Track the Flu!

General / Informational

While the CDC still claims that the flu vaccine is the single best way to prevent the flu, I thought you should know a couple of really interesting things before getting the vaccine if you haven’t yet.

TRACK THE FLU

You can track the flu’s severity in your region by using this handy tool. I put my zip code in and got these results:

Looks like we’re getting off to a pretty weak start in my area and nationally this year.

According to the CDC:

 (Dec. 9 issue of the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).)

From Oct. 2 to Nov. 26, flu viruses had been reported in 30 states. Of 24,027 specimens tested, just 266 or 1.1% were positive as flu viruses. Nearly half of those came from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

KNOW HOW TO SPOT POTENTIAL FLU INFECTION

The common symptoms of the flu include:

  • Fever (100°F or greater)
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Chills
  • Tiredness
  • Cough
  • Runny nose (more common in children than adults)
Of course, another major factor is the flu’s sudden onset.  It generally hits you like a pile of bricks and knocks you out.

HOMEOPATHY

Because of this rapid onset I always have on hand in my cabinet a box of this homeopathic remedy:
Boiron Flu-like Symptoms - Oscillococcinum 30 Unit
When you start to come down with the flu, at the very first sign, take some of this. Homeopathy is of course now approved by the FDA to treat self limiting conditions, so you can take it with confidence. It also has no side effects.

VITAMIN D

One thing that has not been approved for use in preventing or treating the flu though and is one of my very best friends: Vitamin D. Now, I’m not allowed to go into all the details about Vitamin D, because it’s considered a nutritional supplement and those (at least for now) are not approved to treat or prevent anything whether they do or not.  I will let other people do the talking though (so that I can stay out of any potential hot water with the FDA) like the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and even Science News.
I will even let Dr. Prendergast, M.D. (who started his vitamin D studies at Henry Ford Hospital  and then continued them at the University of California, San Francisco) tell you his take on the amazing qualities of vitamin D.

QUIZ: Dr. Mercola’s Vitamin D quiz.

What will you be doing this year to keep the flu at bay?

 

For more info on the fly, check out this previous blog post.

One comment

  1. Pingback: The flu vaccine is super-duper effective… I guess. — Everything Birth's Blog on Midwifery, Attachment Parenting, Cloth Diapers and More

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