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The Flu
By
Published: Feb 04, 2018
Category:
Health
Charles Blow, New York Times columnist, on Twitter: “This is a most horrible day. One of my closest friends in the world lived in Dallas. He was battling the flu. He worked from home Wednesday. Thursday no one heard from him. Friday police did a welfare check. They broke down the door. He was inside…dead. He was 45. I’m in shock.”
No, this isn’t 1918. That flu epidemic infected 500 million people and killed 50 to 100 million. But this one is dangerous: “the most widespread on record since health officials began keeping track 13 years ago, and has already caused the most hospitalizations in nearly a decade.”
But you got a flu shot. Sadly, that’s not much help: If the vaccine doesn’t match this year’s strain of flu, you’re not protected:
Even in a good year, the flu vaccine isn’t as good as most other vaccines. Health officials must choose the influenza strains that vaccine makers should target for an upcoming season months in advance, when it is hard to know what strains might be circulating. When flu vaccines are well matched to circulating viruses, effectiveness is, at best, about 60 percent. (The measles vaccine, by comparison, is about 97 percent effective with two doses.) In a year when the circulating flu strains closely match the vaccine, that effectiveness rate means that about 3 in 5 people who get shots are far less likely to become so sick that they require a visit to a doctor.
So there you are. With mild symptoms: a little chest congestion, headache, body ache. You ignore them. The next thing you know, you’re in the ICU, on dialysis, with renal failure.
Why is this flu moving so fast across the country? Kristen Nordlund, press officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains:
In 2018, we’re seeing more of the Influenza A-H3N2 than any other strain. And any year in which this is the dominant strain tends to be worse than usual — just like during the horrible 2014-15 season, which saw an estimated 34 million people come down with the flu.
And a warning from Nordlund:
If you already got the flu this year, that doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to not get it again before the season is over. You can get the flu twice in one season because you can get a different strain.
What can you do to avoid the flu? Wash your hands often, soaping for 20 seconds. Avoid crowds. Wipe the remote with a disinfectant. Empty wastebaskets daily if you dispose Kleenex in them. Isolate toothbrushes. Go to bed if you’re feeling punky. And get a prescription for Tamiflu.
There are a few things you can take that don’t require a prescription….
HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES
My homeopathic expert recommends taking both Influenzinum and Thymuline. To buy them both for $27.90, click here.
To take these remedies: 5 sprays under the tongue, once a week. As with other remedies, you don’t eat or drink 20 minutes before or after you use them. Especially avoid strong flavors — minty toothpaste or coffee. Best to take one spray in the morning, one at night.
Influenzinum
Why? “Influenzinum is the homeopathic flu nosode that is updated each year based on the flu strains predicted by the World Health Organization. It is homeopathically diluted and potentized to stimulate your body’s own defense system and arm your immune system against the current flu viruses. Influenzinum does not suppress symptoms but naturally strengthens your immune system.”
[To buy Influenzinum for $14.95, click here.]
Thymuline
“The thymus gland is the central organ of your immune system. It lies between the breastbone and the heart. The thymus is responsible for producing white blood cells, which defend us against many types of infections, and hormones that enhance our overall immune system.”
[To buy Thymuline for $14.95, click here.]
Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C
Most of the Vitamin C in pills or capsules never reaches the bloodstream. Estimates of its absorption rate are less than 50%. Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C has a 90% absorption rate. I now take it twice a day.
[To buy it from Amazon, click here.]
Manuka Honey
When Laura Dern’s kids don’t feel well, she makes them hot water with fresh ginger, manuka honey and a dash of cayenne. There’s significant nutritional value in this honey –– major doses of amino acids, enzymes and B-complex vitamins, particularly thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), and B6. Even better, this honey contains substances that stimulate production of cytokine, the proteins involved in strengthening the body’s immune system and helping it fight off pathogens and diseases. Expensive? Yes. But if you don’t get sick, it’s a bargain.
[To buy it from Amazon, click here.]
[Thanks, KMM.]
