What kind of reaction to previous flu shots would mean it’s too big a risk to have another one?
The first year I had a flu shot I had no reaction. The next year I had mild flu-like symptoms for a couple of days and last year I had stronger flu symptoms for several days. I’m wondering if it will get worse every year. Doctors say not to get the shot if you’ve had a bad reaction, but, besides full-on Guillain Barré, what do they mean by “bad reaction?”
July 28th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Death. If your Reaction was anything Short of THAT- then you might consider GETTING the Flu Shot… After all; that’s one of the possible “alternatives” you face- if you Don’t !!!
July 28th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Once in a while the reaction you’ll get is from the small amount of live virus in the vaccine itself. This is done so that the body can build up the needed antibodies against the virus itself. When you get a bad reaction some time after you got the vaccine it’s most likely due to the fact that you came down with a different strain then you were vaccinated against. This happens every once in a while, and they really don’t like to advertise the fact publicly. Depending on your age, you might remember the year that this was publicly advertised with the asian flu. The accidentally made the vaccine against a different type that year and allot of vaccinated people got the flu that year because they made the wrong vaccine. I hope this helps you with your confusion. It’s really hard to figure out when such loose terms are used. Good luck and God Bless
July 28th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
It’s not uncommon to have a stronger reaction to flu shots in subsequent years. The flu shot is made of killed viruses and is made to protect against the three most predominant circulating strains; seasonal A(H3N2), seasonal A(H1N1) -(this is not the same as the novel H1N1 or “swine flu” strain), and seasonal influenza B.
Sometimes the strains do not change significantly over a couple of years, so if you get vaccinated with a strain that you already have partial immunity to, you may have a more aggressive immune response, almost like getting a “booster” shot. This response would still never be close to actually having the flu.
Anyway, when they say “bad reactions”, they are primarily referring to allergic reactions, which would contraindicate getting another flu shot. Prior to getting the next vaccine, you should always mention any symptoms you had after previous shots.
July 28th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
You can compare flu vaccine side effects here:http://patientsville.com/fluvaccines.htm
Good Luck!