TEENS HEALTH

TEENS HEALTH
Who needs a flu shot?
TEENSHEALTH.ORG
If you had the flu last year, you know how bad it can make you feel. You're hot one minute, cold the next, your head aches and you're completely out of energy. Some people, however, never got the flu because they got a flu shot. Not everyone needs a flu shot, though. Read on to find out if you should get one.
What's in a flu shot?
A flu shot is one kind of vaccine. It contains killed flu viruses that won't cause you to get the flu, but will cause your body to make antibodies to fight off infection by the live flu virus. In this way, the virus causes you to become immune or protected against that particular flu virus. You might have some minor side effects for one or two days after the shot, like a headache or mild fever, or you might feel sore in the area where you got the shot. But the side effects aren't as bad as the flu, which can make you sick for two or three weeks.
The ingredients for flu shots are actually grown inside eggs. So if you're allergic to eggs or egg products, let your doctor know before you get a flu shot.
Reasons to get a flu shot
Most teens don't need a flu shot, but some should have one. If you have certain medical conditions like kidney disease, diabetes, HIV, heart problems or a lung disorder like asthma, most doctors will recommend that you get a flu shot every year to protect you from complications like pneumonia. You might also want to get a flu shot if you live with a parent, brother or sister who is at risk for health problems if they get the flu.
Flu shots are meant to keep you from getting sick -- but not everyone needs one. If you have questions, talk to your doctor and find out whether this vaccine is a good idea for you.
XFor other health articles written just for teens, go online to http://www.TeensHealth.org.
SNEAK PEEK
The buzz on booksand music
SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE
The stuff you really gotta hear and read right this second.
Books
"The Best American Nonrequired Reading," edited by Dave Eggers (Mariner Books, $13). All the reads you wish they'd assign in class, compiled by too-cool-for-school lit It boy Dave Eggers ("A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"). This collection has something for everyone: fiction ("Fourth Angry Mouse"); nonfiction ("My Fake Job"); and a narrative comic ("Bomb Scare"). If only this book were mandatory in schools!
CDs
First it was the Strokes, then it was the Hives; now the two-word hype torch has been passed to the Vines. They deserve the buzz: Their CD, "Highly Evolved," rocks! We just can't get enough of their grunge-meets-garage single "Get Free." It's a song about doing what you want to do -- which can be almost anything, according to sinter-guitarist Craig Nicholls. "It's hard to put what we do into words. It depends on the song and what mood we're in," he says. That hasn't stopped critics from comparing the Vines to the Beatles and Nirvana. Not bad for a band that got its start at a McDonald's in Sydney, where Nicholls and Patrick Matthews (then in their teens) met while flipping burgers. If you ask us, "Highly Evolved" is a way better pick-me-up than a Happy Meal.
XFor more reviews, check out the latest issue of Seventeen or visit the magazine's Web site at www.seventeen.com.
TRAUMARAMA
Humiliating moments
SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE
Rebel child
My date and I fell asleep on the sofa in my all-girl residence hall, and I missed my plane home for Christmas the next morning. Nothing happened on the sofa, but it was tough waking up to face dozens of classmates with grapefruit and scrambled eggs on their breakfast trays in the next room -- not to mention walking though the cafeteria in last night's outfit with bed-head. And mascara running down my face. Calling my mom and dad to explain why their bookworm 4.0-GPA daughter couldn't get to the airport was the hardest thing. In the end, I made it home for the holidays and rather enjoyed (finally!) having done something vaguely shocking.