Posted on 12/04/2012 6:10:52 PM PST by blam
All Signs Indicate That This Flu Season Is Going To Be Brutal
Jennifer Welsh
Dec. 4, 2012, 6:53 PM
The flu season could be especially bad this year, and is one of the earliest-starting flu seasons in a decade, said Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control.
"This is the earliest regular flu season we've had in nearly a decade, since the 2003-2004 flu season. That was an early and severe flu year," CDC director Thomas Frieden said in a teleconference yesterday Dec. 3.
That season was very severe, especially for children, they said.
This is much different than we saw last year's flu season, which — helped by a late start and a warm winter — was very mild.
Weather.com notes:
The CDC tracks flu cases across America and releases a new report each week which shows local, regional, and statewide flu cases. The most recent report shows half a dozen states reporting widespread outbreaks of the flu. Just one week earlier, no states were reporting widespread outbreaks.
See all the national flu data here.
"While flu is always unpredictable, the early nature of the cases as well as the specific strains we're seeing suggest that this could be a bad flu year," Frieden said. "In summary, flu activity is up, vaccine is the best tool to protect against flu."
The researchers at the CDC can't say why this year is off to such an early start, but it could be because of the strain that's circling. The H3N2 strain is typically associated with severe flu seasons, Frieden said:
"And what we've seen in past years is that H3 predominant years tend to be the worst years. And at least in 2003, also an earlier year."
Some good news though — this year's vaccine is well
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Now, I recently read a report that old people who get flu shots have less incidents of heart attacks and strokes.
No thanks. I’ll stick with D3 and probiotics.
It’s the 2012 Mayan Flu.
My Dad was a paramedic. After his stroke, he came to live with me. He absolutely refused to have a flu shot. I started taking vitamin D3 supplements, and haven’t had the flu since I started that.
Which reminds me, I need to start taking them again, now that summer is over.
Seems like we hear stories like this about every year. Part of the panic mode society we have become.
CDC ... Center of Drug Corruption. Read what they tell you and do
do the opposite!
Vitamin C 3000 mg perday
Vitamin D 5000 i.u. per day
Multi
Olive Leaf
Turmeric/Curcumin
Axstazanthin
Reservatrol
Zinc and Magnesium
And probiotics every day
JUST my personal opinion!
I had my flu shot, and take D3, but I still got a weird flu on Thanksgiving. It hit suddenly, and I spent the day laying down with a waste basket handy.
Hopefully you put aside the multivitamins every now and then to give your body a chance to catch up. Judging from your list, you probably aren’t taking cheap ones (e.g. using rust as an iron supplement), so that’s good.
Influenza generally doesn’t cause vomiting in adults. Maybe you had food poisoning or a norovirus. Hope you’re feeling better by now.
Amen to that - just how does the CDC know all of that about the flu? We are forced to have the vaccine at work, but no one ever asks if anyone actually got the flu - they don’t care. No way can CDC know what strain unless they are doing lab tests, which I highly doubt. Some how I just don’t believe any of this garbage that comes out of the federal Govt.
My wife an I (in our 60s) get a flu shot every year. This year we both had mild flu like symptoms for about two days afterwards. First time that ever happened. Hope it was just some sort of reaction to the shot.
I agree. I posted this six years ago, started taking large doses of vitamin 'C' and haven't been sick since. (But I still get a flu shot)
ME too! D3 and probiotics, and other vitamins...sheesh...the flu shot is set up for one or two versions of the virus they EXPECT! Who knows what you’ll GET!
And, you BELIEVED that!!!????
I use my vities as I need them. Olive Leaf for when I feel like I am coming down with something, Reservatrol as well. I take Sambuca if I feel cold flu, but adamant re: C,D, and axstazanthin, turmeric etc. No vitamins on the weekends.
It’s not rocket science!
Our doctor doesn’t recommend them and we don’t take flu shots anymore. I’m an old guy and have had a heart attack also.
Whatever it was, I'm just getting over it after eight or nine days. I got a flu shot about three months ago.
Whatever I'm just getting over had the symptoms of flu (respiratory congestion; nasal congestion/post-nasal drip; persistent and frequent dry coughing; muscle aches; exhaustion -- as in 10 hours of sleep a night; chills; loss of appetite), except for one: no fever -- in fact, sub-normal body temp, about 97.8.
So -- did I have the flu, or not? Is there a feverless strain of flu?
That’s called a Cold
Actually, what they found was that influenza tends to cause heart attacks and strokes in the elderly, because the damage to the lungs promulgates blood clots. They are more inclined to lung blood clots because of coughing.
Therefore, less flu equals fewer heart attacks and strokes.
A more serious concern is that for older people, vaccines are only about 60% likely to work. That is, for many their immune system does not respond by producing enough antibodies. And even when it does, the effect does not last as long.
So the older they get, the more likelihood they will need a booster vaccine shot in Jan-Feb, after an initial shot in Sept-Oct.
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