Meningitis: Should I get The Shot?
 

I'm moving into the dorms tomorrow and have been considering getting a shot for meningitis. It seems pretty rare, but there have been a few cases reported at the university I go to, and well ... meningitis can really f$&* you up. I wasn just wondering how many people here who live in a dorm have gotten their meningitis shot.

I got mine before I started college last year. I thought it'd hurt... I didn't feel it at all. And last semester, someone on campus contracted meningitis. So yeah, I think you should definitely get it. It's not worth the risk not to.

Unless it's really expensive or has serious side-effects, I always think inocculations are worth it.

I've had meningitis. It nearly killed me and left some nasty side effects. Get the shot.

I currently live in a dorm, and have for the last 2 years. I have not had a meningitis shot.

Why haven't I gotten it? Well, I'm not really sure. I guess when it comes down to it I just don't really care.

After my brother lost his hearing to it, I believe my parents got me the shot. But I am not at all too sure.

It can also kill you... :( that'd be a bad thing...

Columbia University's health site, which i think does a pretty good job answering questions -- has an indepth analysis of the question - including links from the CDC's site...

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1582.html

The answer is pretty much, yes, it doesnt hurt you and it should only help you... though it's not always 100 percent effective..

From a UK medical site, it looks like the suggest the meningitis shot for young children..
http://www.medinfo.co.uk/immunisations/meningitisc.html
and the side effects are pretty easy"
The commonest side effects are:

redness and swelling at the site of the injection
mild fever
irritability
headaches

I lived in the dorms for four years and never got the shot. It cost $90 at my school. Then again, I didn't feel like my risk of catching it and having it get really bad before I saw a doctor was too high because I was at health services fairly frequently. It seemed like a cheaper way to do things considering sick visits were free. (I probably went in at least every two months to get my birth control refills or just to ask about any changes in my body's behavior.)

Second that too, I was pretty fuckin sick for a few months, even everybody didn't get me xmas presents b/c they didn't think i was gonna make it. Now, I'm left with no hearing because of the mutherfucker

Third voice here - Had meningitis, now deaf with losses in other senses as well after 6 months in the hospital. 5 seconds of discomfort is worth the life change... if you still have your life at the end.

PBS just aired a special on meningitis the other night. Amazingly nasty bug. It can take you from a headache to dead in a night. The percentages of people who catch it are small but for $60-90 I'd get the shot. People in high density (dorm) settings are the most common victims.

I would do it, because no matter how low the chances are, I'd rather get the pain/hassle of an injection than the pain of losing my limbs, and potentially my life.

My school required that you either get the vaccine or sign a waiver. After I heard that meningitis was some pretty serious shit, I went and got the vaccine as soon as possible. Most health insurance will cover it because of how bad meningitis is.

vaccine doesnt mean you cant get meningitis, it just helps... the bacteria that can hurt you can live in your new roommates nose without hurting them... heh kinda frightening.

That is precisely why I started this thread. Oh, ignorance is bliss. Damn you PBS. Damn you! ;)

Well, you all have convinced me to get my shot. I'm going to find out right away how I can get it and how much it costs. What really got me is the sheer number of people on TFP alone that have been directly affected by meningitis. I thought it was less widespread, but I was clearly mistaken. Thanks everyone.

Just get the shot. Better safe then sorry.

This from the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4907a2.htm

Break it down like this: You're in a high risk category, (you white freshman dorm-dweller with radiant heat and a recent cold). The incidence in college students is low (1 per 100,000) but you have to weigh a $90 shot (known cost) vs. the somewhat low risk of catching a disease that can easily kill you. Get that part? Kill you. So for $90 you eliminate a possible cause of death. To me, that's cheap.

According to my doctor, it's now required at many campus's, and likewise commonly covered by insurance companies. They are starting kids as young as 11 with the vaccine. That said, get the shot, it's worth it. I did.

How come its meningitis and not womyningitis? This seems sooo sexist.

Shots were required at my school, but since they were $80 a pop I didn't get any of them. Oddly they never said anything about it to me. And I didn't catch meningitis.