Mumps?!?

[Crankin]

Whoever said that some people call their illness the "flu" very casually, is very correct. Just because you have a cold and a few aches, it's not the flu. I have had the flu once. It had to have been the worst thing I've ever had; worse than pneumonia. It came on suddenly, at work, and by the time I got home, I had a 104 degree fever that lasted for 5 days. DH was out of town and I was depending on a 10 and 8 year old to take care of me! Then, I developed a secondary respiratory infection, bronchitis, possibly pneumonia, and I had to be on antibiotics for 2 weeks. I was sick in March and I didn't stop coughing until May. I couldn't go back to teaching at the gym for 8 weeks.
I got the flu shot in 2009, with all of the hoopla for the swine flu. The only reason I hadn't taken it before, is that I really am allergic to Thimerisol, the preservative that is in the vaccine; it used to be in contact lens solution and I developed a nice allergy to it. My doctor refuses to get the preservative free vaccine, so I usually can find it at CVS Minute Clinic. It's very hard to find.
I guess I should go and get my shot.

[goride]

I get a flu shot every year. I sometimes still get a very mild case of the flu in late February or early March. Before I started getting the vaccine, I had the flu 3 years in a row and the respiratory symptoms lasted for 3 months each time. Regarding pertussis, my son also had a bad reaction to the first DPT when he was a baby, and in subsequent vaccines received DT only. Freshman year of high school he came down with whooping cough. It took three visits to the doctor before he was diagnosed and received proper medical treatment.