Flu shot heresy (Read 2156 times)

jpnairn


straw man

    I asked about these things without going into detail on how they might work because I'm not an expert. But since the last three were dismissed out of hand, it might be worthwhile to say why they are supposed to help.

    • Wash hands frequently.
    • Keep your hands away from your face. Don't eat with your fingers.
    • Gargle twice a day with warm salt water.
    The H1N1 virus will infect the throat and/or nasal passages and grow for 2 to 3 days before there are any noticeable symptoms. Gargling with salt water stops an infection from growing. If you gargle twice a day, even if you make contact with the virus, it may never have a chance to spread and give you the flu.
    • Take vitamin C.
    Vitamin C boosts the immune system.
    • Drink warm fluids like tea, coffee, and soup.
    This is supposed to work because of that 2-3 day incubation period mentioned above, just like the gargling. While hot soup won't kill the virus, it could wash it down your throat into your digestive tract, where it can be harmlessly digested.

     

    That's what I've been told anyway.

    Once again, none of these are supposed to be instead of taking a vaccine. None of these is supposed to be a sure-fire way of preventing the flu. They are just things you can do to help your chances, improve your odds.

    He who has the best time wins. Jerry


    Mitch & Pete's Mom

      "(thus ALL women pregnant women should recieve the vaccine early unless you are a crazy crackpot)"

       

      I work with one of these crazy crackpots.

       

      And you know what I don't get, if people are truly concerned about introducing something foreign to their system, wouldn't a dead virus be the least of the evils? If you do get sick, you are going to get a whole lot of drugs introduced into your system.

       

      I'm currently on a round of anti-bacterial meds and steroids for my eyes. It isn't fun.

      Carlsbad 1/2 marathon 1/26.


      Intentionally Blank

        I enrolled my daughter in a flu shot study when she was 3 months old.  The purpose was to test whether the shot was effective for people under 6 months of age.  I feel that we all have a responsibility to our communities, and keeping people safe and healthy is one of those responsibilities.  Just because my children are young, it doesn't mean they don't have a responsibility to the world, too.  So I took the risk (albeit small) of giving my infant a flu shot in order to advance the health and safety of other infants int he future.

         

        I seriously wish people would think more about others and less about themselves when it comes to personal decisions that may affect others.


        Right on Hereford...

          Trent, I want to thank you and the other professionals who have posted the facts on this thread. We all need to stand up for science and our health, and that means speaking out and refuting misinformation every single time we're confronted with it.

           

          Honestly, it pisses me off that people are willing shun science and instead believe uninformed opinions, especially when my daughter's health is at risk because of their inaction.

           

          Is this 2009 or 1009, people?

          Marylander


            I actually work with a bunch of clinical pharmacologists (I'm in IT myself) and none of them I've spoken to have gotten the vaccination or intend to. This was just a handful of folks but they are very much aware of the science, this is their field after all...

             

            Kirk

            Trent


            Good Bad & The Monkey

              What is their rationale?
              Marylander


                I know one of them is against vaccinations in general (I don't think his kids have been vaccinated). He's told me why before and, honestly, he went into way more detail for the level of curiosity I had about it and my limited background in statistics and such. Another seemed to feel it wasn't much of a risk for him but that may have just been my layman's interpretation. I'll ask them their reasoning and will endeavor to pay more attention this time. Actually, maybe I'll email them.

                Kirk

                Trent


                Good Bad & The Monkey

                  Thanks.  I'd be curious.

                   

                  A lot of folks on this thread have suggested that they believe or have heard of folks who believe that H1N1 is not much of a risk to them.  Again, it is very likely that everybody will get H1N1 infections, and the only way to limit its spread to our family, friends and loved ones who ARE at risk is for us all to choose to be vaccinated.

                  Teresadfp


                  One day at a time

                    Over 250 students at Bates College are infected.  That's two towns over from us.  I hope the vaccine gets here eventually!  They're saying early December for the general population, at the earliest.

                    zoom-zoom


                    rectumdamnnearkilledem

                      Trent, do you think if #s were published of yearly flu deaths relative to deaths from other illnesses that people would take it more seriously?  And death from the flu is so easily preventable (if there were a vaccine for cancer would they nonchalantly shun that, too?).  But people so casually dismiss it.  A certain best friend of mine *cough* backroadrunner *cough* worked for years for a general surgeon and I think claimed that she hasn't had a flu shot in over a decade, but also hasn't had the flu.


                      Maybe that's the deal...a lot of people have been really lucky to not come down with the flu.  For a lot of us who have had it in recent years the incentive to not feel like death would be preferable to flu symptoms is enough to endure a relatively painless injection and small fee.  Last time I had it I lost about 3 weeks of running due to the lingering lung and sinus crap.


                      And I want to smack the people who whine that they don't get the flu shot since the one time they got it they got the flu a few days later.  These are dumbasses who don't pay attention to how the flu shot works (seriously, do these people not read or watch the news?  By now how the vaccine works should be general knowledge that any middle school student would understand--it's not exactly a big secret) and that it takes 10-14 days to be protected...so they likely would have been OK had they gotten the shot a week or two earlier...their timing was just poor.  Even when the facts are spelled-out to them they choose to remain ignorant.

                      Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                      remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                           ~ Sarah Kay

                      Trent


                      Good Bad & The Monkey

                        Trent, do you think if #s were published of yearly flu deaths relative to deaths from other illnesses that people would take it more seriously? 

                         

                        No.

                         

                        Sadly. 

                         

                        As long as folks take their medical advice from the internet (heh) and from celebrities, then no data or science will help.

                          My 4 y.o. son was diagnosed with H1N1.  He had received his 'regular' flu shot, but not yet the H1N1-specific shot.

                           

                          He'll be fine, but I'm still not sure I've heard or read a convincing anti-vaccine argument yet. 

                           

                          Additionally, if you, as an adult, refuse to get vaccinated, are you not increasing the risk for the less hardy amongst us, such as rugrats and the infirm?

                          “I used to be a runner. Uh-huh. Not a marathoner. A runner. Marathons are bullshit. They’re all hype. Some official picks a random day, and rain or cold, you’re out there pounding the pavement alongside 50,000 other dumbfucks. No. There’s some things it’s better to do all by yourself.” Augustus Hill, Oz
                          zoom-zoom


                          rectumdamnnearkilledem

                            Additionally, if you, as an adult, refuse to get vaccinated, are you not increasing the risk for the less hardy amongst us, such as rugrats and the infirm?

                             

                            Yep.

                            Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                            remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                                 ~ Sarah Kay

                            jEfFgObLuE


                            I've got a fever...

                              My family (me DW, DD, DS) got the H1N1 mist last weekend.

                              UP YOURS, JIM CARREY!

                              On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.


                              Imminent Catastrophe

                                My family (me DW, DD, DS) got the H1N1 mist last weekend.

                                UP YOURS, JIM CARREY!

                                 Any minute now you'll catch autism.

                                I read that on the internet.

                                "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                                 "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                                "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                                 

                                √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                                Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                                Western States 100 June 2016