Figures

[Eric]

Correct.

Most people that get the shot assume that the mild cold they get afterwards is the flu. It's a cold. There's a difference.

Oh, I understand that, but it is one mighty bad cold at that.
I'll live , but not a fan of puking/the runs and being so stuffed up it is hard to breathe.
That is the worst part, the hard to breathe. and head feeling like it is going to pop.
I've had the flu, and this is a cake walk compared to that.

Think the point I'm try'ing to make is it is a hard sell, to say, sure give me the shot, knowing you most likely are going to get sick soon after.

[AndyB]

"The Flu" is a respiratory condition, almost to exclusion of other systems--there's some cardiac involvement, because there always is with respiratory crap. "Stomach flu" is not the flu--it's the one where you wind up crapping every six seconds for a few days, pausing only to barf.

<edit: deleted big rant>

Yes, you will be uncomfortable after any immunization. That means, in part, that it's working--your immune system gets wound up pretty hard for a bit.

Yes, it's unpleasant to get the shits. Beats the hell out of suffocating (which is part of how influenza kills people, leads to pneumonia and consolidation of the lungs).

[Deaf Bob]

Talking with the nurse at my dr's office. (lady my age..64) asked her if she gets flu shots.
"We are required to, if not, we have to wear masks. Much easier to get a shot"
Knowing she was retiring, I asked if she was going to continue
"No, not unless the hospital lets me subsitute nurse. Disagree with most flu shots"

[AndyB]

I agree with her, DB :D

I have a huge problem with a one-size-fits-all treatment for something like the flu. (In fact, I usually argue over any one-size-for-everyone treatment.) But people who are at risk for getting the flu and either dying or becoming severely sick? They need it. People who are healthier and not at risk of high exposure, notsomuch. And it's usually someone who's gotten it--and probably didn't actually really need it--then goes on forever about how it 'made them sick'. The majority of the time it's some decidedly unhealthy (fat, smoker, etc) person that doesn't understand that not only did the shot not give them the flu, but it also is kinda the least of their worries.

(Not suggesting that Eric fits that category.... but I literally have people tell me this shit every single winter.)

[Deaf Bob]

AndyB.. Same with cold meds.. They do not "cure" you.. Just remove the symptoms and make us feel like living.

[AndyB]

Also correct! That said, if you remove the runny nose from the typical winter yuckies, it means that you don't sleep with it running into your throat--you don't get (as much) of a sore throat, and you wind up with tons less crap in your chest. Done right, you wind up feeling like total crap for a few days from the cold (and high as a kite from Nyquil or whatever), but you can avoid the lingering bronchitis for the rest of the month.

A good doctor is like a good mechanic: They make your body work better, and that's good all around. A crap doc is like a crap mechanic: Expensive and useless. The problem is that an awful lot of docs now are doing things because the insurance requires it, not because it's the right thing to do, and that leads into the one-size-fits-all stuff, which as a rule gives crap outcomes.

[Markmx6]

Also correct! That said, if you remove the runny nose from the typical winter yuckies, it means that you don't sleep with it running into your throat--you don't get (as much) of a sore throat, and you wind up with tons less crap in your chest. Done right, you wind up feeling like total crap for a few days from the cold (and high as a kite from Nyquil or whatever), but you can avoid the lingering bronchitis for the rest of the month.

A good doctor is like a good mechanic: They make your body work better, and that's good all around. A crap doc is like a crap mechanic: Expensive and useless. The problem is that an awful lot of docs now are doing things because the insurance requires it, not because it's the right thing to do, and that leads into the one-size-fits-all stuff, which as a rule gives crap outcomes.

Very well said.

[Eric]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ground-beef-recall-more-than-12-million-pounds-of-beef-recalled-amid-salmonella-outbreak/