The Swine Flu Shot a Waste of Time!

[Jolt]

Just got vaccinated tonight (I took the nasal spray vaccine). The free clinic where I volunteer had the vaccine for the health care workers--seeing as we'll probably get exposed from patients coming in with H1N1.

[ny biker]

So I'm sitting here trying to figure out why my shoulder is sore; did I overdo it at the gym last night??

Then the light bulb comes on. It's the flu shot, dummy.

[OakLeaf]

When I had my shot (in the delt, as normal), the nurse warned me that I might be sore doing bicep curls. She said that her delts don't bother her at all after a shot, but when she works her biceps, watch out.

[xeney]

So I'm sitting here trying to figure out why my shoulder is sore; did I overdo it at the gym last night??

Then the light bulb comes on. It's the flu shot, dummy.

Me too! I got both the seasonal and the h1n1 today, one in each arm, and I keep wondering why I'm so sore. And then I remember.

I'm taking my two-year-old to a community clinic on Monday to get her first round of the h1n1 mist.

[Reesha]

My take, I don't think there's any magic bullet.

Being religious about hand-washing and hand sanitizer, not touching any public surfaces with my bare hands if I can help it, and not touching my eyes or nose (which pretty much goes by the wayside on the bike, see the thread about vasomotor rhinitis ).

Sunshine and fresh air. (Vitamin D and staying out of environments where the virus replicates easily, for those who believe that if the Mayo Clinic can't explain something, it can't be true. But my personal opinion is that it would be surprising if there weren't more factors at work there.)

Think really hard about signing up for any races until after the flu season peaks. Light exertion is good, the sustained hard efforts required for training suppress the immune system. This is probably the toughest one for most people here.

On the "it can't hurt" front, I've started taking elderberry extract. I actually started it after I caught my second cold this fall (training for two big events ), and the cold vanished almost immediately. Now... that's just as likely because it was only a slight mutation from the first cold I had and my immune system was already on top of it... but as I said, it can't hurt, and it's possible it was why I got over the cold so quickly.

Plenty of fluids and foam roller work. I don't really have any idea of how the fascia and the immune system are connected, but I know they are connected, and anyway, it's good for me on a strictly physical level (in the sense of "physical medicine" physical).


(And, as I said before, if it had been completely up to me, I'd have got the H1N1 vaccine and skipped the seasonal flu shot.)

And the best weapon of all: SLEEEEEEP. I'm one of the few teachers at school that never gets sick and it's because I get at least 8 hours per night. The contrast between the other 8th grade teacher and I is stark-- she has a nightowl chef boyfriend and gets 6 or 7 hours per night and is sick often. I used to be more susceptible to illness when I shortchanged myself on sleep as well. I feel like I've discovered some special secret or something-- I feel great every day

[Eden]

AAAAAA - I got my H1N1 vaccination yesterday and I woke up looking like this!

[Zen]

Sexy!

[Grog]

Love the pink gloves, Eden.

[uk elephant]

I just read through this thread now, and I'm taking your advice. I'm keeping my germs at home. I don't think I have the flu (no aching or fever), but a nasty chest cold is not nice to spread around either. And I have a job where I can work from home if necessary, at least on days when I'm not lecturing (like today). Although academia is definitely another place where you seem to get kudos for turning up despite any illness. And with a lot of hacking and sniffling students there's a lot of illness going around!

I'm doing what I can to recover quickly so I'm back on form for Monday morning's lecture (hot soup, hot tea with honey, rest, any other suggestions?). I did get offered the flu jabs when I went in for my another appointment with the nurse last week, but because of the sore throat the wouldn't give it right away. I am already on their at-risk list (asthma, immunosuppressants) and will get the jab as soon as I'm well enough to do so. So I'm booked in for both jabs next week. another reason to shake this cold first. Better make another cup of tea...

[Selkie]

UK - my dear departed dad's Irish cure: whiskey, lemonade and honey. Drink it down and go to bed. Works like a champ.

[Eden]

seriously though - I have now had both seasonal and H1N1 (work in a children's hospital, and am on the priority list because of that) and I haven't had any untoward side effects. The seasonal shot did give me a sore arm for a day or so, but H1N1 didn't even do that.

[OakLeaf]

Feel better soon UKE.

You might try black elderberry extract. As I said, it could just as easily have been coincidence with me, but it was a pretty dramatic recovery. (Usually, if I have a mild case of something, it means that I just don't get that sick; with this last cold, I was as sick as I'd been with the previous one, then recovered suddenly within a day of starting the elderberry.)

[Kathi]

UK - my dear departed dad's Irish cure: whiskey, lemonade and honey. Drink it down and go to bed. Works like a champ.

The father of a 4th grader gave that "remedy" to her for a cold. Problem was, she brought it to school and was passing it around to her classmates!
I smelled the bottle, questioned her and dad got called into the principal's office.

[shootingstar]

I smelled the bottle, questioned her and dad got called into the principal's office.

How times change. Wondered if our Gr. 10 math teacher was ever warned/counselled for his alcoholic tendencies. During lunch hr., over 15 of us had lunch in his classroom and unsurprisingly, indulged in harmless horseplay. Someone found a half empty whiskey bottle in his top desk drawer. The drawer was unlocked. It confirmed some truth to perpetual jokes amongst students about his exceptionally florid/red face..nearly all the time during teaching time.
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Haven't got H1N1 shot --yet. I don't see myself as a top priority group. My partner is getting his next week. He was asked why at this time. He said he had mild asthma. He is 66 but otherwise healthy.

Just earlier this week, it was reported in the news, the chief medical officer for the province of British Columbia indicated he had not yet been vaccinated for H1N1. Guess, his job is more paper-oriented accounts for his personal decision? But things change.

My sister-doc got vaccinated 2 wks. ago for H1N11. She is 5+ months pregnant and still working with patients. Her hubby and 20 month-old daughter got vaccinated last wk.

[IFjane]

I no longer teach but work in administration, yet I am in and out of classrooms all the time with our program. I have not had the shot because of the shortage of the vaccine. We have not even been able to vaccinate all our children! So far the Health Dept. has only gotten enough vaccine to have clinics at three of our eight schools. Children and staff have been sick with what we assume is H1N1 (because of the symptoms), though only a few cases have been confirmed. The waiting continues and meanwhile, we feel like we are going to get it at some point simply because we are surrounded by it.