The Flu and Airports (fastcompany.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The CDC says this year's flu season is on track to either rival or dethrone 2009's swine flu. 3,000 people across the U.S. have died as a result of the flu in the first 20 days of 2018, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and that number has likely risen. If you want to avoid the flu (and of course you do) the National Institute of Health says orange juice won't cut it. Instead, the best flu prevention is a vaccine, and it's not too late to get one. Pair a flu shot with frequent hand washing, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth so you don't transfer any virus from your hands, and you just might manage to avoid the flu.

Comments

I got a flu shot this season

[cyberchondriac]

But I'd heard that this year's vaccines had mostly missed the mark.
It'd probably be more effective this year to wash your hands often, don't shake hands (I know, it's antisocial), and keep your hands away from your face.. or my face.

Re:I got a flu shot this season

[jellomizer]

Still even when the flue vaccine misses its mark, it still normally lessons the symptoms if you are to get the flu. It can be the difference between being out of work (feeling like crap) for a week vs being in the hospital for a week and out of work for an additional week.

Having the flu before, I make a point to get a vaccine every year (normally in September when it first gets out) just so I can avoid as much of the pain and misery of having the flu as I can. If I get it, it may be a few days of misery vs a week.

Re:I got a flu shot this season

[arth1]

Technically, "getting influenza" should not count as a form of "preventing influenza".

Why not? It helps prevent future infections better than a vaccine does.

A downside is that if you have had a particular influenza strain and then get a vaccine for the same one, you likely will be sick for a couple of days, as the immune system response is triggered full on.

Re:I got a flu shot this season

[Agent0013]

Perhaps you should read up on how the flu vaccine will make you more likely to contract other strains of the flu. The swine flu was particularly boosted by people who had gotten previous flu shots in the years previously. Not sure how that helps you avoid the flu if it is actually helping you get it instead.

Better is the up your intake of vitamin D. If you are low on your vitamin D, as most people are, it will reduce your chances of getting the flu by 80 or 90%. It will also help against things like lupis and other autoimmune diseases. If your vitamin D levels are where they should be it will still help you avoid the flu by at least as much and the vaccine does. So skip the vaccine and the problems it can cause for something more effective.

Re:Time off for illness

[DaveyJJ]

Huh? Canuck here. Sick at home Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday last week. Slacked my co-workers (not even head office) said, "Sick, staying home" ... response was "Okay, great." I get 10 sick days and 10 personal health days off, none of which I need any documentation for. I also worked nearly a decade in the US and was docked pay (and verbally berated) for taking a measly three days off after my second son was born and my wife wasn't mobile. I call BS, AC.

Handshaking

[ichthus]

Handshaking. We MUST get rid of this stupid form of greeting. I'm what's commonly referred to as a germaphobe -- I hate touching the hand rails at Disneyland, or the TV remote in a hotel room. (EXTRA CREDIT: The sponge in the sink at work) And, just as loathsome is touching the hand of someone that I haven't just witnessed washing his or her hands.

If we stopped shaking hands, this would go a long way toward stemming the spread of sickness. Hey, Mythbusters confirmed it.

This year's flu is an A/H3N2 strain.

[hey!]

This is a strain known for producing severe flu cases and sometimes-fatal secondary complications.

There is evidence that in past A/H3N2 outbreaks, people who contracted the flu despite being vaccinated had less severe symptoms and fewer complications. Even if the vaccine is only "10% effective" at preventing infection, the evidence still suggests that it's worth getting, especially as this flu is claiming the lives of many young, healthy people.

IMPORTANT: the "10%" figure was an early estimate from Australia in December. More recent figures I've heard are 17% effectiveness and 30% effectiveness in the US.