January 11, 2013

Flu-Centric


A Quiet Moment.

For some reason, this year the flu has developed into epidemic proportions.  Emergency rooms are overcrowded, the halls are lined will sick folks, special tents have been set aside to corral those with the disease, yet the news media says stay home and call your doctor.  Many have not gotten their flu shots.  Despite the fact that it takes two weeks to work, doctors say it still isn’t too late to get the shots.

Several very smart and intelligent friends of ours are among those who haven’t gotten their shots.  They don’t see any reason to get a shot even tho they are out there in public all the time.  I don’t think it’s the cost of the shot for with these folks cost isn’t a factor.  I wonder why they think their immune systems are so tough the flu virus will pass them by.  I get the shot and then get the flu, they say.  It’s a dead virus vaccine, I reply then I worry.

For the last year, G and I have had breakfast out most Sundays.  Two pancakes, two slices of bacon, and two eggs – scrambled.  Oh, delicious, oh high fat, and eggy.  Just before we left for DC, we got our flu shots and I got a shingles shot.  (They said G was too young to get one.)  The arm with the flu shot itched madly for a few days a warning to me to stop being such an eggy me. 

So I have mostly given up eggs for the year.  I don’t want to get the flu, we think the shot lightened our common cold this year, but mostly means I have given up scrambled eggs not the occasional cookie or slice of meat loaf.  Once I started reading ingredients lists and recipes more closely, I was forced to reduce my “No”eggs to “Mostly” no eggs.

No matter what, I’ll have a flu shot next year too.



  • Keeping those on the east coast in my thoughts.

  • Himself:  Did the gym three times this week and has begun meetings again.  Cut his beard and hair to half an inch.  Getting ready for a big company meeting in two weeks.

  • Herself:  Aimless yesterday.  Cleaned kitchen shelves and went over one of the big shelves in the living room bookcase.  Are some of those big-house-ruined-books worth keeping?  I decided yes…as readers.  The big house had some serious mold.

  • Reading:  Clifford D. Simak’s “Special Deliverance.”

  • Balance:  Nap…and nap again……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.


  • 8 comments:

    1. It's more than forty years since I've had the flu. I never had a flu shot. If I were working in public now, I think I would get one to be on the safe side.

      I am very careful of what I accept in medicines, because providers don't always tell me about cross-effects to my other treatments. (I bring a med-hist, which they glance over, ignoring anything they don't understand.)

      Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous -- whether it is the patient or the doctor. ;)

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    2. I got the shot twice and then I stopped. I got sicker both years I had the shot. I am opting out for now.

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    3. I get a shot every year and haven't gotten the flu-du-jour for years. Combining age, asthma, and diabetes, and 8 grandkids, it seems a good call for me.

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    4. I have never had a flu shot and have never had the flu in many years, probably due to my relative isolation. Anyway, doesn't the vaccine only work against one strain of the disease? What about the other strains that could hit you? To me, the flu shot is a waste of time, money, and energy.

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    5. I wouldn't think eggs once a week made you eggy. Your breakfast sounds great. My treat to me most Sundays is a chocolate croissant. Just today I read once more how good chocolate is for you.

      We always get our flu shots early in the season. When I was working I had them at work in October. Still do it. Good for me. No flu in years, knock on wood. Dianne

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    6. It is always anecdotal all the people who get sick from the shot. I can find little data that means your chance of getting sick is greater from the shot! it is a dad virus and boosts your immunity. The only caveat is that the older you get the less it can help you, because you build less immunity. People are afraid of science because the few times it gets it wrong.

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    7. Husband and I have been getting flu shots for several years because we both worked with the public and now because we are older. Also got pneumonia shots last year and shingles shots too. Here in the RV park ~ there are alot of old(er) people who cough and sneeze all the time....

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    8. I have the flu shot every year. (With my RA meds compromising my immune system, my docs insist on it!) My rationale for same is that even if I get it, maybe it'll be less severe. Same thing for that shingles shot. I still got shingles, but from what I hear they weren't nearly as bad as they could have been, thank heavens! My daughter and family ALL came down with the flu after Christmas because they thought they were young and healthly, thereby invincible to health concerns. I think a lot of people are like that.

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