Is it a bad idea being around my SO if he just got his flu shot and being around me while I'm pregnant?

I’d suggest calling your ob/gyn and asking. Some people have no problem with flu shots – I get really sick from them so I stopped taking them. Has your fiance had them before, and if so, what reactions does he normally have?

@llewis He has taken one before and he said it made him sick and made him get the flu symptoms. He is diabetic though, so he has a weaker immune system then I do.

I’d (personally) stay away, then. You don’t need to be getting the flu right now! :)

You will be just fine. Pregnant women are even recommended to get the shot. Go get your facts here at the CDC

He could get flu, so you could get flu.
@Cruiser ‘s suggestion to get the shot is probably better though.

I am with Cruiser.

Injected flu vaccines don’t shed, per se. However nasally-received flu vaccines like FluMist shed live virus for up to 2 weeks; read the package insert. In a clinical trial, an unvaccinated elementary school child developed the same vaccine-strain influenza as her peers who received the intranasal vaccine. You may wish to avoid people who’ve had FluMist for 2 weeks.

Also check the package insert for information on injectable influenza vaccines. Contrary to the CDC’s recommendation, vaccine manufacturers HAVE NOT TESTED the influenza vaccine on pregnant women. The CDC simply states that the vaccine has been given to millions of women, but whether that government agency and manufacturers are doing adequate postmarketing tracking of adverse events in pregnant women is subject to debate.

Most injected influenza vaccines contain 25 micrograms of ethylmercury from Thimerosal, a bacteriostatic preservative whose job is to kill cells. Search PubMed for studies, especially a recent UC-Davis study showing that Thimerosal kills dendrites and damages calcium channels (therefore immunity) at 20–40 parts per billion. 25 micrograms = 50,000 ppb in each flu shot, which is only considered “safe” for persons weighing 550 lbs.

Mercury in any form is a neurotoxin, and at extremely low levels. Consider reading the new book “The Age of Autism: Mercury, Medicine, and a Man-made Epidemic,“a book by Dan Olmsted & Mark Blaxill. Mercury binds to protein and fat tissue such as the brain and kidneys. A 2005 Washington macaque study found that ethylmercury from Thimerosal left the bloodstream more quickly than methylmercury from fish—because the ethylmercury bound with brain tissue twice as fast.

Also consider reading “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children’s Vaccinations” by Stephanie Cave, MD, and “The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child” by Dr. Robert Sears. These are not “anti-vaccine” in content; they advocate for vaccine use tailored to the individual’s unique medical condition.

As I understand it, your fiancee will have a lowered immune system for about two weeks following his shot as his body builds up to fight the anticipated flu strain. If the flu is already going around then he is more likely to get it. I used to think the flu shots gave people the flu but now I get the shots earlier in the season and have been fine for about 3yrs running.

@Cruiser No. In fact you should get the shot. The mortality of H1N1 is higher in pregnant women.

@Neizvestnaya flu shots do give people the flu, that’s basically what they’re supposed to do. The fact most people DON’T get flu is just good fortune and modern science.

@Zyx No, flu shots don’t give people the flu. That’s a myth.

Where’s @Shiloloh? He set me straight about flu shots and I’ve not regretted getting them since.

@Rarebear Re-read my answer…that is exactly what I said plus I gave the link to the CDC which does strongly recommend the flu shot for preggers!

@Cruiser Sorry, I’m not sure what I was doing. I read your answer and I agreed with it at the time. I must haver been distracted when I posted. You’re right, of course.

@Rarebear tried looking it up to be safe but I couldn’t find anything as concrete as proof. Still vaccination is nano technology on a level we are as of yet very inept at. So to say you might get flu from the vaccine seems more than fair.

@Zyx It’s not nanotechnology. The flu shots are dead virus particles. You can’t get the flu from a dead virus particle. And we’re not “inept” either, in fact we’re very “ept” at it. Jonas Salk used this exact same technology to nearly wipe out polio. And smallpox has been eliminated from this planet.

@Rarebear Virus scale is nano or smaller so yeah nanotech. Dead DNA? At this scale deactivated or incapacitated DNA would be more accurate and it’s not like we can be sure there’s no active virus remaining. I don’t know how stuff like this is handled but hermetically packaging DNA doesn’t seem like something we would be able to do with a 100% success rate. We can barely see DNA let alone scan it with any kind of accuracy.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with vaccination, though destroying smallpox might have been a mistake. Seriously, that’s just gonna come back worse. The point is vaccination teaches the body to fight the disease so it’s not like you’d know if there was an active virus in any of the vaccins.

Destroying smallpox may have been a mistake? Are you joking? What’s your take on polio, measles, hepatitis B and rubella? Do you believe that we shouldn’t vaccinate against those either?

@Rarebear I think exterminating life on any scale is (probably) a mistake. Vaccinations are islands and with every disease that disappears the chance of us being Dodos rises. Any disease we remove now might not only kill us all when it returns and our resistance is down, it might also mutate and kick anything in the face.

Life evolved in a balance and evolution will not stop because we don’t want to be sick anymore.

@Zyx 500 million people died of smallpox died in the 20th century alone. That number was decreased to zero by immunization.

Frankly, I find your point of view appalling.

@Rarebear Sure you do, I find your point of view appalling too. Let’s leave it at that.

@Zyx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Child_with_Smallpox_Bangladesh.jpg

Nice debate. :)