Flu vaccine side effects - What to expect?

The medical term for a flu shot is the influenza vaccine. This vaccine is given annually in order to protect a person from getting infected with influenza virus. The vaccine does not contain only one virus but three of them. These viruses are one A or H3N2 virus, one regular seasonal A or H1N1 virus and one B virus.

According to experts, there is no better way of preventing getting infected with influenza virus than getting a flu shot or an influenza vaccination. This vaccine will prevent all of the potential complications which may accompany the viral infection.

An influenza epidemic occurs every year when the cold, winter season approaches. Several decades ago, influenza was a serious problem and the cause of tens of thousands of deaths among people in the United States alone. However, the things have changed over the past 30 years and there are fewer fatal cases of influenza infections. During the period of the past 30 years, only one year the death toll reached 49,000 and that was the highest. The lowest was 3,300 deaths in a single year.

When influenza virus-associated deaths all over the world are considered, the numbers range from 250,000 to half a million within a period of one year.

Death which occurs due to an influenza infection is far more common among those who are older than 65 years of age. According to available data, seasonal influenza is the seventh most common cause of death in the United States.

Treating patients who are affected with influenza virus costs a lot of money and due to this fact it is much better and cheaper for the people in the United States to receive a flu shot. This routine vaccination is recommended for all those who are older than 6 months of age. Only infants younger than 6 months of age are not allowed to receive an influenza vaccine.

Vaccination is especially important for those who are at higher risk of getting infected with the influenza virus and those who take care of these individuals. Apart from these people, receiving a vaccine is just as important for pregnant women and children aged from 6 months to 18 years of age.

Parents are not in need of any preventative measures against infection even thought they are in close contact with their children because they also receive the vaccine.

The data claim that the effectiveness of influenza vaccine given to mothers during pregnancy in preventing hospitalization among their babies was almost 92% high.

In order for getting to know why the influenza vaccine causes certain side effects it is important to understand why the vaccine is so harmful in the first place.

One of the main reasons why this is the case is because in order for the vaccine to be made, the bacteria and viruses are cultivated in animal proteins like rabbit brain tissue, monkey kidney tissue and the like. Once these proteins are inside the body, they become toxic because proteins need to be broken down into amino acids by certain enzymes before they can be utilized.

Another reason is the fact that the child’s immune system has not developed properly yet before the child reaches the age of 4. Due to that fact, the immune system is unable to make a difference between these proteins and its own proteins and this leads to an auto-immune disease. The problem of auto-immune diseases is abnormal response of the body’s immune system which attacks its own cells.

Medical experts have divided the flu vaccine side effects into mild ones and more serious adverse effects. Mild side effects occur far more often than more serious ones and are acknowledged by government health authorities. Some of the most commonly seen mild flu vaccine side effects are soreness, redness or swelling in the place where the shot was administrated, fever of a low grade and various aches. Severe allergic reactions are also considered to be mild flu vaccine side effects but these reactions do not occur as often.

Apart from the mild adverse effects, there are also certain side effects which are considered to be more serious.

The first problem with more severe flu vaccine side effects is that they are not that often discussed by mainstream health authorities.

One of the most serious side effects is Alzheimer’s disease. A certain study took place in a period between 1970 and 1980 and included all the people who received a vaccine during the period. The study proved that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease was much higher in those who received the vaccine more than five times compared to those who received it no more than twice. The risk in these patients was ten times higher.

Apart from the Alzheimer’s disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, arthritis and inflammation of the joints can also occur as flu shot side effects.