Around here they will only give you a shingles vaccine if you are over 60. Although they say shingles starts happening at 50 or so.

"That argument doesn't hold weight. You can still get shingles even after having the chicken pox vaccine. We've never had shingles and Mother Nature seems to have her way, no matter what. I choose to work with her, rather than against her."

You are right, I looked up the chicken pox vaccine - it is a live attenuated (weakened) strain of the virus. So you may get a milder case of pox than if you were exposed to the full strength, natural virus. And you may get shingles. Apparently shingles can show up when your immune system is weakened by other causes, so let's stay healthy.

Yes, let's stay healthy!!!! I think this is the best advice against all those sort of bugs that want to "attack" us one way or the other. Too much fast food, not enough healthy food, not enough exercise, not enough sleep, too many drugs for this and that can be a killer too....and what shot do you take for that????
We should go back to the basics and then we would boost our immune system to make us more resistant.
Ask a young person about lentils, or millet,f.e., they look at you, wonder what you're talking about, ask you if you just arrived from Mars and probably think you're some sort of..... Reading some of the answers on this forum I'm sure a lot of you quilter ladies are of the same opinion.
Take care of yourself!!!! :-D :-D :lol:

do so agree ,people just go out and spread their germs ,maybe they don't feel too bad but they are very selfish to pass on the germs---------have been told that if I get chest infection from now on that I could die because of my very weak heart.

The hard thing is most people are contagious before they even know they're sick. BUT once they have symptoms they should try to stay home. I come across so many people when I'm out and about who just cough and sneeze all over the place. They either don't cover at all or they cover with their hands and then touch everything in sight.

I have always taken a flu shot in the past. I am 53 with parents who are 82 with COPD and 78 (Their mother and father survived the "Spanish Flu", my understanding is they should be immune to the Swine Flu and not have to have this in their shots) with chronic bronchitis. Kind of weird that they got a flu shot with the H1N1 this year. So far this is the only year (yet) that I have not gotten my flu shot. I am still trying to get "just"" the flu shot and not anything else added into the mix. I do want to protect my grandchildren (1 with Aspergers, and 1 with severe Autism (who I must brag is soooooo smart and really starting to speak and will initiate a conversation and just blossoming after celation (sp?) therapy) and elderly parents, co-worker with a husband who has serious heart problems who can't take the flu shot, just the general population in general, but I do not want the combo with H1N1 mixed in. I think the government pushed too hard, too fast with this one. I don't want to be an experiment.

Never had any "normal" childhood diseases. The only childhood disease I got was the Chicken Pox when I was in my middle 30's, and only had 5 "pox", so I can possibly get it again since I had such a mild case. Lucky Me!! Those darn children and nieces and nephews that visited me. Overall I am a healthy individual, please LORD, keep me so. I try to do the healthy eating, vitamins, and in general try to stay away from anyone doing the coughing, sneezing thing. I even stay away from crowds at the stores, malls. I am one that says, "If you are sick, think you may be sick, STAY HOME!" I will donate a sick day to you. Thanks for reading, off of the Soapbox now.

I work in a hospital and they try very hard to make us get one. I got one last year- forced to- and still got sick. I won't do it again- the flu shot is only for one or two strains of flu- the health officials and the drug companies guess which strain of flu will be rampant and vaccinate against that. Unfortunately they rarely guess right. So it's a crap shoot and I refuse to play this game.
Take your chances either way.
Cheryl

My hubby did not get a shot this year as he was dealing with post surgery compications when all the clinics were going on. He got the flu last week and was laid out for 5 days....still very weak. Even tho' I did get my shot, I still picked up this bug from him. However, I was over it in about a day and 1/2, and no where near as sick as he was. We will continue to get our shots annually.

Patti