flu shot and now sick for 8 days

[jennifers]

I was feeling great with no signs of sickness when I got my mandatory flu vaccine. I got it at 5 am and then had an inservice that morning. by noon i was feeling bad. by 5 pm that night i was achy and had a fever. I started to have nasal drainage and a sore throat. the next day I was coughing a lot. The cough has continued for 8 days now. I'm feeling ok other than my chest.

So, soon I am going to be asked to take the swine flu vaccine. I am very leary of taking it. I dont want to go through this again. Anyone else get sick from it. I thought we couldnt get sick since it is a dead strain. but this is the third year i have got sick from the vaccine. I had to get it both years I was in nursing school and both times I was sick afterwards. I thought it was coincidence but now i'm not sure. I'm working with pregnant woman though and new babies so they are high risk categories. I should be fine if i just stay home if i'm not feeling well right?

[oramar]

It is highly unlikely that you would get a flu shot in AM and would be sick from it at noon.(except in cases of allergic reation) Most likely you came down with something you were exposed to 24 to 48 hours earlier. Sometimes I get mild flu like symptoms after a vaccine, but not always. It take two to three days for the reaction to occur. What I get is not the acute symptoms of flu like cough and sore throat but the low grade fever and body aches that occur as result of immune response. This mild response to the vaccine that occurs two or three days after being vaccinated usually last 24 to 48 hours. Having had honest to God influenza on a couple of occasions I find that a few body aches for a day or two are a fair trade to avoid getting the biggie.