Did you get a flu shot?

[Todd Trebuna]

I work for a hospital as well. The flu shot is required. It happens that I've got the flu the past two years despite getting the flu shot. Having said that, the symptoms were fairly mild for me, especially considering I'm Asthmatic.

[Brian Elfert]

That is a very subjective question. I have grandparents and elder family members that lived very long and productive lives perhaps somewhat by genes (which I hope I got a few of), somewhat by luck, but a lot of it because they grew up in a different time where the AG/Food/Pharma industries didnt pump their food full of who knows what. The running gag in my family was my mother would come home from school and her mother would say " oh honey....the fox got in your hen house last night and killed your chickens" well.. guess what was for dinner? There was no fox. It was the chicken that pecked around in the yard and wasnt pumped full of chemicals, debeaked, antibiotics, chlorinated when it was harvested, and so on. The same for the beef, hogs, lamb, vegetables, fruit, on and on.

Medical advances have wiped out many common diseases that used to kill a lot of people. My mother's sister died at age 11 of a malady that was somewhat common in the 40s/50s, but is unheard of today. (Sorry, can't recall the name right now.) How is the average lifespan so much higher today than 100 years ago if what people ate was so much better?

You may well live longer if you grow all your own organic food way back in the woods, but part of why you'll live longer is from all the physical activity required to grow all your own food. Many people today sit in an office all day and don't get a whole lot of physical activity.

[Kev Williams]

While medical advances may have helped wipe out common diseases etc etc, 'medical profession' advances, particularly when it comes to dispensing the results of medical advances, is sorely lacking. How many of us know of someone who has been, or is currently, over-medicated to the point of near total body-function shutdown? My dad in his mid 70's had 3 major surgeries, came thru all of them just fine. But he was prescribed MANY different meds by the different doctors (VA), all of which supposedly knew all of what was prescribed. Dad began getting tired and exhausted easily, and pretty soon just started falling down at random times. The final straw was when the bank called to tell us dad was sitting on the ground next to his truck, crying. When we got there he just said 'what the hell's wrong with me, I can't move?' He was ultimately taken off almost all meds, except his blood pressure and blood thinning meds. Within days it was like they'd done a 'dad' transplant, it was nothing short of miraculous. Lately my mother in law has been going downhill fast. We were told just after Xmas that we should prepare, as they didn't expect her to make it thru the night, he body was shutting down we were told. One of her doctors finally had the bright idea to come to the house and check out exactly what-all meds she's been taking. Turned out about 1/3 of her meds were contraindicated with another 1/3.... Mom's still going downhill but nothing like before. And then there's the opioid crisis...

Me, I'm a believer in the 'give your immune system something to do' approach. I have no 3-second rule, if I drop my hot dog on the ground, I'll wipe the dirt off and eat it anyway. I don't Lysol anything. I don't use Clorox wipes. I want those germs around so my immune system can show 'em who's boss. But I do know the difference between germs and viruses-- Right next to our front door we have a pedestal mounted auto-hand sanitizer. During cold/flu season I use it quite often, most of our customers do too. I wash my hands often. I use the sani-wipes at the grocery store. I'm okay with germs, but not other people's cold viruses.

I'm 65 years old and I can remember every doctor's visit I've ever had, because they're few and far between. I rarely get sick. I had the flu a couple of times when I was a kid, once as an adult. (or not- when you feel so crappy your hair hurts, I call it the flu ) The only flu shot I ever had, got sick right after. Every once in awhile I'll catch a cold I haven't had yet, and I feel crappy for a couple of days. Sometimes I'll catch a cold I HAVE had, and feel crappy for maybe a day, while my immune system locates the virus killer. I don't take cold meds, because they make me feel worse. Any OTC with 'drine' in the name, no thank you. The absolute worst sick I've ever been was 3 times: food poisoning from a bad pizza, and 2 Everclear hangovers, which I would argue were worse than the bad pizza. (There's never been a 3rd)

But none of this stuff rates a trip to the doctor's offlice. Broke ribs however,

[Curt Harms]

Medical advances have wiped out many common diseases that used to kill a lot of people. My mother's sister died at age 11 of a malady that was somewhat common in the 40s/50s, but is unheard of today. (Sorry, can't recall the name right now.) How is the average lifespan so much higher today than 100 years ago if what people ate was so much better?

You may well live longer if you grow all your own organic food way back in the woods, but part of why you'll live longer is from all the physical activity required to grow all your own food. Many people today sit in an office all day and don't get a whole lot of physical activity.

I recall having read - don't recall where - that if the rate of infant/childhood deaths 50+ years ago were the same as it is today , average lifespan hasn't increased all that much. Childhood mortality is much lower today which helps the average a lot. And a very good point about physical activity or lack thereof.

[Jerome Stanek]

I read even with more people taking the flu shots the rate of the people getting the flu is going up explain that

[Rod Sheridan]

It varies from year to year.

The vaccine is developed a year in advance to counteract the predicted strain.

Some years the virus mutation is different than the prediction, so more people may be ill that year.

It’s also important to get your information from reputable sources such as the CDC or WHO.

[Steve Demuth]

I'm 65 years old and I can remember every doctor's visit I've ever had, because they're few and far between. I rarely get sick. I had the flu a couple of times when I was a kid, once as an adult. (or not- when you feel so crappy your hair hurts, I call it the flu ) The only flu shot I ever had, got sick right after. Every once in awhile I'll catch a cold I haven't had yet, and I feel crappy for a couple of days. Sometimes I'll catch a cold I HAVE had, and feel crappy for maybe a day, while my immune system locates the virus killer. I don't take cold meds, because they make me feel worse. Any OTC with 'drine' in the name, no thank you. The absolute worst sick I've ever been was 3 times: food poisoning from a bad pizza, and 2 Everclear hangovers, which I would argue were worse than the bad pizza. (There's never been a 3rd)

I congratulate you on your health. Sincerely.

But I'm the same age as you, still able to work hard and contribute to society, only because modern drugs have saved my life multiple times. I would have died in my early 30s from a ruptured appendix, in the days before antibiotics. I have had essential hypertension (high blood pressure) for nearly 50 years. Uncontrolled, it would have killed me decades ago, as it did my grandfather, when he was 45. I work with a couple of folks with Type 1 diabetes, one also in his sixties. He'd never have made it to high school without modern medicine, but insulin therapy, and the ongoing improvement of insulin dosing has meant that he has almost the same life expectancy as you and me. He, BTW, has devoted his life to the treatment of blood cancers with viral therapy. There is a 40-something mother not far from here dying of untreatable lymphoma 7 years ago, who is now healthy, working, and able to see her children graduate from high school because of his research.

I mostly agree with you on the OTC drugs. I avoid them for the most part. But, as I say, I'd be long dead without the 3 prescription drugs I take for hypertension, or without antibiotics at critical moments.

[Jim Becker]

I read even with more people taking the flu shots the rate of the people getting the flu is going up explain that

The answer is quite simile...there are many strains of the flu virus and the immunization can never account for all of them. The vaccine each year is prepared anticipating what strains are most likely to be prevalent. Sometimes there is a miss on a major strain and sometimes there's mutation. While the vaccine isn't a guarantee that one will not get the disease or only have minor effects, overall, the population is best served by having that vaccine. A major reason for that is increased likelihood of exposure...modern travel is a big vector for transmission of communicable diseases.

[Mark Bolton]

Pretty much anything you hear/read from immunologists state plainly that the year the flu breaks left when they thought it was going to break right all heck is going to break loose which is why the world is so concerned about the corona virus. All the flu vaccine is is an educated guess as to which direction the virus is going to go in its next evolution. Its no different than a batter trying to anticipate what pitch the pitcher is about to throw. The only bonus for the batter is they have their reaction time from the release to the plate to attempt to adjust. There is zero allowance for a reaction to a left turn when the vaccine was manufactured months ahead for a right turn.

There was just an episode on Science Friday regarding much of this as it pertains to the Corona virus. Some scary statements in there like lead people in the industry are pretty much clear that the entire world is going to be in the state of China with regards to caution/quarrantine in 6-12 months with zero potential for a vaccine in the remote future and a virus that is 20 times more lethal than influenza.

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segmen...irus-outbreak/

[Jerome Stanek]

The answer is quite simile...there are many strains of the flu virus and the immunization can never account for all of them. The vaccine each year is prepared anticipating what strains are most likely to be prevalent. Sometimes there is a miss on a major strain and sometimes there's mutation. While the vaccine isn't a guarantee that one will not get the disease or only have minor effects, overall, the population is best served by having that vaccine. A major reason for that is increased likelihood of exposure...modern travel is a big vector for transmission of communicable diseases.

But why is it that more people are getting the flu

[Malcolm McLeod]

Some great points, Steve.

A few posts here (same as last year) remind me of the '15-minute societal memory' so many are afflicted with: If it wasn't yesterday, it didn't happen. Per the CDC, we have 12,000-61,000 flu deaths per year (since 2010) in the US. Flu seemingly has no impact at all on the US financial markets, but the media latches on to a 'new' virus and the market craters; for <1000 deaths worldwide...?? Apparently we've learned to live (and die) with the flu; Coronavirus, not so much. ...My condolences to all those impacted by either.

I wonder how many folks today have seen an infant die in 2hrs from Cholera? Ever seen an entire family of 8-10 children die in a Measles epidemic in a 3-4 month span? Ever hold your wife's hand while she dies of Preeclampsia? Polio...and you thought that trick knee was a bother? Then there's Smallpox; check how many it has killed thru the ages. Lost anyone to that lately? Or, seen the scars of survivors? Even simple Pneumonia ... it has been called "The Great Killer" ... IIRC it exists in us all as a matter of routine, then something minor suppresses our immune system and allows it to simply move a few inches to our lungs.

Doctors and medicines aren't perfect, nor as Jim and Rod point out, are vaccines, but please consider the alternatives carefully.

I am descended from a family with 7 children: 2 boys and 5 girls. One of the girls became a teacher, and presumably, caught TB from a student. A sister came to care for her, but the teacher died anyway, and only after infecting her sister. 3rd sister came to care for the 2nd; rinse and repeat. All 5 died and the family tree 'withered' a bit. The brothers survived because men were not expected to be care-givers in that day. Fortunately for me.

[Malcolm McLeod]

But why is it that more people are getting the flu

Because there's 7 billion of us to catch it.

[Brian Elfert]

I recall having read - don't recall where - that if the rate of infant/childhood deaths 50+ years ago were the same as it is today , average lifespan hasn't increased all that much. Childhood mortality is much lower today which helps the average a lot. And a very good point about physical activity or lack thereof.

My family doctor is great and probably in his early 60s. He told me at least a decade ago that when he started in medicine he saw a lot patients with repetitive stress injuries from working on production lines. He said that now he sees mostly issues from patients not being active enough from sitting at a desk all day. He is a great doctor. He diagnosed a chronic issue in two minutes that sent me to ER four or five times for stroke like symptoms. The medication he prescribed has worked for several years now.

[Jim Koepke]

But why is it that more people are getting the flu

Because there are more people? There is also more traveling.

Without a source for your claim there is no way of knowing if it is a valid claim or someone's opinion.

From > https://www.healthline.com/health/in...d-statistics#1

At the time of publishing this article, influenza activity in the United States for the 2018-2019 flu season remained low. The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness increased slightly to 1.7 percent, which is below the national baseline of 2.2 percent.

The 2017-2018 flu season, however, was one of the deadliest in decades, with high levels of outpatient clinic and emergency department visits for flu-like illness and high flu-related hospitalization rates.

One year's anomaly does not make a statistical model.

Right next to our front door we have a pedestal mounted auto-hand sanitizer. During cold/flu season I use it quite often, most of our customers do too. I wash my hands often. I use the sani-wipes at the grocery store.

According to CDC information one of the most effective ways of avoiding flu and other infections is to wash your hands often. Germs are everywhere. Most common sources of infection is from a person's fingertips being infected then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

During my days of working in public transit we often commented about washing our hands twice when we used the restroom, before and after.

Part of the reason flu shots help is it lowers the number of vectors spreading a disease.

Some years we get flu shots some we do not. My experience with getting flu shots and friends getting flu shots hasn't been a positive one. We live in a remote location and do not venture into town as often as we did before retirement.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

I had pneumonia three or four years that got into my kidneys and caused excruciating back pain. I ended up in the ER three times because I had severe issues after urgent care had closed. The second time was for the back pain and all they did was give me opiates that time. The third time they finally diagnosed me with bacterial pneumonia. My back was fine within twelve hours of the first antibiotic. At one point I almost called 911 because I couldn't get out of my recliner due to the back pain.

Unfortunately, when I get a cold or other respiratory illness it most often gets really bad. One time I could barely breath. It has taken me up to eight weeks to recover from a cold.