Flu Shots?

[Nereid]

I am allergic to many things, wheat, dairy, egg, etc. I found out that flu shots have egg and gelatin components. My doctors were divided on the issue but one was adamant that I shouldn't get one. FluMist is also not recommended for people with egg allergies.

What a catch-22, because we have compromised immune systems and are susceptible to illness.

Anyone know of an alternative? It just worries me that some of us can't be vacinnated against some of the new stuff that's going around, and even bioterrorism. I don't want to worry anyone, I just am looking for suggestions.

Thanks!

[tarnalberry]

Based on celiac alone, if you are not IgA deficient, are following the diet, and have no complicating factors, you shouldn't be *actually* immunosuppressed. Other than that, it's a tough call. For instance, I have asthma, so I'm supposed to be in the "frail, old people" group that gets the shots first, and I often do. But if I had an anaphylactic egg allergy, I would compare (I kid you not) the risk of dying from complications of the flu (given I did everything I could to avoid the flu and the complications) and the risk of dying from the anaphylactic reaction.

The answer to that question, between those two ends, isn't obvious, and depends on a number of personal things, including how well you can avoid the flu (are you a single recluse with no kids who works from home or do you run an after school day care center and party all night with your friends, do you wash your hands frequently, do you get regular exercise, do you take any immune supporting supplements/vitamins, etc.?), how well you can avoid complications (can you get off from work to rest right away, can you get in to see the doctor right away, and do you have a track record of being able to treat early symptoms so that you don't end up with more serious infections?), what the contributing factors to the immune system problem are (other chronic health conditions, immune-suppressing medications, extreme extended stress, poor physical state even while healthy, etc.), and the degree of your own reaction to the allergens in question. (Those are all the things a doctor has to weigh too, though many people would make a good case for putting in the relative financial cost of both risks. :-) )

I do not know of any other way for you to get a vaccine for the flu, which pretty much leaves you with your own efforts to not get the flu or to minimize the risk of getting an opportunistic infection. (Remember, the VAST majority of the time it is NOT the flu that kills people, even when a large number of deaths are associated with 'the flu' it's the opportunistic infections that follow on against a badly flu-compromised immune system.)

Not all vaccines are created the same way the flu vaccine is, and many of them are not made by incubating the virus in eggs, and may be perfectly safe for you to have administered.

[Guest nini]

all I know is the one time I got a flu shot, I ended up being very sick for at least 3 months and I almost lost my job over it. I won't ever get a flu shot again.

I drink Echinacchia (sp?) tea with Local Grown honey in it whenever I start to feel a "bug" coming on...

I also think, if we celiacs are adhering to a strict gluten free diet, then our immune system is a lot less compromised and we can fight off things easier. That is if you are eating a healthy gluten-free diet and taking supplements to support your immune system function .

[Carriefaith]

Anyone know of an alternative?

If your reactions to eggs and gelatin are quite severe, then you could do a few things to avoid getting the flu. Here are some ideas, wash your hands well everytime you eat something, avoid touching your face, hold your breath if someone starts having a cough attack in a closed in area, use paper towel to turn off tap handles in public washrooms, don't touch the door handle when walking out of the bathroom (use paper towel or something else). And I'm not being over paranoid my the bathroom stuff! Some flus get passed through the feces and when people are done using the bathroom the first thing they do is touch the facet and if they don't wash their hands the first thing they touch is the door handle to get out of the bathroom. I took microbiology in my undergrad and we had to swab random objects, culture the bacteria, and then identify it under a microscope. My friends and I swabed things in the bathroom and it was really gross what we found.

[Ursa Major]

use paper towel to turn off tap handles in public washrooms

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a great idea, except that nowadays a lot of public washrooms have no paper towels, but only those stupid blow dryers for your hands. So, I guess you might have to bring some toilet paper out of the bathroom to do that (and for the door, too).

Tarnalberry, now some of the vaccines are cultured on aborted fetuses, so you'd have to weigh conscience issues, too. Personally, that would be an excellent reason for me to avoid vaccines (if I wouldn't already think that all vaccines are to be avoided).