Unofficial Public Service Announcement on the Flu

[Sleepy's Sister]

OK... I have to make a public service announcement. Just got back from the doctor, and the flu that I had last week has turned into pneumonia. I was shocked at this diagnosis, since I have never had pneumonia before, and I spent the last ten days resting and drinking lots of fluid. This is a particularly virulent flu, and the doctor told me that a large number of cases are turning into pneumonia even in healthy adults. Pneumonia is serious business. It doesn't go away on its own, and can turn to sepsis. I'm not sharing this so you will feel sorry for me. I'm sharing this because I want you all to be careful and take this flu seriously. If you are sick and your symptoms don't seem to be improving, go to the doctor. Don't feel that you are strong enough to handle this on your own, or feel, like me, that I have never had pneumonia so that can't be what this is. Go to the doctor! ...and if you're not sick and you are in a "more mature age group" it might be a good idea to go ahead and get your pneumonia vaccination.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Yowtch... sorry to hear that. Seems like I did see a research summary last week stating that influenza-turned-pneumonia cases are indeed up across the board. Also, can't help but wonder if virii are mirroring the body of human-affective bacteria in terms of more rapidly working around our best defenses.

With bacteria of course, this is directly linked to chronic overuse of antibacterial meds as well as carelessly dumping them in to our water supplies (along with lots of other pharmaceuticals of course). This is becoming a pretty scary-significant problem in hospitals as I understand it, who no longer have a "silver bullet" to put down various infections.

Garlic, and lots of it, Sleepy's Sister! Also fresh ginger, chilies, chicken soup and maybe a bit of fresh-grated horseradish. All that great germ-kicking stuff...

Get well.

 

[Sleepy's Sister]

Thanks for the suggestions and the get well wishes. I love Chilies of any kind: Jalapeno, Thai, Habanero, Poblano. The only one I'm not fond of is the lowly Bell Pepper. It doesn't have any kick. I hadn't thought of the horseradish. I love horseradish too. I make a tea out of grated ginger, honey, lemon, and tumeric that helps soothe the cough. Tumeric is great for inflammation. I just read an article about the medicinal benefits of Thyme for coughing.

I'm also very concerned about bacteria evolving into superbugs due to all of the overuse of antibiotics. I have a granddaughter who is always on some type of antibiotics. My daughter-in-law takes her to the doctor at the slightest sniffle and browbeats the doctor into prescribing them. (I strongly suspect she might have munchausen syndrome by proxy.) I've tried to talk to her about this, but it is none of my business. What can you do?? That is an interesting and plausible theory about the virli adapting to behave more like natural occurring human bacteria.

 

[GSGregg]

Out of every ten prescriptions, how many would you say she takes completely? (Sorry to tune in late, but the TV that brings me pinball has gone down for the count, and I'm borrowing computers in the library; the two-hour daily limit is not enough!)

Get well, Sis!

Gregg

 

[Sleepy's Sister]

Gregg - I've wondered about how often our granddaughter doesn't finish her antibiotics too. Can't talk to the daughter in law about it, because it's "none of my business."

Sorry about your computer situation. I know two hours a day wouldn't be enough for me. Hope you can get a new computer before long.

Thanks for the get well wishes. Twelve days out and I'm feeling much better.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Wow, that's frustrating about your granddaughter.

This flu business also reminds me of something I read about a couple years ago-- that a flu causes systemic inflammation, and is therefore an aggravator for certain risk factors, such as stroke / heart attack. This was pretty big in science news at the time because it seems to explain why people are more prone to cardio-events in flu season.

That, and from unrelated studies, overexertion in the snow IIRC... like shovelling too much, too quickly.

Point is-- getting that flu shot every year is even more important than ever. Naturally, like a dumbass, I neglected to do that this year. :)

 

[Sleepy's Sister]

Unfortunately, I can't take any flu shots, since the vaccine is grown in fertilized hens eggs, and I have an allergy to eggs. I've read that the flu shot this year is only 10% effective. Seems the nasty H3N2 strain that is circulating this year is resistant to the vaccine, because it mutates faster than other flu strains.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Some good news... in the last few years two FDA-approved non-egg flu vaccines have become commonly available:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/how-fluvaccine-made.htm


Also, I'd think it might still be a good idea for most people to get the shot, since it covers 3-4 of the most dangerous virii for a given season. Autism seems like a small price to pay for all that. :D

 

[Sleepy's Sister]

Ike - Thanks for that CDC link. That is great news for me. I'll need to discuss this with my PCP. The egg based shots always made me sicker than the flu ever did, so I stopped taking them about 10 years ago.

 

[JonPurpleHaze]

Unfortunately, the flu has been all over the national news this year due to the number of deaths and I think it was last night on NBC they had a segment about it and egg allergies.

If you want to gamble, a very small number of egg allergic patients develop severe allergies due to the flu shot, they mentioned 1 in a million.

Another cdc page:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/egg-allergies.htm

 

[Sleepy's Sister]

Doesn't this always seem to be the case... Differing recommendations, both from the CDC.

Nic's article says there are eggless vaccines for people who are allergic to eggs, but his article is from sometime between 2014 and 2016.

Jon's article is from December 2017, and includes the statement: "A person who has previously experienced a severe allergic reaction to flu vaccine, regardless of the component suspected of being responsible for the reaction should not get a flu vaccine again."

Since I develop respiratory distress when I eat eggs, I think I'll pass on the vaccines just in case.

Thank you both for sharing these links.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

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