Re: This flu is wicked

puttypiesmom · ‎10-11-2017

@sfnative wrote:
This is such sad, sad news.

For those of you who opt out of a flu shot on an annual basis, please do re-think this conclusion.

Many people do so reasoning that "they never get it right" in terms of flu A or flu B. These days they're developing pretty sophisticated combos of A & B, attempting to hit the nail on the head as close as possible.

Then there are those, like my husband, who deem themselves impervious to anything - and I mean anything. I tell you he will pass of complications - pneumonia - from a bad flu, as he's now 74. I feel it in my bones. I swear he feels that "thinking" the flu away will make it so!

When I had one of my twice yearly visits with my nephrologist in early October, she asked me if I had had my flu shot yet. I admitted not yet, as every time I went to Walgreens, the pharmacist was up to her elbows - super busy - so I just left. My nephrologist ordered her nurse to prepare a "super dose" innoculation for me. OK, superdose it is. So far, so good.

Please do reconsider. Unless you're allergic to any of the ingredients, please do have a flu shot this year. The words of my nephrologist (a wonderful women): "The flu this year is wicked. I've already been called in to attend to a number of patients in organ failure in last stages of pneumonia." (That means last stages of life.)

@sfnativeyour post really speaks to me because my husband also has refused a flu shot all of his life until this year. So glad he finally agreed to it. Last year he broke a rib from coughing so much and so hard. During a follow up visit he was required to get a chest xray and was told they could see the rib healing.

Drythe · ‎07-09-2011

@SilleeMee wrote:
@cherry wrote:
Antibiotics can do nothing against the flu. Flu is a virus..you need to be treated with an antiviral, unless you get a secondary infection. Antibiotics are for bacteria, I think

Yes, exactly @cherry. What can happen, however, is a viral infection can weaken the immune system so then a person can become ill from a bacterial infection that may have not occurred had the person not gotten a virus to begin with. It's called a 'secondary infection'. You see that with AIDS patients.

@SilleeMee

Thanks for mentioning this. Want to add also with people who have compromised immune systems from other diseases, or from age. 🤕

"Animals are not my whole world, but they have made my world whole" ~ Roger Caras

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

I was going to say certain drugs and substance abuse can also weaken the body's defenses. @Drythe

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

I want to throw this out there for those (like me) who can not get a flu shot due an underlying medical condition that is exasperated by the shot.

Have a plan with your doctor. Have medications (TamiFlu) in your house. Get the pneumonia shot. Contact your doctor the moment you feel ill (those with chronic respiratory diseases know the feeling of when it moves to your lower throat and chest). Check your peak-flow hourly. Never wait it out.

I can not get the flu shot. I have disposable masks and wear gloves everywhere I go when leaving my house. I wipe down doorknobs, switches, faucets, etc with alcohol before touching them in my home and have alcohol wipes for when I go out. I avoid sick people as much as possible (we have turned down family gatherings and left them when we discover someone ill is there).

In addition, my son has to be very careful so keeping things sterile as possible during Flu season is crucial. It stinks but it is what it is.

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

@SahmIam how long is tamiflu good? Do you keep it in the fridge or medicine cabinet?

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

@cherry Ours is in pill form and I keep it in the medicine cabinet. I have the entire family covered and request a new round of Rx's each fall. Because of my son and I, our doctors (Primary Care and Pediatrician along with my sons' Neurologist) write them without issue and if the insurance company complains, they are informed of our special medical situation (2 high risk family members so ALL must be kept healthy).

It costs me either $5 a pop or nothing...I'll have to look at my receipt to check since we met our family deductible a few months ago.

SilleeMee · ‎05-22-2016

@SahmIam,

There is a new Rx antiviral medication out right now. XOFLUZA shortens the flu to just two to three days. Faster than Tamiflu.

https://www.xofluza.com/hcp.html?c=cap-1665ff6119d&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg4m08fbZ3gIV17bACh0aNQK9EAAYASA...

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

@SilleeMee Thank you for this! I will contact my doctors Monday and ask them if this is a better choice for us. If it is, I'll pass our TamiFlu on to family members. : )

Susan Louise · ‎03-14-2010

Back in 2004 I was 44 yrs old. I was at work and throughout that day I started to get lightheaded and feverish. I thought I was coming down with what I thought to be a 'cold'. I went to the Dr's after work and they took x-rays. Come to find out that not only did I have influenza, but I had lung cancer!

After I recovered from influenza, I then had to go into the hospital for lung cancer surgery. So getting the flu was actually a blessing in disguise.

I don't have 2 lungs anymore but I am a 14 yr lung cancer survivor. DH and I are vigulent in the wintertime of always being careful if we are out and about...carrying/using hand sanitizer, keeping good distances from others, etc. We also make sure we take our flu shots.

Not only do we have to be careful for each other, but unfortunately for me especially. When/if I get sick now, I don't just get a cold, I get bronchitis and it lasts for 6+ weeks and it's really tough on me with less than 2 lungs.