Posted on 01/22/2018 6:11:11 AM PST by Sean_Anthony
So let's set priorities rather than setting off panics
Flu fear is in the air! Emergency rooms are swamped. Sore throat? Nasal congestion? Get thee to the hospital! Now!
We know we should believe this because the media tell us so.
The hype:
“Get Ready, Some Medical Experts Are Predicting the Worst Flu Season In History,” declares a CNBC headline.
“Here’s Why the Flu Is Especially Bad This Year,” says Time.
“Five Things You Should Know About This Year’s Very Bad Flu,” proclaims The Washington Post.
We repeatedly hear of “deadly flu” and are told in dire terms that over 100 Americans have died from it as of January 11.
The anti-viral Tamiflu could be very helpful, but there are localized shortages. (Because of the hype, of course.)
I’m starting to think flu shots aren’t much more than “sugar water”...
*
The flu this season is apparently killing more people than usual beyond the normal high risk groups.
Eehhh yeah.
A friend who is the boss of nurses at a local hospital says they have taken in 3 times as many patients this year compared to last.
I know this thing drive me under for 3 weeks in December.
When you are old and have other health issues like respiratory or heart problems, hay fever is a problem. Every year in most areas, there are around 200 different flu strains that go through. If a common cold can turn into pneumonia at the drop of a hat because of what you already have, then what’s the difference?
You can make the case that hiding in your house with installed additional HEPA air filtering devices is going to make you live longer. I disagree. It is going to help you survive longer, not live.
The injections you can get for these 4 or 5 only strains will not stop the flu in it’s tracks. It is there to make it easier to get through it. If you are already very ill, it won’t help enough. I’m reminded of Red Foxx when he said, “Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.” And they had no life if they hid from it.
rwood
The hype: “Get Ready, Some Medical Experts Are Predicting the Worst Flu Season In History”...
That truly is representative of the hype nowadays on *everything*. “Worst Flu season in History”, relies on the ignorance of the populace about any historical event that occurred before they were born. The 1918 Flu Pandemic killed between 20 and 40 million.
Everyone in our office got flu vaccination in October.
Almost everyone in our office has missed 2-5 days for flu since mid-November.
It is very bad. These are generally healthy people.
Same here. I had not missed work due to illness in 11 years. Until last week. I was pretty sick for 4 full days, still having a bit of vertigo.
The flu-shot for any given flu season is a ‘best guess’ by the vaccine makers with regards what protein combinations are going to be expressed by the flu virus in that particular year. If it's a good guess, it can be significantly protective for that years strain. Often it isn't.
My mom who is 83 is freaked out over this. She told me she will not use paper money until April she is going to charge everything. She also won’t go to the library. :0)
My educated guess is that those who die from the flu do not have blood levels of vitamin D3 over 60. Sure, you can still get the flu. But to have a bad case means your vitamin D3 is deficient.
This medical community you trust so blindly ALMOST NEVER reminds people in September to get vitamin D3 blood tests, take more d, then test again in November, making use your level is over 50 for people 20-40, over 60 for people over 40, and over 80 if you have underlying conditions, immune deficiencies, breathing issues, cancer, etc.
These are cheap preventions most doctors never tell their patients. Why?
I agree with your comments about vitamin D levels, and that many physicians don't address this - although I have seen a trend towards much more testing for Vit D, folate, B12, etc. Also, it needs to be kept in mind that statins can affect your vitamin D levels, up (most commonly from rosuvastatin) or potentially down because of the cholesterol lowering (25-hydroxy vitamin D is made from cholesterol).
Stay well!
When my brother was a kid, in the late fifties, he was constantly getting sick. The doctor told my mom to take his shirt off, over the summer, and get him out in the sun. She did that every summer, and after that he didn’t get sick nearly as often.
Its not a fraud. Last Sunday I had to sit in the ER in GA with my Mom for 7 hours. It was so packed they were triaging. I put on a mask before entering and never took it off. There were some incredibly sick flu cases and not all elderly. What a nightmare!
one person ?
After I got two different strains of Flu at the same time upon arrival at the hospital with a pulse of 240bpm and a bp of 80 over 50 the nurse told my wife that if she had anything she would like to say to me she should say it now that I wasn’t going to make it. Well I did make it, I am still fighting my pneumonia that I got a couple weeks later. When I went to the hospital for the pneumonia they wanted to admit me to the hospital but there were no beds, the hospital was full of Flue cases. They sent me home with drugs and regular phone calls. I was in bed for a total of three weeks and while out of bed now I am incredibly weak. The doctor says I will be weak for at least another four weeks.
I’m beating it but it was touch and go for a while.
This Flu season is not fake, people are dying.
Keep your hands clean and don’t get too close to people you don’t have to, especially children who are in school.
Generally I don’t get worked up about flu, get flu shots, or anything.
But I’ve seen stories about these poor children - even elder children - who have died from this recently!
It scares me mostly about my son, who is the same age. I can’t imagine all these children had “underlying problems”. Not those I’ve read about.
The real, actual, genuine flu will not allow you to even raise your head off a pillow without crashing headaches and feeling like you've been beaten with chains. Had it 3 times in my 71 years. At age 14, I had to be helped out of bed to go to the bathroom. When my fever finally broke, I didn't have the energy to call my mom in for hours. Just lay on a wet pillow face down. If you have the real flu, you'll know the difference between it and less serious winter viruses.
So very glad you are doing better.
I’m staying away from everybody and washing my hands regularly (I’m sort of OCD that way anyhow).
The steroid seems to be helping along with prescription cough syrup.
Doing better.
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