Flu jabs - live or dead?

colinuk

colinuk

colinuk

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Hi all,

Quick question, my mum and dad get a flu jab each eyar and the next day are full of a cold. Guy here says its in their head as its a dead virus. I thought the immune system only attacked live viruses and not dead ones.

Any doctors in the house?

Colin
 
I get a flu job every year (got mine tomorrow in fact) and it's the same thing for me - next day feels like I've got a cold.

As I understand it (from asking the nurse), the virus in the jab is dead, but your immune system will still attack it as it's a not meant to be in your body. Most cold symptoms are as a result of your immune system not the virus itself e.g. sore throat from immune system destroying throat cells that are infected.
 
Spot on (from reading the leaflet generally given out). The Flu jab may cause mild cold symptoms due to the immune response.
 
Its not live or dead virus, its actually subunits of several strains of the flu virus, so has no infectious potential. Its probably given with an adjuvant that stimulates an immune response, which may make you feel a little grotty.
 
I had it last year, given to us free at work. Felt terrible the day after, like a had the flu, but they said its just a side effect of the jab. Its not the flu your getting, just the upset of the immune system when the virus enters your body.
Well worth having though, didnt get the flu or a cold all last year :)
 
Yep, when I was young I used to complain and was told by my mother it was all in my head untill they started handing out the leaflet saying you might experience flu like symptoms for a couple of days.

Shut her right up
 
Using my degree here...

The virus will be dead (some are live however they have been "dubbed" down) and will initiate an immune response upon been recognized by the host's immune response system.
 
sbi5ar said:
Using my degree here...

The virus will be dead (some are live however they have been "dubbed" down) and will initiate an immune response upon been recognized by the host's immune response system.
Click to expand...

Its not dead virus, its haemagluttinin subunits (and neuramidase too iirc).
 
I have it every year and feel fine afterwards. I did once, however, have a typhoid jab and that absolutely floored me after half an hour. Not nice.
 
I have a very rare kidney problem (its called IGA Nephropathy if anyone was interested) and I have to have a flu jab every year. I had one last year and I spent 2 months in hospital and up to this day suffer from the effects of having it (it triggered a condition called Heonch Shoelin Pupora, which is very annoying). So yeah...thats my experience with them...nearly killed me :|
 
Mat said:
I have it every year and feel fine afterwards. I did once, however, have a typhoid jab and that absolutely floored me after half an hour. Not nice.
Click to expand...

One year in addition to my flu jab, they gave me another jab for pneumococcal something or other in my other arm. Man, my arm swelled up to twice its normal size and I was unable to drive for 3 days. Not nice. Fortunately only gotta have them done once every 10 years.
 
Hey guys - Does this Flu-Jab actually work though? As in - Did it actually stop you from getting the flu?

Thanks
 
Virdi said:
Hey guys - Does this Flu-Jab actually work though? As in - Did it actually stop you from getting the flu?

Thanks
Click to expand...

It stops you from gettin common strains, if a strain mutates it will still infect you.

KaHn
 
Virdi said:
Hey guys - Does this Flu-Jab actually work though? As in - Did it actually stop you from getting the flu?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I've had one every year for 13 years and haven't had the 'flu in that time. However proper 'flu is pretty rare from what I gather, most people who claim they are ill with the "flu" just have a bad cold, so I've no idea how often I would have got the 'flu if I hadn't have had the jabs. Proper influenza is pretty serious, hence the government ad campaigns to get certain people vaccinated - it's likely to floor you for two weeks rather than two days. I still get at least one cold a year.

BTW - had my flu jab today, on the leaflet it said the virus was "inactivated".
 
Having heart probs, I keep getting nagged by my GP to have one every year; on the one occasion that I gave in and had it, I felt like **** for almost a week. I'll give it a miss again this year.
 
i've never known anyone get the flu, people often get a bad cold and think its the flu but i'd wager it rarely is...

i personally have never had it and never had a jab... is it really that common or dangerous? i just tend to get the customary 1 cold a year :)
 
colinuk said:
Hi all,

Quick question, my mum and dad get a flu jab each eyar and the next day are full of a cold. Guy here says its in their head as its a dead virus. I thought the immune system only attacked live viruses and not dead ones.

Any doctors in the house?

Colin
Click to expand...

Viruses are not living. So neither.
 
For the elderly and those in at-risk groups then the flu is certainly very dangerous and the flu jab is certainly worth having.

However the jab does *not* stop you from getting a cold and there's no reason at all for the whole population to have it.
 
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