Doc - lemme ask this. Two years ago I failed to get a flu shot and came down with the A&B strain at the same time, then 5 weeks later I came down with full blown H1N1. Just about killed me. Last year I got the flu shot and still got the full blown version of whatever was going around - took me out for 2+ weeks?
Good question. The flu has several different strains. Actually there is always an H1N1. The bird strain was a very minor strain and was grossly overplayed by the media. A/B are 2 of the main strains but differ from year to year in makeup.
We have had patients catch the flu 2 times in the past. Last 2 years have been particularly nasty.
I always recommend getting the flu shot. YOU CANNOT GET THE FLU from the shot. You get a physical reaction with some mild aches and pains. I got a flu shot last year and a booster in Jan.
So yes, you can catch the flu more than once.
“No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.” Anonymous
Flu shots are not delivered until Oct. This is a Flu A strain of which there are many. The way they determine the strain is by taking the most prevalent strains coming from the Orient and putting together a vaccine that gets most of them. There is guess work involved. When they “don’t get it right” it is usually because the strains mutate or one of the strains is more virulent than previously thought.
“No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.” Anonymous
Yeah I had the flu twice last year, A first and then B late in the year. A was wayyy worse than B for me. I’ll be getting my flu shot the second they come out this time around.
I once had an ER manager that asked the charge nurses at a meeting once to take down our bird feeders to reduce the risk of catching/spreading avian flu in the workplace !
I once had an ER manager that asked the charge nurses at a meeting once to take down our bird feeders to reduce the risk of catching/spreading avian flu in the workplace !
No BBQ in the cafeteria? Swine flu:imp:
“No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.” Anonymous
Good question. The flu has several different strains. Actually there is always an H1N1. The bird strain was a very minor strain and was grossly overplayed by the media. A/B are 2 of the main strains but differ from year to year in makeup.
We have had patients catch the flu 2 times in the past. Last 2 years have been particularly nasty.
I always recommend getting the flu shot. YOU CANNOT GET THE FLU from the shot. You get a physical reaction with some mild aches and pains. I got a flu shot last year and a booster in Jan.
So yes, you can catch the flu more than once.
“No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.” Anonymous
Good information. I have seen many people incur maladies after obtaining a flu shot. It is NOT the DEAD virus in the shot that gets people sick.
What is amazing about the flu over the past year that I have noticed is the different genre of people that succumb to it. This past year the flu did not care how fit and able you were… if it was an opportune time to find a way to bypass your immune system, you got it… and when you got it, it was usually tough (A stains moreso that B strains).