Flu Shots
 

I encourage everyone to make sure they have gotten their flu shots for this year.

Last night, I took my fiance to the doctors, where they tested and confirmed that she has Influenza A, which can be deadly this year. it is resistant to Tamiflu, so there is no treatment for it at all this year.

She has been quarantined at home for the next 7-10 days per doctors orders.

She already has lung issues, from years of smoking, so her lungs are weak. I was told to get her to the hospital ASAP if there are any problems with her breathing...As I sit here and type this thread, her breathing is a bit labored now, but not bad enough to take her yet.

I had the flu shot in December, so if anything, I'll get a few days of aches and pains.

We've already had a couple of flu related deaths in my area this year, so I am scared ****less right now.

Please...for yours and your family's sake, go out and get this flu shot.

We did.

Thanks for reminding folks, though.

We will be thinking of you. I hope she comes through it with flying colors.

Hopefully your flu shot will be effective, but if you feel something coming on you might try Oscillococcinum at the first onset of symptoms:

http://www.oscillo.com/

Good luck to your fiancee.

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/vaccines/477.html


What are antiviral flu drugs?
Antiviral flu drugs are prescription medicines that can be used to help prevent and/or treat the flu. There are four antiviral flu drugs: amantadine (one brand name: Symmetrel), oseltamivir (brand name: Tamiflu), rimantadine (brand name: Flumadine) and zanamavir (brand name: Relenza). All 4 of these antiviral drugs have been approved to treat the flu. If you take one of these drugs within 2 days of getting sick, it can lessen your symptoms, decrease the amount of time you are sick and make you less contagious to other people. However, most healthy people who have the flu get better without using an antiviral flu drug. Your doctor will decide whether one of these medicines is right for you.

Three of the antiviral flu drugs have also been approved to prevent the flu. These drugs are not a substitute for the influenza vaccine. They are most often used for flu prevention in institutions where people at high risk for flu complications are in close contact with each other, such as nursing homes or hospitals. For example, during a flu outbreak in a nursing home, residents and staff might be given the flu vaccine and an antiviral drug to prevent the flu until the vaccine takes effect.

As I understand it from the doctor last night, this strain is resistant to all flu medications. the only thing that can be done is let it run it's course, and treat the effects of it such as lung issues and such.

If her breathing gets any worse than it is right now (which is worse than it was last night), I'll be taking her to the hospital for a nice little stay there.

Knew a colleague who contracted Buillain-Barre syndrome from a flu shot. Makes you think more than twice about getting one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillain-Barr%C3%A9_syndrome

I had a flu shot, at the doctors office when I went for flu symptoms :)

She'll be fine, take care of her, make sure she drinks a lot of fluids.

When are you getting married?
I'm tying the knot this Friday :)

Danny

We were going to on Saturday

So, we should all get a useless and possibly dangerous vaccination because your fiancée is a heavy smoker with weak lungs?
Get real, flu shots are useless. The flu virus mutates every year hence the shots are not effective for the new strain. You've got an immune system don't you, let it fight. And if somebody is stupid enough to smoke to the extent that his/her lungs are weak I have no sympathy.
You should research it, talk to pharmacists before advising "everybody".

If your theory is right, and I doubt it is, what you are saying is that the new strain comes up and the old ones of yesteryear will simply disappear, right? That seems to be the only way your theory makes sense. OTOH, I believe the old strains are still there which makes the flu shot make sense. Nobody ever said it protects you against ALL strains. Like any immunization, it protects you against known strains.

Some people think there is more to Tamiflu et all than the government's good will towards the people.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1169

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=ENG20051106&articleId=1190

Even though last year's virus might be still around, it still is dangerous to take medicine that is unproven to work and might be dangerous to take, especially when (most)people have a perfectly capable, built in defense system to fight off the intruder.
But if you want inject away, it's your health.

The flu shots are reformulated each year based on the mutations. I have had a flu shot every year for years, and I've not had the flu. Of course this is not necessarily a cause-effect situation, but for the great majority of folks this is a simple, cheap thing which can prevent a huge, potentially harmful PITA. My whole family gets them, wife and 2 kids, and none of us have had side effects from the vaccine, and none have gotten the flu.

Rgds,
Chris W.

And some people also believe that 911 was a hoax like the moon landings.

It is. Unless your thesis is that they all mutated into the new strain and are no longer around.

It is dangerous to take aspirin too. How dangerous are you talking about? How did you figure "unproven"?

Yes but do you want to suffer in the meantime while the body is trying to adapt it's defenses to the last year's strain that is unknown to it at this time or have it "primed" and ready to go for last year's strain?

Yes it is. Immunizations have been used for a long time. Sure, there could be some that have an unusual reaction to it but like I said before, aspirin could also have some side effect with the 1 in a million case.

Climb off that pedestal you're on, your going to get a nose bleed!

I have taken the flu shot every year for the last 6 years, and have yet to get sick from it. Each formulation is changed each year to include different strains fo the flu. It forces your body to build the antibodies to fight it.

She has not smoked in years, but much of the damage came from living in the LA area with the polution.

She is a survivor of breast cancer, and due to the treatments she underwent, she can't take the flu vaccine for 2 more years.

I took her to the hospital this morning where she was admitted for pneumonia, another vaccine that she can't take for 2 years.



Thanks for coming across as an a$$

That is just it. It "trains" your immune system so that if you encounter that strain, the system already knows what to do. That speeds up the reaction a lot as opposed to the body "learning" at the time of an infection.

Here is a little trick my wife did while studying pharmacology. Every drug will print out their laundry list of symptoms. Pretty much boilerplate. So, if you name them all from head to toe, you will get it right. Certain drugs will have their own peculiar side effects. So, if you list out all the stuff, you will get it right. You have to remember some unique ones like say blue spots in your vision with viagra. Say you are talking about Cialis, Viagra or Levitra, you might get priapism in which case, you are to consult your local hooker or doctor. Either way, you can tack on the rest of the side effects that you memorized for this and all other drugs.