One Shot, Two Shot, Red Shot, Flu Shot?

Ah yes, it’s that time again. With summer clearly behind us as the weather here in Colorado and all across the country starts shifting to colder temperatures, we have arrived in the season of the flu shot. With a clear number of firm vaccine believers and a perhaps equally formidable group claiming the practice is speculative, it’s no question that the flu shot is certainly steeped in controversy.

Regardless of our personal beliefs on whether or not getting the flu shot is recommended or harmless, we can all get on board that the influenza virus is no joke. Every year, from the autumn months through the end of spring, the flu causes highly contagious epidemics around the globe. In the US alone, hundreds of thousands of individuals are hospitalized as a result of the flu. The virus attacks an individual’s respiratory system, causing moderate to severe symptoms in the nose, throat and lungs. While it generally resolves on its own, the flu can cause complications in certain groups of people, including children under age 5, adults over age 65, pregnant women and women up to two weeks postpartum, those with chronic disorders such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and kidney disease, and those with weakened immune systems. Complications can include pneumonia, bronchitis, meningitis, ear infections and even heart problems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting the flu shot is the most effective way to prevent an individual from becoming sick with the flu, and IF they do catch the flu, the flu shot may help to decrease the severity of symptoms, and may also make the entire flu experience milder and shorter in duration. The flu vaccine does contain part of a “dead” flu virus, which sounds questionable, but as science has shown, it is not possible to get the flu from the dead virus flu vaccine. The flu shot takes about 2 weeks to start working and boosting an individual’s respiratory system immunity, so it is possible to get a cold or flu-like symptoms directly after the injection.

Whether you choose to get the flu shot or not this year, there are ways that getting the shot can be less (and more) of a risk to you. Read on to learn more:

• Get the flu shot only when you aren’t feeling under the weather — introducing any foreign compound into the body can challenge the immunity. Hence, getting the flu shot when you feel sick or overly fatigued may have more adverse effects than getting it when you are feeling healthy.
• Get acupuncture before getting the flu shot to boost immunity — ideally, 2-3 sessions of acupuncture over consecutive days just before getting the vaccine can boost your immunity, reducing any chances of adverse effects. At minimum, try to get at least one acupuncture session in the day before your flu shot.
• Avoid getting the flu shot if you have any allergic reactions to chicken egg yolks or egg whites — there is typically a small amount of egg protein in the flu vaccine, so talk to your healthcare provider about alternatives if you have sensitivities to eggs.
• Avoid getting the flu shot if you have or have ever had Guillain-Barre syndrome — this fairly rare condition attacks the peripheral nerves, and the flu vaccine can trigger an attack; again, it’s very uncommon, but an important thing to note just in case you do.
• Try to exercise directly after getting the flu shot — engaging in a work-out will increase blood flow and likely aid in the spread of the vaccine into your musculature more expeditiously. It need not be a rigorous work-out, but any form of calisthenics, yoga, pilates, or moderate weight-lifting will likely make you feel better afterwards.
• Try to get the flu shot from a practitioner who uses the Z-track injection method — When a medication is injected directly into muscle, it is called an intramuscular injection. The Z-track method is a type of intramuscular injection technique used to prevent tracking, or leakage, of the medication into the subcutaneous tissue directly underneath the skin. By gently pulling the skin away from the injection site, a zigzag path is left after the injection is given, helping to seal the injection into the muscle. This will also help minimize familiar post-vaccine soreness in your arm.

Ready to get your flu shot? Start by booking your acupuncture session to boost immunity!