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I worked in a school for some yrs and the K1 teacher talked about taking Oscillo vial every Monday during flu season and this kept her from flu. I did the Monday thing for some yrs but got away from doing it. I take a lot of supps and keep oscillo on hand just in case.
I've never heard of Oscillo working in health care for 45 years. Whatever it is, it's not a flu preventive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saibot
My family has never had flu shots and don't intend to get them this year.
I was interested in the concept of a "flu season" (October through May--two-thirds of the year??) so I read up on it. There are several theories about what causes "flu season" and none of them are applicable to us:
Cold weather which keeps people inside (it never gets very cold where we live and we are out every day)
Drier air in winter (it's almost always dry here)
Less Vitamin D production due to lower sun angle (we take Vitamin D year-round)
Schoolchildren being exposed to diseases in school (my kids are homeschooled and are around about the same number of other kids year-round).
It seems to me we are about as likely to get flu during "flu season" as at any other time of year; that is, not very likely, so in our particular situation we choose not to get shots.
Surely you are aware that flu is present in the tropics year-round. I'm saying you are taking chances with this reliance on "theories" that are not particularly supported in fact.
I haven't' in recent years. I kept getting sick. Now I avoid crowds and coughing people and I just keep Tamiflu handy and pop it like mad if I get a scratchy throat.
Aaack! That's a good way to make flu viruses resistant to Tamiflu.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Disgustedman
My company was offering them, but not driving 110 miles just for a "Free" shot...
So find a place closer. It's not hard; almost every pharmacy including the grocery store pharmacies have them for the general public. If you have insurance it should be free at the point of service. I was just in a Safeway today and they were giving a 10% discount on your grocery bill when you get a flu shot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shira_k
(i'm in my mid-50s)
I've never had the flu shot. I don't get sick a lot (I think I had the flu maybe 10 times in my life). I wash my hands a lot, use the gel when I can't wash my hands, take an OTC cold-blocker med if i even feel something coming on. I eat well, drink a lot of water, and exercise a lot. I believe that these actions, combined with apparently a fair immune system, help me stay healthy.
If i see that I get the flu a lot in the coming years, i will probably rethink. I know people who do get the shot and have bad reactions or they end up getting a different flu (one that the shot doesn't protect against)
As someone said, you probably haven't had the flu 10 times. People that get a nasty case of the flu generally say they'll never skip the shot again. There are no such things as "cold-blockers", particularly on the OTC shelves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veronicka
I used to work in health care and the flu shot was encouraged every year, so I always got it. I retired early and nobody comes around and offers them to me anymore so I won't get one if it is a bother. If I happen to be at the flu shot place anyway then I will get one. They don't bother me but I did happen to find myself right in front of the flu shot place the other day so I got one. It still hurts a bit but I have no other symptoms. I also got the pneumonia shot this year because I happened to have an appointment, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Still, I would prefer not to get the flu or pneumonia and since I have no side effects it seems wise to take a precaution. I would predict that if I did get the flu I would be unhappy.
What they do is they vaccinate against the likely type of flu that they expect. It isn't all flu protection. I have had the shot and gotten the flu. When I didn't get the shot I didn't get the flu.
When I had little kids, then I got the shot because I had to think of them and I worked in a very germy place.
As I said above, you can get a flu shot many places these days, including your grocery store if they have a pharmacy (usually).
If I recall her comment was in regard to someone saying they have had the flu 10 times.
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The vaccine might cost you about $25 with no insurance. If you are insured it will be free except for possibly a small administration fee.
Costco has them for $14.99, nationwide, I believe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaraG
To the medical people - without considering whether a person is vaccinated or not, why do some people catch the flu and others don't? Or cold? Or other illness?
I've always heard that you need a strong immune system, just wondering from your education/experience, what that really means.
With flu, it seems to be a crap shoot, IME. Some people get exposed a lot, don't get flu. Someone else has a brief exposure, and gets it. It doesn't seem to have a lot to do, IME, with the strength of one's immune system in generally healthy people. I'm talking about people who are not ill with lots of chronic illnesses and/or are not immune suppressed in some way.
To the medical people - without considering whether a person is vaccinated or not, why do some people catch the flu and others don't? Or cold? Or other illness?
I've always heard that you need a strong immune system, just wondering from your education/experience, what that really means.
It may be genetic. There are some people who do not get AIDS, for example, and some people have antibodies to Ebola who never had symptoms of it.
Surely you are aware that flu is present in the tropics year-round. I'm saying you are taking chances with this reliance on "theories" that are not particularly supported in fact.
I don't understand your point. I don't live in the tropics or sub-tropics. I am saying that if I lived in a cold, damp climate and spent most of my time indoors in a crowded, public environment, I would probably be more likely to get flu and more inclined to get a flu shot, than in my actual circumstances--a warm, dry climate where I spend a lot of time outside and am rarely in a crowd. Am I aware that I am "taking chances," sure. Getting a flu shot might reduce the chances somewhat. But since I'm 47 and have never had flu--at least, no disease that at all resembles what people are describing here as flu--I think those chances are pretty small to begin with.
If I recall her comment was in regard to someone saying they have had the flu 10 times.
I am 68 years old and have lived through at least the 1958 (child) (young adult) and 1968 Flu Pandemics. At least as a child I had Mommy and Daddy helping me, far more than ONCE with the Flu. They did not have drive through Flu Shots in the 50's and 60's.
I lived alone in my early 20's when I had the flu (1968 Pandemic?). Yes, I could not get out bed to try to make hot tea or chicken soup myself. My Mom came and stayed with me to "doctor" me. Never went to the doctor. I just called out sick from work.
Contract this. Last February my grandson gave everyone a Norovirus (stomach flu and no vaccine). Try 4 adults trying to get into one bathroom to be over and on a TOILET BOWL. Can't get out of BED???? Excuse me? Your bed is the bathroom floor because you cannot be away from a Toilet Bowl. Influenza is NOTHING in comparison. You can dehydrate very, very quickly from Stomach Flu. Influenza?
Nope, I will take being in bed and cannot get out of that with the flu over cannot get off the bathroom floor with "stomach flu". No comparison.
Or perhaps I just to stupid to understand the differences because I/we were not diagnosed by doctors? As I said to my very uniformed husband who said, "I got my Flu Shot", No, your Flu shot will not protect you against a Norovirus. He learned that lesson quickly.
I don't understand your point. I don't live in the tropics or sub-tropics. I am saying that if I lived in a cold, damp climate and spent most of my time indoors in a crowded, public environment, I would probably be more likely to get flu and more inclined to get a flu shot, than in my actual circumstances--a warm, dry climate where I spend a lot of time outside and am rarely in a crowd. Am I aware that I am "taking chances," sure. Getting a flu shot might reduce the chances somewhat. But since I'm 47 and have never had flu--at least, no disease that at all resembles what people are describing here as flu--I think those chances are pretty small to begin with.
My point is that these "theories" of yours are not particularly borne out in fact. If "Cold weather which keeps people inside (it never gets very cold where we live and we are out every day)" increases the incidence of flu, then why would flu be present in the tropics (that is, near the equator, not necessarily what you might consider a "tropical" climate) year-round? If there's one thing the tropical areas are not, it's cold. You can probably get better information by looking up the incidence in your area.
Some information on Oscillo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillococcinum "There is no compelling scientific evidence that Oscillococcinum has any effect beyond placebo.[13] None of its active ingredient is present in a dose of the final product, nor is there any credible evidence that duck liver is effective in relieving (or causing) flu symptoms in the first place. Homeopaths claim the diluted molecules leave an "imprint" in the remedy, but there is no known mechanism for how this could occur."
Plenty of references for those who don't think Wiki is "scientific" enough. I think it's scientific enough for this stuff.
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