Easy rules for not catching a cold...and thereby wrecking Fall Training

6 years getting flu shot,6 years no flu. Coincidence????? Or so the Germans
would have you think..............

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003, Sly D. Skeez wrote:

I've heard, (but I don't know) that the flu shots have a number of
other ingredients. So they may have predominantly one harmless virus,
but how pure is that virus. Are there any metals, inactivation
ingredients, etc? Then there is stories about various problems
(autism, HIV, birth defects...) being linked to previous shots. Maybe
that's paranoid.

The part that's had me wondering is the thimerosal (a mercury) they
put in it. I am part of the roughly 1/4 of the population that
turned out to be allergic to thimerosal years ago when it used to be
added to contact lens solutions as a preservative. All the "for
sensitive eyes" contact lens solutions you see are really thimerosal-
free formulations for folks like me. It's been some years now since
I've even seen the thimerosal-containing products in stores at all,
which leads me to believe those formulations are no longer being
produced.

My thimerosal sensitivity caused me to ask questions a few years ago
when I read the "just sign this" paper they require you to sign before
getting a flu shot, and noticing that it contains thimerosal. Nobody,
including my doctor, could say what it all might mean ("How do you
know you're allergic to thimerosal anyway?" "Well, my eyes got all
red and itchy within a minute or so of using any of those products,
and it never happens with the thimerosal-free products.").

I got the shots for a few years and have to admit, my nearly annual
bout of flu finally stopped occuring. But still nobody could answer
my questions. Last year at flu shot time I was about to go in for
wrist surgery and my doctor recommended not getting the shot due to
the uncertainty over my thimerosal sensitivity and not wanting that
to screw up my surgery schedule.

Interestingly enough, while writing this I did a google search on
thimerosal and found what may be the long-sought answer to my question
he

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/conce...merosal.htm#11

"11. I understand some people are sensitive to mercury and
must avoid it. Do they have problems with thimerosal-containing
vaccines?

Some individuals experience local skin reactions such as redness
and swelling that may suggest a delayed-type of minor allergic
reaction following injection with products containing thimerosal.
Research suggests that most people who have a contact or skin
allergy to thimerosal will not have the reaction when thimerosal
is injected under the skin (Forstrom, 1980; Jacobs 1982). A prior
history of a minor reaction to thimerosal in a vaccine is not
considered a contraindication to further vaccination with
thimerosal-containing vaccines. Severe anaphylactic (allergic)
reaction to any vaccine is a contraindication to further
vaccination with the vaccine."


Also, from this search it is clear that the stories you've heard about
autism and birth defects are questions that have been raised about
thimerosal being added to vaccines. It appears there is active work
in progress to eliminate thimerosal from vaccines, starting first with
children's vaccines, which appear to have mostly been taken care of
already.

-Mitch

is injected under the skin (Forstrom, 1980; Jacobs 1982). A prior
history of a minor reaction to thimerosal in a vaccine is not
considered a contraindication to further vaccination with
thimerosal-containing vaccines. Severe anaphylactic (allergic)
reaction to any vaccine is a contraindication to further
vaccination with the vaccine."

Sounds like you found a good answer to your concerns.
Not to flog a dead horse, but this month's Natl Geographic has a
sidebar about flu on the "Who Knew?" page. It states:

"Flu kills an average of 36,000 people in the U.S. each year".

They quote Dr. Richard Zimmerman calming fears about the vaccine "But
the viruses in the flu shot are dead. They can't cause any kind of
illness". He goes on "It's especially tragic for a person to die of a
disease that can be prevented by vaccination".

Now I'll shut up and get back to ski training! (What the hell else do I
have to do?)


=====
Rob Bradlee
Java, C++, Perl, XML, OOAD, Linux, and Unix Training

(Rob Bradlee) wrote in message oo.com...
I believe I've gotten a flu shot twice and gotten a cold twice. So I
don't like the idea of have a cold now to prevent the flu later.

I believe you have a Phd in biology, no? YOu certainly understand that
you didn't get the cold from the flu shot, right? It's just "post hoc
ergo propter hoc" - confusing coincidence with causality.

I guess I assumed you understood the connection. I get a shot, the
immune system starts working hard in response to the shot. Then my
immune system is susceptible to attack by another virus. The wiped
out feeling is pretty blatant to me for a day or so.

Both my wife and I rarely get sick. If I do get sick, I can almost
always link it to overtraining. Two years ago was an exception, I got
a cold that seemed to come from nowhere. I don't believe I've been
sick since. My wife has had four flu shots and gotten sick (a cold)
after three. So I'm batting 100% and she's batting 75%.

Now if I put HF4 on my skis (that have historically been great in cold
weather with Swix CH4) for a race at 0 F and my skis suck, and I do
the same thing again for another race at 0 F and my skis suck, I don't
think it's just post hoc ergo propter hoccingberry coincidence. I
probably won't use HF4 again at 0 F no matter what people say about it
working. (BTW, I own, but have never tried HF4.)

If you read up on it they do indeed know what flu strain will spread.
It doesn't take a year. They identify the new strain as it appears in
Asia, create and distribute the vaccine before the strain spreads to
America. It's an amazing piece of science, engineering, and
government. We should all celebrate this amazing piece of work and not
distrust and denigrate it.

Each year that I remember, the flu strain that spreads is not the one
for which shots were given. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Since anecdotal evidence seems to be so popular here, I'll say this:
I've had a flu shot every year since the early 90s and I've not had the
flu since then. And the number of colds I get each winter has
declined. As someone else pointed out, if you really get the flu, then
you don't get better in a few days. It takes WEEKS. I had it once and
it wiped me out for the rest of the ski season (I had it in January).
So I am sure to get my flu shot every year.

The real reason I don't like flu shots is I hate needles. Man, that
Hep B series was a killer for me. I couldn't be a pro cyclist.

Now perhaps we get to the root of the matter. Use the shot as an
opportunity to practice relaxation techniques to deal with stress. You
can handle it.

I was a pincushion as a kid. I was always getting shots and they
didn't bother me (really) like they do now. (One of the Hep B shots I
got was no problem and no pain, but the other two...) Then I had my
tonsils removed and stopped getting sick, so I guess I got out of
practice.

Jay (put away that 16 gauge) Wenner

Sounds like you found a good answer to your concerns.
Not to flog a dead horse, but this month's Natl Geographic has a
sidebar about flu on the "Who Knew?" page. It states:

"Flu kills an average of 36,000 people in the U.S. each year".


Hmmmm. Some how I just don't think that any one of those would be posting on
this forum. Most would be 70+ and in fairly poor health to start with. Of
course, that's just the population that the vaccine would help most !

:^]

(Rob Bradlee) wrote in message oo.com...
is injected under the skin (Forstrom, 1980; Jacobs 1982). A prior
history of a minor reaction to thimerosal in a vaccine is not
considered a contraindication to further vaccination with
thimerosal-containing vaccines. Severe anaphylactic (allergic)
reaction to any vaccine is a contraindication to further
vaccination with the vaccine."

Sounds like you found a good answer to your concerns.
Not to flog a dead horse, but this month's Natl Geographic has a
sidebar about flu on the "Who Knew?" page. It states:

"Flu kills an average of 36,000 people in the U.S. each year".

They quote Dr. Richard Zimmerman calming fears about the vaccine "But
the viruses in the flu shot are dead. They can't cause any kind of
illness". He goes on "It's especially tragic for a person to die of a
disease that can be prevented by vaccination".

Now I'll shut up and get back to ski training! (What the hell else do I
have to do?)
Other things Rob has to do:
Posting to the newsgroup
Getting his flu shot


=====
Rob Bradlee
Java, C++, Perl, XML, OOAD, Linux, and Unix Training

On 21 Oct 2003 10:07:49 -0700, (Sly D. Skeez)
wrote:


I guess I assumed you understood the connection. I get a shot, the
immune system starts working hard in response to the shot. Then my
immune system is susceptible to attack by another virus. The wiped
out feeling is pretty blatant to me for a day or so.

For what it's worth, the three times I got the flu shot I felt bad for
a couple days afterward (generally starting the next day and
continuing on one more day). Not sick, just run-down. So I take it
easy those days.

JT

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