12-19-2018, 09:31 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-19-2018, 09:33 AM by barq2.
Edit Reason: grammar
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I pay £10 for a 'flu shot every year. It is no guarantee, but reducing the chances of getting 'flu is worth it for me. A few years ago I had really bad 'flu that utterly wiped me out for two weeks. When I came back to work, still feeling weak, there was a mountain of stuff to catch up. My job means I'm exposed to a lot of the general public, so lots of potential exposure to viruses.
The only direct negative of a 'flu shot is a case where someone was injected in the wrong location on their arm and the needle hit their radial nerve. For reasons I won't go into, this patient ended up in my office and being a psychologist I can spot a radial nerve injury (it is very distinct as you see a wrist drop, and they can't do the "thumbs up" sign with their hand). I told them to get their GP to refer them to a neurologist who can do a nerve conduction test to measure the extent of damage and then estimate time for recovery.
Don't let this story spook you out of having a flu shot, the injection was way off target - like about 3 inches below the shoulder so this patient thought it weird at the time. Intramuscular injection sites are where they are so the needle doesn't hit anything delicate!
The only direct negative of a 'flu shot is a case where someone was injected in the wrong location on their arm and the needle hit their radial nerve. For reasons I won't go into, this patient ended up in my office and being a psychologist I can spot a radial nerve injury (it is very distinct as you see a wrist drop, and they can't do the "thumbs up" sign with their hand). I told them to get their GP to refer them to a neurologist who can do a nerve conduction test to measure the extent of damage and then estimate time for recovery.
Don't let this story spook you out of having a flu shot, the injection was way off target - like about 3 inches below the shoulder so this patient thought it weird at the time. Intramuscular injection sites are where they are so the needle doesn't hit anything delicate!