Get Your Flu Shot Before You Get the Flu

My plan was to get a flu shot before I got the flu. My plan went awry. I got the flu before I got my flu shot. I’d called my doctor’s office to arrange for a flu shot and pneumonia booster shot during my follow-up appointment regarding some follow-up blood tests at the end of October.

Right now I have the runny nose, body aches, earaches, swollen glands, headache, and fever that are all classic signs of the flu, which tends to be respiratory in nature. I’d call it a cold except it feels worse than that.

I’m so glad that my husband finally got his shingles shot at K-Mart Pharmacy. I’d had mine years ago. Shingles is a bad rap, as you’ve undoubtedly noticed in alarming TV commercials that do a good job of motivating people to get their shingles vaccine, appropriate for all persons over 50, according to WebMD, as long as they’re not “profoundly immunocompromised” by chemotherapy or steroids.

Shingles can even lead to blindness, not to mention the painful rash that can last years. Older people are particularly susceptible to shingles (related to chickenpox, which sort of hibernates in the body after you’ve had it), pneumonia, and flu, so make sure you’re caught up on all of those shots.