Flu shots hurt

Well it’s that time of year again. The masses line up to get willingly stabbed in the arm and injected with a virus. Ok, a dead virus but whatever… Yes, it’s flu shot season and my arm hurts.

Here in my town they have even set up a drive through station where all the members in your car can drive through, stick their arms out the window and be done with it. Medicine on the go. And apparently it’s very popular too. As we were waiting our turn in the queue, I was chatting with one of the assistants – apparently they had over 700 cars the first day. Not a bad number – and it’s good to know that other members of the community are willing to go through a little prick of pain to protect themselves and others.

As someone with a compromised immune system (due to medications) I appreciate it when I DON’T have to be constantly afraid of getting ill. Although I was a little surprised to note that people who have diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome cannot get a flu shot. Guillain-Barre is a serious disorder that occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system. This leads to nerve inflammation that causes muscle weakness.

Lupus is also an immune system disorder – why is it we can get the flu shot (actually encouraged to get them) and those who have Guillain-Barre can not?