Schools are germ breeding grounds no matter how much you wash your hands or sanitize them. Even with flu shots kids are always sick and teachers get sick too(schools are NOT free day care or baby sitting services).

she had to pick her up from school because she wasn't feeling well. So she did what anyone would do and brought her in to wait for like 45 minutes or so while she donated blood!

Some people are morons! One kid turns the whole donor area into a bio hazard zone! At least she spewed in the garbage can.

my foot and shoe with no socks on. I almost lost it myself.

I was hospitalized from flu related illnesses and the school wouldn't hire subs (to save money) so I worked while sick until I passed out in the parking lot one time and in my classroom a second time.

Didn't you have some sick days you could take, or did the school not give any? I know you were angry, but if I were the parent of one of your students, I would be furious the school forced you to come in and expose all your students, too! Please tell me that principal was fired.

My classroom got torn down due to black mold that made the ceiling tiles buckle with dark brown, stagnant water...after I was out sick for a month (kicked out of school since the parents went to the principal when they saw my grey complexion and their kids and I were all using inhalers due to it). I have permanent respiratory damage (my 4th year at that school). That principal eventually retired but was hated and half the staff transferred due to him. The principal after him was the same way, parents complained to her. This was when I lost 1/3 of my blood and passed out in the parking lot and had to get transfusions and almost died since I went to school while sick for two weeks and developed pneumonia with complications. This principal transferred to another school and was hated so much there that she retired early. The third administrator also made me go to school while sick. I had mono for 6 months and was 85 pounds (never was properly diagnosed since I was 42). After that I had to retire on disability before I could reach retirement age so I am screwed financially and health-wise. That principal quit and disappeared after I retired. My friends at the school said she quit and left the district. Why do they leave AFTER I suffer?

I still went to class and work (in the parliament), but I would crash in the evenings. They have some good medicine with codeine in it that is OTC. I couldn't wait to get home and take my medicine so I could just sleep for twelve hours. I was a junky.

There is a reason I'm leaving the teaching field even though I have never experienced anything remotely like what you went through. It's all about the bottom line with these people. Teachers are expendable. Students are somewhat expendable (just need numbers for October count). I don't know how any child learns anything in schools these days.

I think being a union rep was a rude awakening. The schools always say they do everything "for the students" which is BS. When 6 year olds are being "taught to the test" you know something is wrong.

You're probably thinking of 'stomach flu'; there is no such thing. Influenza is respiratory in nature. While it is possible to have the flu and a concurrent infection that can cause vomiting, flu is probably not what the kid had. The precaution still holds, though. Keep sick kids at home.

Thanks.

Kids threw up all year long for a zillion reasons. Yuk! And the carpet was cleaned once a year! Those vomit germs were in there during 90+ degree heat in my classroom too (district was too cheap to put A/C in rooms and it was year round school in July). Teachers do not earn nearly enough for all the things we do and have to deal with, believe me.

and family arrived in Florida to various households from 4 states in the week before Thanksgiving. We provided Thanksgiving dinner for all.

Overnight and the next day a majority of us (probably a dozen or so including me and my husband) came down ill. I was practically moribund, so it was a few days before I learned that my initial symptom of just feeling incredibly fatigued and weak, accompanied by an initial fever, was the main one described by others. Fatigue/weakness. Followed by some muscle aches, rising fever, and only later in my case moving to my chest.

Btw, I only later learned that some assumed my dinner caused it. Understandable, it was the very beginning of the Florida outbreak that year and hadn't reached the news yet, besides, who knows who brought it -- but so unfair! My hands were raw from washing so often to make sure no one could get sick. But that's life, of course, even if I do still feel a need to mention it.

In any case, that flu had an especially strong initial fatigue symptom, relatively moderate muscle aches, but otherwise it was typical.

As always, I was advised not to believe the rumors that I would come down with a slight case of the flu afterwards. Just like last year, I did come down with a slight case of the flu anyway.

Everyone else seems to have a sore arm for only a few hours or a day. But that's a small price to pay to avoid a full blown bout of the flu.

I also remember there being a post this spring about how ineffectual last season's vaccine was. If I recall correctly, it was only 10 or 15% effective against the dominant strain. Heck, if I came down with the flu, I would definitely take less severe symptoms and a quicker recovery time. I don't understand why so many are opposed to the shot.

I got my flu shot last year at the beginning of the season, just as I did this year.

I ran out of all my meds. I ended up mainlining the Aldi generic version of Nyquil.

Like this, but from Aldi, and the nighttime, which is twice as strong per serving. I mean dose:

CVS Daytime Relief Flu & Severe Cold Cherry Liquid 8.3 FL OZ (245mL)

Most of the people I know who get sick after a shot also work or have activities around a lot of people - or kids in close quarters. And they also usually have other health issues which might work on lowering their immune system naturally.

Haele

Last edited Wed Oct 3, 2018, 09:31 AM - Edit history (1)

a hell of a coincidence year after year.

ETA, Wednesday: I bungled the quote. What I meant to say was: I hate to equate coincidence (i.e., correlation) with causation. It's not my fault; I was befuddled with the symptoms of the flu.

Before that, I usually worked in my own little cubicle in the dark, like a mushroom, or out in the shipyards in a corner, again, by myself for the most part. Never used to get as much as a cold.

Until the kidlet and later, the grandkids came to live with us.

By November, all the germs have come to school...

Haele

I'm lucky I'm alive. Either that, or I am now immune to everything.

Talk about an incubator!

and until the efficacy rates gets WAY above 40%, I'm not getting a flu shot. BTW: Here's a study that estimates the efficacy rate at 20%. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180419131015.htm.

The vaccine has only been more than 50% effective once since 2010. Last year it ws only 40% effective (pretty close to the average effectiveness). So not, it's not that people were already infected - it's that the vaccine is generally very bad at targeting the particular strain of flu going around in any given year.

I'm a paralegal at a law firm. The Visiting Nurses Association sends nurses to the firm to give flu shots. I hope it works this year. Last year I got the flu shot and got the flu. I was very sick. So yes I will get a flu shot in a week or two when they show up.

They think doctors are making a fortune tricking people into getting flu shots. I shamed my brother into getting one last week when we went to the clinic pharmacy together and they were giving free flu shots. I got in line and called him over and he didn't want to look foolish with so many people eager to get vaccinated, so he reluctantly got his flu shot.

He's in his 60s with multiple health problems including respiratory and cardiac, and he needs the vaccine. I'm working on getting him the pneumonia shot and then shingles.

I paid exactly $0.00 for mine. That's Kaiser Permanente. I know the grocery stores and places like Rite Aid and Walgreens give them for $10 or $15. How is anyone making money off that?

You know, it wasn't that long ago that I got tested for Chickenpox antibodies and discovered that I had never contracted the disease. I was in my late 30s or early 40s at the time. I got that vaccine ASAP because I had a grandmother who got shingles, and I that scared the hell out of me!

I was there picking up a prescription, and I asked about flu shots. "See that desk over there? Ask her." I did, and I got the shot.

For many years prior, I have received the shots at work, also for $0.00. My workplace does not have special shots for people 65 and over, so I'd thought I'd see if KP did. It does not. But, there I was, so why not get the shot right then and there?

chickenpox vaccination puts adults at risk for shingles. Supposedly people my age, 50ish or older that all had chickenpox, didn't used to get shingles because of occasionally being exposed to the virus the rest of their lives acting as a booster. So we'd be better off if we still just let the kids get chickenpox because it's not a fatal disease anyway. My pharmacist said she'd never heard that one before.

Disease on a child. Unbelievable that any health care professional would suggest such a thing and he should have been reported.

story I heard.

Please, folks, don't "let the kids get chicken pox".

People who have had chickenpox are at risk of getting shingles later on, because the chickenpox virus remains in your body, and is activated some years later, showing up as shingles.

Those who have gotten the vaccination, do not continue to harbor the virus and are essentially at no risk of ever getting shingles. So shingles is going to persist for a generation or two, and then will essentially fade away, as those who got the disease will all die off.

heard trump the other day when he put down flue shots.

No, no, no! And I hope he gets cholera from his visit to NC.

vacation planned for Dec. I had my shot yesterday. I don't want another tourist ruining my vacation.

Publix has a great deal. Get the flu shot, they clear it with your insurance. You pay the difference and Publix will give you a 10.00 gift card. If your insurance covers it 100%, you make $10. Plus think about all the money you will save not buying Theraflu.

I got one anyway. We always do in our household.

But it should help reduce severity and duration of symptoms.

We will see what happens this season because I think the CDC was aware of the mistake they made last season when they targeted the wrong strain.

The truth is, even a vaccine that's not 100% effective for the current strain of virus can confer at least partial immunity against whatever the current strain is. So it's still worth getting.

It took 10 minutes at Walgreen's while waiting for my prescriptions and it was free (Medicare).

they would not stay home! In the "cubicle jungle" we all shared the same air!

In the real world, people just can’t take a week off for a cold.

When you caught your coworkers’ colds did you then take a week to ten days off?

And that IS a shame!

which makes it more likely you'll be glad you got it. Last year the shot was very poorly matched and not very effective on the worst strain circulating.

We were typing our comments up at the same time. Did not see yours until I posted.

... good match for the strain that went around infecting people that calendar year. Under those cases you get about 30% protection, but some protection is way better than nothing.

Some/most years they are on target to match up the shot to the identical strain to the strain coming around that same year that will be infecting people. Then the protection coverage rate climbs
appreciably.

Those over 60 should know there is an elderly high boost shot that is stronger protection because as you age your immune system diminishes.

The 60 over crowd should also get a pneumonia shot yearly - there are two formulations. One year get one the next year switch over to the other one for full coverage.

There is a new shingles shot that just came out this spring. The old formula was 45% effective this new one is 90% effective.

For the over 65 yrs crowd these shots are covered by Medicare.

My workplace offered them, but not mandatory. We all got a bit of flu, but since the vaccine almost was a total miss against this strain of virus, my co workers had that stress for nothing. To my experience it is almost impossible to hide from the flu, we will get it anyway and survives.

Some people have weakened immune systems, and they rely on you and everybody else to do their part.

There is NO downside to getting the shot.

Also, what the hell is "STRESS" in getting a flu shot?

Your post makes no sense.

Also, disgusting that you think all people who get the flu "survives"? 80,000 people died last year.

Common side effects from the flu shot include:
Soreness, redness, and/or swelling from the shot
Headache
Fever
Nausea
Muscle aches
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/general.htm#side-effects

CDC has no real numbers for how many, who dies - but your number seems way off.
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/us_flu-related_deaths.htm

During past seasons, approximately 20% of flu-associated deaths in children have occurred in children who were vaccinated.

So yes, some people dies during flu season. But they mainly are weak anyway, like I am. According to my doctors, I should stay away from colds, since I lost half of my lungs. But yes, I am disgusting and do not care.

Tell that to the 50-100 million people who died from Spanish Flu in 1918-19.

Get your flu shot. If you're some invincible tough guy who bites bullets out of the air with his teeth, good for you. You and your immune system win Mr. Universe and get to have all the money and all the sex.

Now get the flu shot in order to avoid passing the virus to someone who is unable, for allergic or other reason, to get the immunization.

OTOH, if getting the flu shot is "all that stress", maybe you're not as strong as you think you are.


Take this anti-vaxxer horseshit somewhere else.

If anyone is passing on the shot because it hurts or makes your arm sore...those shots are so slick that I was visiting with the pharmacist and didn't even feel a prick of the needle. The pneumonia shot was a little different -- it stung for a bit.

No swelling, no bruising, no soreness. It's a snap.

I say that because the man before me said he hated getting them because he hated shots.

Yeah, I can still feel it, and I bet it will be sore tomorrow. But you won't catch me skipping it!

One year, Kaiser Permanente offered a drive through flu shot clinic. You didn't even have to get out of your car! Just drive up to the stand, roll down the window, and Zap! you have your shot. I told everyone at work that I had been involved in a drive by shooting that morning.

I didn't want to laugh at the guy who was scared, but he was smiling when he came out of the office where they gave the shots, so I guess he was OK.

I was glad to get the stronger dose. Last year, they ran out and I had to wait until more came in.

I'm a believer.

I do it every year. I'm convinced it helps. I still get sniffles and things every so often, but they are much more manageable thesed days.

My wife didn't get the full round of shots, got the flu, was sidelined for two weeks. Her mom got it, was hospitalized for a month!

For the first time, I decided to heed the warning, although I usually never got the flu. I got the shots, did NOT get the flu. Considering what I saw and heard of people who DID get it, it was a wise move I intend to repeat. The flu going around last year was an evil one.

nt

Two things you can do to help your community

Apparently, there is some added risk in my case, because of 2 artificial heart valves - one tissue, and one metallic. I don't know what the additional risk factor might be, but I didn't go to med school. I believe him, because I give a pretty large amount of credence to those who did.

Especially ones that graduated.

I used to get the flu every year until my resistance was completely trashed. Twenty five years ago Doc insisted that I get one yearly. Haven’t been sick since.

I am getting mine next week woo hoo😆

One in my county just confirmed today. I got my flu shot Friday and had no side effects or even a sore arm and Target gives out $5 coupon to use on other stuff.

Someone kept on my case until I got one. When I was a kid I got the flu once a year. At high school age I quit getting the flu every year. I have probably had the flu four times in my adult life and I am 50. I just do not get them and have been fine.

You'd better get it!

Many people have never had the flu but end up dying of it. Science is hard get it.

influenza antibodies.

As a primary care provider, I see all the time patients who are convinced they have the flu, and it turns out to be a mild, garden-variety cold. I applaud the ability of anyone to be able to survive the common cold. But for the flu, get your vaccine. I'm not impressed by anyone who thinks he/she has a superhuman immune system, or an immune system that promises with sugar on top not to pass the virus on to someone who is not vaccinated.

Get your flu shot.

I get mine every year. I'm diabetic, so I can't afford to get sick from the flu. I'm at higher risk for complications, so I'm not going to play Russian roulette with my life.

I'll ask him tonight.

Last year I didn’t get around to it (most years I get it) and I was absolutely sick as a dog for a week, with a lingering nasty cough and weakness for another 3 weeks. Was sick the whole month of January. GET YOUR FLU SHOT people.

So much more convenient than making an appointment.

rather than profits and power