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MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Just your friendly adolescent medicine specialist here!

It's flu season! Get your flu shot, especially if you're a college student living in close quarters with a bunch of other students!

Trust me, the flu shot, while it hurts a bit and can make you achy and feverish for a couple of days, is ten thousand times better than the flu!

And make sure you have your other shots, including Hep A, up to date.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense. biggrin

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


_Aime_SILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
4,172 posts
Location: Hastings, United Kingdom


Posted:
I'm the only person in my flat who hasnt had freshers flu yet, I think the bugger is going to jump up on me on my birthday just to spite me.

JauntyJamesSILVER Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,533 posts
Location: Hampshire College, MA, USA


Posted:
Gee, I wonder who that was inspired by.

I'll see about getting one when I go home for thanksgiving in a few weeks. For now I'll work on getting over this fever the good old fashioned way.

-James

"How do you know if you're happy or sad without a mask? Or angry? Or ready for dessert?"


ElectricBlueGOLD Member
Now with extra strawberries
810 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
I'll second that doc.
Flu shots are a must if you work any were near kids and their snotty noses Or if you just work/live around lots of people.

I {Heart} hand me downs and spinning in the snow.<br /><br />


BurdaASILVER Member
Sacrebleu
377 posts
Location: At the quiet limit, United Kingdom


Posted:
Especially if you have asthma. Trust me I know, I was hospitalised for some time a couple of years ago.

Poi(poi~y) n. : A Hawaiian food made from the tuber of the taro that is cooked, pounded to a paste, and fermented.
- part owner of Wooktastic™ ©


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Small warning on the side, this year's shot is EEEEVIL!! (In other words get it, but don't get just before an important exam or so, I almost had to take some time off work and a friend was sick for 3 or 4 days, too)

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


newgabeSILVER Member
what goes around comes around. unless you're into stalls.
4,030 posts
Location: Bali, Australia


Posted:
I never get shots and I haven;t been sick for years and years. But this year I had flu... two different types one after the other. It was crap, especially the headache one. The coughing chest one wasn' t fun either, specially for my daughter who also got it bad too. So if this year's shot is a match for some of the flus going around, it would be harsh! I am in Oz, of course, but I think the strains are worldwide, no? Air travel and all that?

.....Can't juggle balls but I sure as hell can juggle details....


GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
The is a strain of chest infections thats cut a swathe through my husbands work. Haemophilus strain thats penecillin resistant. The pathologist who caught it makes sure he knows exactly what he gets and so when Bill got it he knew what he had (in all likelyhood) and what to take

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


Rouge DragonBRONZE Member
Insert Champagne Here
13,215 posts
Location: without class distinction, Australia


Posted:
Mum got the flu this year and it hit her really hard. I went back down to Geelong to help Dad look after her and I have no idea how I didn't catch it as well!

And can I just say, that if you live in a share situation and you get sick - stay in your room and don't spend a week on the couch snotting up the loungeroom!!!! seriously, a bit of respect for the other people you live with, please smile

i would have changed ***** to phallus, and claire to petey Petey

Rougie: but that's what I'm doing here
Arnwyn: what letting me adjust myself in your room?..don't you dare quote that on HoP...


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by: Gnor


The is a strain of chest infections thats cut a swathe through my husbands work. Haemophilus strain thats penecillin resistant. The pathologist who caught it makes sure he knows exactly what he gets and so when Bill got it he knew what he had (in all likelyhood) and what to take



Fluoroquinolones for the win! (Or a 3rd generation cephalosporin...or maybe a macrolide?)

OK, I'm a geek.

And why was a pathologist taking care of your husband?

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
Hey Doc, I know how much you love your flu shot but I was reading a recent medicine study (some medical journal) that said it is rather un-necessary in people between the ages of 10 up to 50's, but that it is mostly advised for small children and senior citizens.

I have seen so many people get the shot and then be laid up with the flu far worse and longer than those of us who don't get it. I see it at work every year and it does nothing to make me want to get it at all.

So, can I ask about your thoughts on the pnuemonia vaccine? I haven't been able to do a load of reading on it yet. Because of my past lung issues, I've been advised to get it, but not strongly. My mom and gran both get pnue at the drop of a hat though and have been told to get it.

This reminds me, I think I need my tetnus booster.
*wanders away to look up some stuff*

hug

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by: Pele


Hey Doc, I know how much you love your flu shot but I was reading a recent medicine study (some medical journal) that said it is rather un-necessary in people between the ages of 10 up to 50's, but that it is mostly advised for small children and senior citizens.




I've never seen a study say that. Obviously the very young and old are at increased risk. I would *STRONGLY* recommend it for you, with your history of ARDS. A bout of flu can kill people with lung issues. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it positively DOES NOT make a break-through case of the flu worse. That has been demonstrated.
 Written by:


So, can I ask about your thoughts on the pnuemonia vaccine? I haven't been able to do a load of reading on it yet. Because of my past lung issues, I've been advised to get it, but not strongly. My mom and gran both get pnue at the drop of a hat though and have been told to get it.




Again, I *STRONGLY* recommend it for you. It prevents 23 different strains of pneumococcal pneumonia. It does not prevent all pneumonia. However, it will reduce the chances.

Remember, no vaccine is 100% effective and nothing is 100% free of side-effects.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
 Written by: Doc Lightning




Fluoroquinolones for the win! (Or a 3rd generation cephalosporin...or maybe a macrolide?)

OK, I'm a geek.

And why was a pathologist taking care of your husband?



Geeks are awesome! biggrin biggrin
Bill works as a Biochemist in a Pathology laboratory and sees alot of his Pathologist in charge.

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
OMG. A 14yo boy came in today with SEPTIC SHOCK with huge tonsils, and a positive rapid antigen test for influenza A.

We think he got the flu, which weakened his immune system, and then he got a strep throat, and now hes in Group A Strep sepsis. Group A Strep, which causes "Strep Throat" causes TERRIBLE infections. It eats your flesh ::shudder::.

Chances of this happening to any one person? Damned slim.

But not as slim as a really bad reaction to the flu shot. That's a far slimmer chance. GET THE FLU SHOT THIS YEAR.

Now: why do flu shots sometimes not seem to work?

1) The patient got a viral syndrome, but it wasn't influenza. Influenza is a syndrome caused by influenza viruses, usually groups A and B. These are members of a family of RNA viruses called paramyxoviruses. Many things that we call "the Flu" are not influenza. For example, influenza virus does not typically cause the "stomach Flu." An infection with adenovirus can cause Flu-like symptoms. So can Epstein Barr Virus (causes mononucleosis). So can primary HIV infection. So can a whole host of horrible tropical parasites. Unless the physician does an antigen test or viral culture for influenza viruses A and B and it's positive, you can't know it's influenza.

2) The patient got influenza but the researchers formulating the vaccine read their crystal ball wrong this year. Influenza contains 7-9 pieces of RNA as its genome. This makes it 1) mutate very quickly and 2) swap those mutants between progeny if two viruses infect a cell at the same time. Sometimes, particularly virulent strains form that can cross species lines, and they are first detected usually in Southeast Asia. Each year, a new set of influenza viruses comes along and the vaccine has to be re-made. That's why a new one comes out each year. Sometimes, one or more of the viruses they selected fizzles and is replaced by one they didn't think much of, or a new virus comes out after the vaccine for the year has been released.

People think the flu shot keeps you from getting sick. It doesn't. It prevents you from getting the strains for which you were vaccinated.

Oh, and there's plenty of it this year. They finally managed to not mess it up.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
Reminded me of some of the studies done here in Northern Australia. Streptococcal necrotising fasciitis is most commonly found in indigenous communities in Australia. One study showed a 30% fatality rate. As if life isnt crap enough for many of them already. The introduction of a swimming pool to the community dropped incidence of skin sores from 60-70% to 20% and severe pyoderma rates dropped to almost zero. Tympanic membrane perforation rates dropped by half and school attendance rates increased in both studies . As parents were concerned about truancy, the communities introduced a “no school, no pool” policy as an incentive for children to attend school. In addition to having swimming lessons at school, children attending school are given passes permitting them to use the pool after school.
The difference to non idigenous was that there were often multiple concurrent medical conditions in the aboriginals like your patient.
(yes I know I have told this before, this time I looked up the studies)

Bill always gets flu vaccines. He has chronic asthma and chest really knock him around.

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


UnclassifiedLeggyGirlBRONZE Member
One day penguins will take over the world
916 posts
Location: Derby, United Kingdom


Posted:
doc: are you actually a doctor? this has been bugging me for a while, or are you just very knowledgable about health issues? lol i've never had a flu jab, isn't it just like a cold?? :S although all my others are up to date biggrin

ummmm...........anybody have any suggestions as to what i can put here?!

mjk is monitoring your interwebs!


LizzybethLizzy hearts sunshine hoop
272 posts
Location: midlands!


Posted:
flu is not "just like a cold" ...sadly smile its a horrible thing that puts you in bed for weeks if your unlucky. i got flu followed by really bad pneumonia a few years back, and my lungs never really got better. not as strong as they used to be frown so its worth not getting flu :P but the jab really really hurts frown

if i could be a busy busy bee...


animatEdBRONZE Member
1 + 1 = 3
3,540 posts
Location: Bristol UK


Posted:
UnclassifiedLeggyGirl: Doc Lightning is a qualified Doctor, currently working in paediatrics. (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, Mike. there's probably a lot more to it than that, too...)



I just had 'Flu. it sucks. It had me awake for most of the nights with really bad back pain, right between my shoulder blades, that no amount of stretching could cure.



and then, as the flu was subsiding, it decided to leave me with an eye infection (at least, I can't find any other reason why I would suddenly get an eye infection, there were no scratches, nor foreign bodies in my eye...). being a juggler, and only being able to see out of one eye was the worst thing in the world. dropping balls is one thing, but dropping them because they didn't go where you thought they were going, is a completely different kettle of fish. And now, my eye has a burst blood vessel , so the white of my eye is a demonic blood red. the Antibiotics I was given to fight the infection have been really screwing with my head too, making me feel mega depressed. so, I've missed loads of classes, and quite a bit of work.



Sure wish I had a flu jab before. Is it still worth me going to get one?



On another note, I reckon I might be either Bipolar, have OCD, or a mixture of the two. Waiting to finish these antibiotics to see if my crazy mood swings chill out a bit before I go and see my doctor, though.

Empty your mind. Be formless, Shapeless, like Water.
Put Water into a cup, it becomes the cup, put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot.
Water can flow, or it can Crash.
Be Water My Friend.


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by: UnclassifiedLeggyGirl


doc: are you actually a doctor? this has been bugging me for a while, or are you just very knowledgable about health issues? lol i've never had a flu jab, isn't it just like a cold?? :S although all my others are up to date biggrin



I am a doctor, to be sure. I am finishing my residency in pediatrics. As to whether I am very knowledgeable about health issues... I try to be.

Oh, and it's a bad asthma season around here. If you're asthmatic flu can kill you. Get the shot.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


PeleBRONZE Member
the henna lady
6,193 posts
Location: WNY, USA


Posted:
lol..Doc...they need to pay you an advertising kick back, seriously!

Sorry love, I won't be getting it again this year. It's just not something for me. My lungs are doing great.
They were beyond healthy when I had the accident and I've managed to build them back up since. Obviously not to where they were but they are strong enough to pass a resp test with flying colors (unless it is a wicked humid day). I know, I know. You will list down all the multitudes of reasons I should get the shot and nag me every year about it, and for that, I love you eternally.
hug

The study I read was on a link at CNN.com a couple weeks ago. Perhaps it's archived? I'll look into it later for you.

Pele
Higher, higher burning fire...making music like a choir
"Oooh look! A pub!" -exclaimed after recovering from a stupid fall
"And for the decadence of art, nothing beats a roaring fire." -TMK


UnclassifiedLeggyGirlBRONZE Member
One day penguins will take over the world
916 posts
Location: Derby, United Kingdom


Posted:
i'm not asthmatic.... i don't think :S lol at least now i know i should listen to you when you say to get my flu jab...

ummmm...........anybody have any suggestions as to what i can put here?!

mjk is monitoring your interwebs!


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
Look, I got mine, OK? I wouldn't do anything to myself that I didn't feel pretty damned sure about. And I wouldn't recommend anything I wouldn't do myself.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


natasqiaddict
489 posts
Location: Perth


Posted:
Written by: Pele


Hey Doc, I know how much you love your flu shot but I was reading a recent medicine study (some medical journal) that said it is rather un-necessary in people between the ages of 10 up to 50's, but that it is mostly advised for small children and senior citizens."

Yeah, I got told this and read an article about this as well, around a year ago.. But when I actually searched myself, I couldn't find that article and only found ones saying GET A FLU VAC GET A FLU VAX

so I got one anyway...

MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
People love to rag on vaccines. I'm not sure why it is. It's probably because they're too good.

They have a safety profile that puts even something as innocuous as Tylenol (paracetamol, for you limeys) to shame. Serious adverse events are often less common than one-in-a-million.

They work beautifully. Vaccines are why polio hasn't been seen in the Western Hemisphere in decades. They're why no practicing physician alive today has ever seen a case of smallpox. They're why new pediatricians often go through their training without ever seeing a case of chicken pox. They're why epiglottitis, a once fatal form of bacterial throat infection, is now unheard-of in the U.S. Same for tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella.

The new rotavirus vaccine came out last year. It protects against the most common cause of infantile diarrhea. I've noticed that in the last year, there have been much fewer hospital admissions for infectious vomiting/diarrhea.

And so anything that good is bound to raise its share of critics. Now people are starting to demand 100% absolute safety. And whenever there is an adverse event after a vaccine, even when it cannot be traced to the vaccine, they love to harp on it. In fact, this is where the whole "MMR vaccine causes autism" thing came from. After two studies, each on over 100,000 kids, failed to show any link, the group in favor of the theory said that they would "continue to search for evidence proving the link." Not very scientific to have the conclusion in mind before you've gathered the fact.

And then there are the iconoclasts. Those who are eager to subvert the dominant paradigm, no matter what it is. They jump on the anti-vaccine bandwagon, too.

People don't realize what it used to be like before antibiotics and vaccines. Kids died of diphtheria all the time. It would start with a sore throat and then it would wind up closing off their airways. A kid who stepped on a rusty nail could die of tetanus, rigid as a board with only head and heels touching the ground. Measles was a disease that EVERYONE got as a kid. And you've probably never seen a patient with mumps orchitis (orchitis=inflammation of the testis). I have. I've never seen a patient quite so miserable in quite such a way.

However, in four and a half years of clinical medical practice, I have seen probably 5,000 vaccines administered. The only serious adverse event I've ever seen was the kid who got an infection at the site of the injection. He was treated with oral antibioics as an outpatient and recovered fully.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
Amen.



Weirdly enough, it's often the same people who say "you should be so happy you have enough food and don't have to be hungry like the children in the third world" to their kids and go on peace protests and what not who then refuse to give their own children the medical provison that people in poorer countries do and would happily accept.



I can't see why, especially with children. They're weak and can't defend themselves, and if on 99 parents with unvaccinated kids there's one child who gets mumps or even measles, never mind something like polio, that's still too much. In addition, you risk the health of other people, too - I had mumps last year (different vaccination schemes between the UK and Germany, and when the UK introduced the booster shots for people my age they thought the one I'd got in Germany before was sufficient, which turned out to be wrong, and of course there's still a tiny risk of getting mumps if you are vaccinated). I wouldn't wish it on anyone (17 hours a day dozing, but hardly able to sleep because of the pain), and I wasn't even at risk of the additional unpleasant effects it can have on men. To not vaccinate your children, or get yourself vaccinated, leaves other people exposed to the things that you or they might pick up, too.



May I add hepatitis B to the list of useful vaccinations? About 350 million infections worldwide, and you can die of liver cirrhosis or cancer. https://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/hepatitisb1.shtml.

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half


GnorBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia


Posted:
Vaccination is about the good of the herd. Those of us who do vaccinate protect those that cant for whatever reason. Including the absteiners from reasons like tenuous autism link.
Moo.
Mum tells me of dipheria and tetanus and how horrid it was. I had a mild dose of whooping cough and I dont want a full dose.. ever.

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu


MikeGinnyGOLD Member
HOP Mad Doctor
13,925 posts
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA


Posted:
 Written by: Gnor


Vaccination is about the good of the herd. Those of us who do vaccinate protect those that cant for whatever reason. Including the absteiners from reasons like tenuous autism link.




"Tenuous" is perhaps too strong.

How about "discredited"?

Remember, the way science REALLY works isn't that the evidence comes out and then everyone is convinced. The way it works is that the evidence comes out and the younger people are convinced and the older people, set in their ways and beliefs, hold on to their views until they die.

As late as 1977 there was still a professor somewhere (Rockefeller U?) who claimed that all the real evidence was being ignored and that proteins, not DNA, were the molecules of heredity.

-Mike

Certified Mad Doctor and HoP High Priest of Nutella



A buckuht n a hooze! -Valura


BirgitBRONZE Member
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)


Posted:
https://www.badscience.net/?p=458



Nice little review of some of the ways the scaremongers are still trying to keep up the link...



And I knew it was somewhere there... some background on the guy who did the science bit about the link.

https://www.badscience.net/2003/12/mmr-never-mind-the-facts/#more-23



Disproven is I think not quite as right as Gnor's definition, given some of the stretches that went into the research.



Of course I know how tempting it is to produce more interesting data than what you've actually got in your lab... ubblol
EDITED_BY: Birgit (1195587924)

"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)

Owner of Dragosani's left half



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