Friendly reminder from the resident Nurse

[alaine]

Influenza/The Flu/Crud etc...So it's predicted that we will only get about 10% protection with the current flu vaccine. Hopefully we will get a more accurate vaccine out soon. Many people are already sick. One entire local school district closed for 2 days last week because of the flu.

PLEASE, I beg you if you have upper respiratory symptoms...such as fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, muscle aches...stay your ass at home. DON'T go to work and don't see your ATF. Getting into see your Doc for Tamaflu can greatly reduce the severity of your symptoms and reduce your down time (if you actually have the flu).

WASH your hands frequently...spray phones, door knobs etc with Lysol or similar antibacterial spray. Ladies, clean your in calls frequently. Protect yourselves and your clients.

IF you are going into see your medical practitioner...wear a mask even if you don't have symptoms. Doctors offices are full of people with the flu right now. Most Docs will have mask handy at the entrance. IF you have it...please don't spread it...IF you don't, protect yourself.

PROVIDERS if you have questionable symptoms...don't contaminate anyone else.

IF you find yourself with the actual flu.....

Stay hydrated, rest and take meds such as Tylenol/Ibuprofen/NYQUIL for symptom relief. Vitamin C/Zinc to boost immune system.

If you have high blood pressure, be careful what you take. Medications that often can be safely used by people with significant allergies include nasal corticosteroids. In addition, antihistamines are very effective. The antihistamines include fexofenadine (Allegra), cetirizine (Zyrtec), Lorraine (Claritin) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl).

Be proactive if you are out at the grocery or Walmart...take advantage of the antibacterial wipes at the door and wipe down the handle on your buggy. Simple things can help reduce your risk.

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST....CHICKEN SOUP!

[Ssjdawg]

Me and everyone I know that doesn’t get flu shots is fine. Seems like the flu shot people don’t have a good immune system. Funny how that worked out.

[DownForWhatever]

I tend to drop the DFK around this time of year...having picked up the crud enough times after such a session.

[WalkerTx]

Good advice and fixed it for you !

Originally Posted by alaine

Stay hydrated, rest and take meds such as Tylenol/Ibuprofen/NYQUIL for symptom relief. Vitamin C/Zinc to boost immune system.

If you have high blood pressure, be careful what you take. Medications that often can be safely used by people with significant allergies include nasal corticosteroids. In addition, antihistamines are very effective. The antihistamines include fexofenadine (Allegra), cetirizine (Zyrtec), Loratadine (Claritin) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl).

Be proactive if you are out at the grocery or Walmart...take advantage of the antibacterial wipes at the door and wipe down the handle on your buggy. Simple things can help reduce your risk.

LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST....CHICKEN SOUP!

[rexdutchman]

The FLU shot is 50/50 at best , they can't keep up with the changes in the flu ( I think its a drug company rip-off at best ) get something you don't need and doesn't work !! When I got the shot I got sick no shot past several years and no sick

[CG2014]

Originally Posted by rexdutchman

When I got the shot I got sick no shot past several years and no sick

I got my shot last month.

The nurse told me before she gave me the shot that a small percentage of folks who get the shot may experience slight flu symptoms a few days afterward.

I guess you fell into that small percentage.

I did read that this year's vaccine is not very effective especially with the HN3 (correct spelling?) strain that's causing an outbreak in Australia.

But I still went and got a shot just to be partially protected.

I get one every year plus I get it at Tom Thumb so they give me a 10% off a $200 grocery shopping trip coupon.

[~Ze~]

I usually get a head cold once or twice a year, but never the flu. And I've never had a flu shot.

Thank you for the PSA. I wish people followed advice like this all year.

[ck1942]

Effectiveness of the flu vaccine is always a partial guess and partial history of previous episodes.

Vaccine makers need time to ramp up production and govt researchers do their best to predict which strains to include in advance of the next flu season.

fwiw, getting the shot won't harm the recipient, although it may not provide ideal protection either.

imo, better to get the shot (mine are always almost free) than to take the risk.

ijs

[Brandee69]

Thank you Thank you! for posting this!

[skirtchaser79411]

Alot of it going around my work, NO flu shot for me and i feel fine

[goofy11]

Got the flu every year like clock work until I started getting the flu shot about 20 years ago...no flu since.

[TexTushHog]

Originally Posted by rexdutchman

The FLU shot is 50/50 at best , they can't keep up with the changes in the flu ( I think its a drug company rip-off at best ) get something you don't need and doesn't work !! When I got the shot I got sick no shot past several years and no sick

Originally Posted by Ssjdawg

Me and everyone I know that doesn’t get flu shots is fine. Seems like the flu shot people don’t have a good immune system. Funny how that worked out.

And you can go through an intersection blind and run a stop sign ten times in a row, or twenty, and not have a collision. The flu shot doesn’t make anyone sick, unless you count feeling a bit out of sorts for a day or two in about 10% if the cases. But getting the flu shot makes sense just like looking where you’re going when you go through an intersection with a stop sign. Yes, you can not look and be safe. And even if you look, you can still have an accident. But your odds are a hell of a lot better if you slow down, stop, and look where you’re going. Just like they’re a lot better with the flu if you get the vaccination, wash your hands, and take other common sense precautions.

[Willow Breeze]

The one year I had the flu shot I spent 6 weeks in icu due to a major allergic reaction to the vaccine. The flue shot is not 100% safe no vaccine is. If you have the mthfr gene vaccines can be deadly. I will never take another flu shot as the last one almost killed me.

[alaine]

The flu VACCINE is NOT 100% safe. READ the disclosure you sign listing the risks when you get the shot. I'm NOT trying to scare you from getting the vaccine, but I've seen 3 cases of ALS attributed to the flu vaccine. It's very rare, but it does/can happen. If you are high risk, older, immune disorders, COPD, emphysema etc....you should consider getting both the flu vaccine and the pneumonia vaccine. Please discuss your risk with your medical practitioner when making these decisions.

*****Ironic...I had no way of knowing when I made the original post that I would have a family member die last night. 49 years old, diagnosed with the flu on Friday...developed pneumonia and sepsis...died Sunday night of complications related to the flu.

36,000 people

How many people usually die from the flu each year? The flu kills about 36,000 people a year in the United States, according to the CDC, though the range varies greatly each year. Most deaths are caused by complications from the flu

[CG2014]

Don't forget the Flu pandemic of 1918 infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide – about one-third of the planet’s population at the time –and killed an estimated 50 millions worldwide:

it was not just confined to the USA and Europe.