Influenza H5N1

el Gato

el Gato

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OK, who else is freaked out over the avian flu? I am. It's just a matter of time until it re-sorts (months? years?) and we'll have a pandemic.

On that note, have you gotten you flu shot/spray yet?
 
I got the spray done yesterday, fortunately. My school is offering it as a pilot program this year, they were administering them for $10, I jumped on that quick.
 
I will be getting the flu shot for the first time this year. And as soon as the Avian flu shot becomes available I wil sign up for that. My sweetie is one of those hard working blokes that is filling the vaccines for us right now. ;)
 
My place of employment is doing free flu-shots Thursday. I started getting the shots a few years ago, except last year, and I haven't got the flu since. The cdc now says that the vaccine probably only prevents flu in half the pople who get it, but it will make your sympotms less if you do get. The two main ways not to get it are handwashing and not touching your face, especially your eyes and nose.
 
Eyes, nose & mouth. But that's mainly for colds. Flus you can get from air droplets.

A Flu shot is a cocktail of LAST year's viruses....not this years. They guess what could be out there & put it in a cocktail. It usually only has about 3 or 4 strains that it's effective on. Therefore, you can get the other strains.

Btw, if your office air filtering system can't trap an air particle 5 microns in size, then it just blows the virus particles from one room to another. Have fun finding out if it can catch them or not.
 
Well, I am almost 40 and have never had a flu shot, or the flu for that matter. My husband has to have them because of his poor health. He is 44 and had heart surgery at 35. Gets pneumonia very easily.
I only take anitbiotics if the doctor gives me the Z-Pac. I think if we continue to inflict our bodies to chemical drugs they become immune to them. I try the natural antibiotics like garlic, red pepper.
 
im not planning to get a flu shot. i'll exercise more instead.....
 
yes i think natural immunity would be a better option for healthy young adults. but a vaccine is better for children and old people and for people at risk.
so i am not going to take a shot!
 
You can get a pneumonia shot. $35, i hear that it lasts forever, but Im not sure of that.
 
morriefisher said:
A Flu shot is a cocktail of LAST year's viruses....not this years. They guess what could be out there & put it in a cocktail. It usually only has about 3 or 4 strains that it's effective on. Therefore, you can get the other strains.
Click to expand...

No, the cocktail is made of the top 3 current flu viruses based on seasonal activity. The gobal flu season starts in China/Far east, giving the CDC and WHO time to perform detailed testing to determine these 3 strains. It is an educated guess, though, and the strains they select are usually correct. But sometimes another strain enters the picture after this selection is made, or a regional strain becomes a more dominant player. This happened a few years ago in the US.

That's one reason the vaccine is given each year, and last's year's vaccine doesn't work - the strains may be different. Usually at least one strain changes. That is why the influenza vaccine is updated to include current viruses every year. Another reason to get flu vaccine every year is that after you get vaccinated, your immunity to the disease declines over time and may be too low to provide protection after one year.

I didn't get it this year. Actually never got the shot. I did receive the nasal spray 2 years ago, though. I used to work in development with both vaccines, and am probably safe for the next 5 years with all the strains I was in contact with.
 
jubjub said:
yes i think natural immunity would be a better option for healthy young adults. but a vaccine is better for children and old people and for people at risk.
Click to expand...

If you are exposed to a new strain, you will get sick, just depends on how sick is dependent on your immune system. As the young and old have a harder time dealing with the infection, they are the one's primarily targeted with getting the vaccine.
 
MrGovernator said:
im not planning to get a flu shot. i'll exercise more instead.....
Click to expand...

I have always had a really strong immune system and have only caught the flu once when i was very, very young. That is why I was in shock when (Guess what?!) I caught the flu! This flu is all over my school and people are either getting better from it, or just getting it. I figured the same as MrGovernator, I exercise daily and I take countless vitamins, so I figured that there was no chance, but I was very wrong. At first, when I started to show the preliminary symptoms, I didn't think much of it. Thinking they were just normal headaches and an upset stomach I ignored it and continued to exercise, and that is what I think made me even worse! :(

The symtoms are always the same at my school. Luckily, I have not heard of anyone throwing up yet. Normally, people will complain of very bad headaches an upset stomach, and, in most people, a very dry, scratchy throat (the kind that hurts if you try to swallow your saliva). These symtoms will eventually develop into a lot of coughing (and let me tell you, A LOT of coughing) and a congested nose. My cousin, who was one of the first in my school to get it (from going to a concert) did not get better until 2 weeks after exposure, and this seems consistent to me, for I was exposed on Monday and am in the middle of it.

It will have its differences somewhere depending on location, but I believe this is the basis of it. Does anyone else have experiences with this flu? FLU SHOTS RECOMMENDED!!!!!
 
I think that our systems are being exposed way too much to various anti-bacterial soaps, shampoos and whatever they have come up with. It makes our bodies think it is doing the job. I don't use any of it. I use regular soap and water and bleach and some common sense.
As for the flu shot, anyone, regardless of age, that has been sick or is not in good health normally, should get the shot. I have never had it, only colds and the stomach flu like maybe once.
 
Anti bacterial soaps are only effective against bacteria, of which these viruses are not......they are tiny bits of RNA who's only mission in life is to reproduce :-)
 
My first line of defense: 500-1000 mg Vitamin C and a double dose of Advil plus a good night rest, at the first sign of flu. My logic: beef up my immune system with vitamin C while preventing fever with Advil. It works all the time except when it was too late... :bigok:
 
"No, the cocktail is made of the top 3 current flu viruses based on seasonal activity. "

It's still last years (or previous years) viruses. First of all, they don't know what this years is going to be & second, if they did, there wouldn't be enough time to make a vaccine set.


"My logic: beef up my immune system with vitamin C while preventing fever with Advil."

Btw, fever just indicates the body is fighting a battle. You really don't need to surpress it until it gets too high.
 
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