Avoiding sickness

[RonHebbard]

I used to get a flu shot every year in August, and like clockwork, I would get the debilitating flu during the entire month of December. That was OK since December was always slow for me. I went to see my doctor and he explained his secretary died the week prior from the flu shot. He scolded me and NEVER get the flu shot. Hmmm OK, he thoroughly scared the you know what out of me. That was 20 years ago and I have never had the flu since I stopped getting the shots. I also never shake hands, I do the fist bump, and I never ever touch the handles of any shopping cart and take advantage of the free wipes to clean the handles and use the wipes to always be between my hands and the handles. Lastly, I've learned to never touch my nose and face during flu season. It's hasn't turned me into a germaphobe as much as being aware of how disgusting people are with their hands. Well, maybe it has made me a germaphobe - because every time some coughs or sneezes around me in a restaurant, I exit stage right. My brother doesn't believe me, and gets a flue every year even after a shot every year. This year the flue put his wife in the hospital for three days. All this works for me so I'll stick with it because last time I had it so bad it nearly put me in the hospital and now that I 'm up there in years I think the bad flu like I had in the past would not be handled well.

@kendal69 When you wrote "the flue put his wife in the hospital for three days" were you suggesting they had trouble with their fireplace's chimney? Some down-drafts can be nasty. [Know when you're being picked on for your spelling.]
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

 

[mikefellh]

I went to see my doctor and he explained his secretary died the week prior from the flu shot. He scolded me and NEVER get the flu shot. Hmmm OK, he thoroughly scared the you know what out of me. That was 20 years ago and I have never had the flu since I stopped getting the shots.

Maybe the secretary had an egg allergy. How the flu shot is made has changed over 20 years, and things doctors said then changes over the years. When I get the flu shot anywhere in the province of Ontario (Canada) every year I'm given a checklist that I have to go through BEFORE being given the shot to make sure I don't have certain medical conditions...if I have any of them they may not give me the shot, want to observe me closely, or give an alternative to the needle (like the mist inhaler) to get the same medication. Heck, there was once a time when doctors endorsed smoking and certain cigarette brands:

Just recently my current doctor made me stop a medication that another doctor recommended I take!

 

[mikefellh]

The best advice I heard given to a cast by a nurse was to keep your hands away from your face . . . the virus will be on your hands.

I admit my worst habit is buying some finger food to eat on the subway/bus on the way home (or to an event)...so I grab the handrails that everyone else grabs, then grab a fry and put it in my mouth. Sometimes I do get a stomach bug the next day (which I usually blame on eating at McDonalds).

 

[DIYLED]

Just because you're paranoid
Don't mean germs aren't after you
(Imagine Kurt Cobain singing that.)

The flu shot benefits wear off after a few months, so a flu shot in August may not protect as well from a February peak as getting a flu shot in November. I read this somewhere, so it must be true.

Here's an interesting page on hand sanitizers and effectiveness on norovirus:
http://www.stopthestomachflu.com/Home/which-hand-sanitizers-kill-stomach-flu-viruses
It seems legit. The author cites a lot of peer-reviewed articles and seems to know a lot about the details of how research is done.

I noticed that Germ-X has recently switched to 70% alcohol instead of 62%. I think Purell did the same.

 

[bobgaggle]

About all I do during flu season is wash my hands more. I've heard its bad this year because the vaccine is only 10% effective. I didn't get the shot, and no one I see regularly in the Philly area has gotten it this year.

 

[gafftaper]

Begin Rant #1: Know the difference between "The Flu" and Influenza.

-Influenza is the virus you get the flu shot for. Influenza is primarily an attack on the respiratory system with a high fever. Although it can include vomiting and other intestinal nightmares, it often doesnt. Every year thousands, sometimes millions, die from Influenza.

-The thing we call "The Flu" or "Stomach Flu" is a non-medical term that gets applied to several other viruses. The most common "stomach flu" is actually Norovirus, the thing you hear about causing nightmares on Cruise Ships. Typically this doesn't kill you but you kinda wish it would because you are puking for a couple days. The vacine shot for Influenza has NO EFFECT on Norovirus or "Stomach flu".

It drives me crazy how many people will say, "I got the flu shot and got sick anyway" when they are talking about a completely different virus. Yes viruses mutate and the flu shot isn't always effective. This year they are saying it's only 30% effective but it reduces the symptoms and recovery time. But most of the people who say "I got sick anyway" are talking about Norovirus. NOT influenza.

Begin Rant #2 Vaccines

It's amazing how many people will ignore the advice of all of medical science and choose to listen to a former Playboy Playmate instead. There's the American Medical Association and every other prestigious medical organization on one side and scientific genius Jenny McCarthy on the other. Do the research on a REAL medical website and you'll find that every claim about vaccines and autism has been debunked. I believe the British guy who started the whole anti-vaxer movement had his medical license taken away from him for a fraud! Yes, side effects used to happen to people who took vaccines 30 years ago and they died for weird reasons, but those are very rare today. No, having had a lot of other illnesses a long time ago doesn't prepare you to fight the flu today so you don't need one. No you shouldn't follow the advice of your doctor from 30 years ago who barely understood vaccines, you should talk to a current doctor to find out if you are healthy enough to get the shot. Yes there are 1 in a million odds that you could still have some sort of a weird reaction to a Vaccine, get sick, and die. However, the odds of you dying from the flu are MUCH higher. There is a TINY chance that you could die from wearing a seat belt as it traps you in a car accident where you sink under a lake. Should that stop you from wearing a seat belt? No, because the odds of you dying from not wearing a seat belt are significantly higher in EVERY other kind of accident.

Just get the shot. If nothing else, your getting the shot helps to create herd immunity which keeps people with depressed immune systems safer.

The flu shot benefits wear off after a few months, so a flu shot in August may not protect as well from a February peak as getting a flu shot in November. I read this somewhere, so it must be true. .

My wife is a Nurse and always makes sure we get our flu shot's in Mid-November. You need a few weeks for it to take effect. Then, yes it slowly looses effectiveness. Typically you want to have your Maximum coverage from December-February, so November is the time to start the process by getting your shot.

 

[GreyWyvern]

Amen! Preach it, Brother @gafftaper!

 

[EdSavoie]

Vaccination (with something like the flu, or other disease that's more annoying than deadly to the average person) is more about protecting those who can't be vaccinated or for whom it doesn't work rather than your own protection.

I don't often get the flu (or the vaccination for it) in all honesty, but you can bet I've got every major one out there. (Looking at you Hepatitis and HPV)

If I worked in a vulnerable sector, or with someone immunno compromised, idI be getting it very timely.