you. Been ill every time I had a flu shot, maybe not the flu but a definite affectation as compared to years I didnt indulge.
 

jayzds

Senior member
Nov 21, 2006
291
7
81
I don't mind the flu shots but I only get them every few years and do not go out of my way to get them. The last time I had the actual flu was around 20 years ago. The other times it was a Cold. As I get older and being a type 1 diabetic I probably will start getting them more often.

I have been a diabetic since 2007 and had only one flu shot once since then. They only pushed it on me one year and I got it. I got the Pneumonia shot and probably will every five years or so. That one made me really sore for a few days.
 

Broheim

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2011
4,592
2
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didn't we just have this thread...

anyway, never gotten the shot, probably haven't had the flu for almost a decade (a third doesn't show any symptoms despite having the condition). I'd rather get it now when I'm a healthy young adult and perhaps develop immunity to a future outbreak when I'm old and at risk, plus I can't really be bothered to go see my doctor over something as silly as the flu.

preemptive reply to replies to this post:

herd immunity - go live in your plastic bubble.
the flu sucks and if you don't think so then you've never had the flu - had it plenty when I was younger, wasn't that bad, quit being a bitch unless you're in an at risk group.
you don't have to see a doctor to get the vaccine - I don't live in the US, around here we don't pass out medicine like it's candy (at least not as much as in the US) and if you don't like it then you better xanax up for safety mr. 'murican.

I think that about covers it from the last thread.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
3
81
I laugh at the people that say they in one way or another get minor flu. I've had flu like illness several times when in the Air Force sometimes enough to knock me on my ass. Almost every-time they tested me in addition to treatment and I never once had the actual flu. Just because you have a fever, fatigue and congestion doesn't mean "the flu-shot didn't work", "the flu shot gave me the flu!", "I just get a light flu that I'm fine toughing out."
 

Broheim

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2011
4,592
2
81
I laugh at the people that say they in one way or another get minor flu. I've had flu like illness several times when in the Air Force sometimes enough to knock me on my ass. Almost every-time they tested me in addition to treatment and I never once had the actual flu. Just because you have a fever, fatigue and congestion doesn't mean "the flu-shot didn't work", "the flu shot gave me the flu!", "I just get a light flu that I'm fine toughing out."

the problem with diagnosing the flu just from symptoms is that the symptoms are really generic and can range anywhere from nothing to death. it's kind of the lupus of irl.
 
Dec 10, 2005
24,433
7,356
136
didn't we just have this thread...

anyway, never gotten the shot, probably haven't had the flu for almost a decade (a third doesn't show any symptoms despite having the condition). I'd rather get it now when I'm a healthy young adult and perhaps develop immunity to a future outbreak when I'm old and at risk, plus I can't really be bothered to go see my doctor over something as silly as the flu.

preemptive reply to replies to this post:

herd immunity - go live in your plastic bubble.
the flu sucks and if you don't think so then you've never had the flu - had it plenty when I was younger, wasn't that bad, quit being a bitch unless you're in an at risk group.
you don't have to see a doctor to get the vaccine - I don't live in the US, around here we don't pass out medicine like it's candy (at least not as much as in the US) and if you don't like it then you better xanax up for safety mr. 'murican.

I think that about covers it from the last thread.

You're post, to put it frankly, is quite dumb.

Herd Immunity isn't about living in a plastic bubble.

The immunity to the flu isn't something that crosses across strains of the virus. Much like the common cold, you can catch it again and again (just different strains). And catching it gives you the chance to spread it to people that can't fight it off as well as you.

Vaccination isn't about passing medicine out like candy. If anything, it keeps doctors from having to pass more medicines out, because people then won't be sick.

To not get vaccinations is like driving around without a seatbelt. After all, experience says I was never in an accident, so seatbelts are only needed for bad drivers. And an accident here and there will toughen up my driving skills.
 
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techs

Lifer
Sep 26, 2000
28,561
4
0
Well, its been 7 hours since I got the flu shot. And my arm is kinda sore and the spot they injected it into is tender.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,782
845
126
Nope as I don't need it like the elderly / unhealthy people need it as there is a shortage.

Keep hurting your immune systems for a flu shot and see what happens when you forget to get it.
 

Pardus

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2000
8,197
21
81
Never had the flu shot and never will, why would you let someone infect you on purpose. Any time i get sick, i can over come it quickly and without going to a doctor.

I honestly don't believe the flu shot is a so-called dead variety of the virus. There is no shortage also, its all b.s to control the population.

How to avoid the flu
-------------------
1. Eat/stay healthy
2. Don't touch your face when outside
3. Wash your hands/carry wipes/gel, etc.
4. Don't listen to the news
 
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boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
19
81
I got one. It's free and I've never had an ill effect from it. I see the point from both sides, I choose to take it. If it wasn't free I probably wouldn't.
 

child of wonder

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2006
8,307
175
106
Never had the flu shot and never will, why would you let someone infect you on purpose. Any time i get sick, i can over come it quickly and without going to a doctor.

I honestly don't believe the flu shot is a so-called dead variety of the virus. There is no shortage also, its all b.s to control the population.

How to avoid the flu
-------------------
1. Eat/stay healthy
2. Don't touch your face when outside
3. Wash your hands/carry wipes/gel, etc.
4. Don't listen to the news

http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/mark-crislips-dumb-asses-vaccines/

Flu isn’t all that bad of a disease.

Underestimating Dumb Ass. Part of the problem with the term flu is that it is used both as a generic term for damn near any viral illness with a fever and is also used for a severe viral pneumonia. Medical people are just as inaccurate about using the term as the general public. The influenza virus directly and indirectly kills 20,000 people (depending on the circulating strain and year) and leads to the hospitalization of 200,000 in the US each year. Influenza is a nasty lung illness. And what is stomach ‘flu’? No such thing.
 
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