Slashdot Mirror
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.
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.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Not going to work when you have the flu would also be helpful, but probably even the CDC understands that is not a reasonable recommendation.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
In most of the US there are no paid sick days for restaurant workers.
So when you are drinking your soda and eating your sandwich, ask yourself if the sandwich maker could afford to take a sick day.
Is America a truly modern country without universal healthcare or paid time off for illness?
The flu vaccine is estimated to be 10-15% effective this year, and as we get further into the flu season the strains not covered by the vaccine will become the most prevalent. So getting the vaccine now is almost like depending on homeopathic medicine or the placebo effect to stay healthy.
On the other hand, frequent hand washing and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth will always make a substantial improvement in your chances of avoiding the flu regardless of the strains that are spreading. Having the proper amounts of vitamins C & D probably gives better protection than this year's flu vaccine. Some years the vaccine is much better, but this isn't one of them.
I get the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere vaccines since I spend a lot of time on planes and in airports. That and benzalkonium chloride hand sanitizer have kept me flu free all winter.
Northern
an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus; and
a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus
Southern
an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus;
an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 (H3N2)-like virus; and
a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.
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.
sig: sauer
There are a large number of viruses out there that cause flu-like symptoms that are not actually the flu. The flu vaccine will never protect you from any of these other viruses. So regardless of whether or not you get the flu vaccine it is best to avoid sick people and take other precautions such as proper sanitation.
There is no mention of airports in TFS.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
However, for comparison, the accident rate on commercial airliners is about one in fifteen million take-offs-- with a measured rate of zero for last year-- so if he's comparing it to the risk in a plane crash, that risk is pretty much negligible.
The flu shot, as it turns out was of low efficacy this year. Having had the flu, however, I will take the minor pain in the arm to reduce my chance of getting it by 10%.
Garlic. Raw, well-chewed garlic. Has compounds with anti-viral, anti-fungal, and antibacterial properties. Cures and protects from the common cold.
Check out the science behind it.
https://www.healthline.com/nut...
I got the flu soon after a medical test at a doctor's office building. This is not a surprise as sick people were coming and going all day long. What surprised me after the fact was the lack of basic measures to stop the spread of disease at a medical facility.
The local Walmart has a plastic tub with wet wipes near the grocery baskets. This seems like common sense to reduce the chance of spreading germs especially in places where lots of people are congregating. But I don't see something similar at the entrances/exits of other high trafficked facilities. It seems they would easily pay for themselves in a reduced infection rate.
I've been on /. too long. I read this a LaTeX and GIMP.
How does getting a flu shot with a protein shell sequence of X ( which is how your bodies immune system knows what it is ) do anything for a mutated strain that has a shell sequence of Y ?
It's like an anti-virus program looking for a checksum of X ( Holy Shit! A virus ! SMASH ) while it lets the mutated version with a checksum of Y right in the door with a VIP pass.
Your body doesn't even KNOW it's a problem until it's kicking your ass.
Now if you get a Strain X shot today and Strain X happens to be the flavor going around a few years down the road, I can understand how it helps protect you as you already have the antibodies present for that particular sequence. But if it mutates at all, you're back to square one so I'm curious how it helps to " lessen the symptoms " since the body has to wait until the virus is in full blown payload delivery mode to mount any sort of defense against it.
You medical types should remember we don't speak Pharmacology or Micro-Biology lingo, so explain it like us non-medical types can understand it.
Could ultraviolet lamps slow the spread of flu?
This could make a big difference if it proves safe.
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.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I just got through reading an online reference saying that the second round of flu-like symptoms likely isn't flu but rather pneumonia.
If you get the flu, and then seem to get a "relapse" within a week or two, go see a doctor to get evaluated for pneumonia. Pneumonia symptoms are close to those of the flu.
Reference:
https://www.texasmedclinic.com...
--PM
The CDC chart of mortality for flu is pretty much as you expect (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr65/nvsr65_04.pdf)
Inflection point upwards at the 65-74 age bracket then straight up as you age further. Interestingly even little kids 1 - 14 seem to be in great shape in this regards. Would have thought the bodies defenses would take time to build up, peaking at say 25 y.o. But the little 1-14 y.o.'s are apparently quite resilient.
The flu is caused by a virus, but the article builds on a study on bacteria and fungi in airports. Pretty weak connection to the flu.
A not poor woman in my neighborhood died a week ago from complications of the flu. First she was treated in a local hospital, then taken by ambulance to a major hospital of the highest quality. It was neither prejudice nor poverty that did her in, just misfortune and a nasty disease.
So take your leftist anti-US bias and shove it.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
"Large" doses of vitamin D - 5000 IU/day or more - is fairly effective at preventing the flu. Given that this year's flu vaccine isn't very effective, vitamin D is a superior choice and brings other health benefits. If you're really worried about contracting the flu, use both.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Either the hospitalization did nothing, or the poor and uninsured are going to die in larger numbers than those of us who are better off.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes