LogFAQs > #929314240

Shadowbird_RH posted...

My understanding of vaccines is that, neither weakening it nor strengthening the immune system, they basically just show it what to watch out for, like updating a computer's anti-virus watch list.

Pretty much, though you can call that strengthening because it gives your immune system the ability to ward off the disease without having to actually be subjected to it.

Shadowbird_RH posted...

I'm just the sort of jerk who refuses help unless I really need it, like a sort of pride/arrogance thing.

As far as vaccines go, you should probably be wary of that. Even if it doesn't end up hurting you, you can end up carrying the virus and infecting other people who may not be able to fight it off (not necessarily in the immune sense, but general physical well-being). The conventional wisdom for flu shots is that healthy young adults generally don't need one (H1N1 excepted, because that strain in particular would provoke an immune system overreaction that was most dangerous for fully immunocompetent people), which is true if you only look at yourself, but from a public health perspective, it can still be worthwhile.

SunWuKung420 posted...

It really makes of wonder what they actually injected you with.

Not really. Most things cause a certain degree of irritation/inflammation if you inject them into your muscle, and especially so if the one doing the injection doesn't know how to avoid nerves. The vaccine also prompts an immune response, so it's completely within expectation that you'd get an inflammatory reaction at the injection site.
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