# Flu Season



## bittersweetsymphony (Oct 10, 2008)

I heard it's better for people in the south to get their flu shot in mid October. Why is this?


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## Nowell3 (Oct 23, 2008)

I am not sure on the reasoning, but I have heard this as well.


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

Never heard this before. Maybe the South gets hit harder or at a different due to the climate? 

I've never got a flu shot and doubt I ever will unless some pandemic breaks out and they have a vaccine.


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## Blister (Oct 21, 2008)

We're in the south and we have a saying: If you want the flu, get a flu shot. Corresponding to that, everyone I know who gets a flu shot gets sick. One of the neighbors was by about 3 weeks ago and said they had just went and gotten one and that they weren't feeling well. I wrapped up our conversation pretty quickly and he left which was exactly the goal. lol

That may sound weird to some, nonetheless, I've never gotten a flu shot and haven't had the flu in over 20 years. I do count myself lucky/blessed but I'm not into vaccines and inoculations these days. Too many hazards associated with them.


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## Homer_Simpson (Oct 19, 2008)

Most of what I have seen is to get it in October or November, as I recall this helps get through a later flu season. Not sure when it starts in your parts but where I live it really takes off around December/January.

I've yet to get mine, in my area they will be starting clinics soon just for flu shots.


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## lisat (Oct 22, 2008)

A homeopathic radio talk show last weekend said this year the flu fighter plants like the elderberry are a bumper crop. They say that when nature provides an abundance of something like the elderbery it means it will be a bad flu season. Will be interesting to see if this is true. The elderberry is supposed to stop the flu virus from entering the body's cells. They suggested sipping a small amount elderbery wine or take elderberry syrup each day to ward off the flu.


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## McPrepared (Oct 27, 2008)

I have gotten a flu shot almost every year as my mother works at a doctor's office and I get them for free. When I was 15, I didn't get one that year and I caught the flu with symptoms in tact after just a couple hours of kissing my boyfriend. He had bad allergies and asthma so I we both figured his allergies were getting the best of him. Turned out to be the flu. I felt like someone had run me over with a truck. Every since, I've made sure to recieve one every single year and I haven't caught it since then. The downfall though is, some mild symptoms can be present the day of receieving your shot.


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## rs372 (Jan 13, 2011)

lisat said:


> A homeopathic radio talk show last weekend said this year the flu fighter plants like the elderberry are a bumper crop.


In my experience, elderberry doesn't fight the flu, it just pretty much murders it instead. good stuff.
I just saw a TV advertisement the other day for Sambucol. Word of that gets around and the cold/flu aisle of most stores is going to shrink into a small rack by the checkout counter. Guess we better hope companies with non-effective products like NyQuil don't go crying to the FDA and politicians about how elderberry is a non-safe antichrist that needs to made as illegal as hemp. all the while stuffing their pockets with cash as they whisper in their ears.

Elderberry has ZERO side effects. Safe for kids too


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Would store-bought elderberry jelly/preserves have the good stuff in them or do they need to be fresh?

DW and I don't get flu shots either. Every once in a while we'll get a cold and we both caught a nasty 24 hour bug right around the holidays just past but to us it's not worth the risks. We don't trust what _esle_ might be in the vaccine besides the antibodies.


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## whisperingwinds (Oct 16, 2010)

bittersweetsymphony said:


> I heard it's better for people in the south to get their flu shot in mid October. Why is this?


I was looking for an answer for your guestion on google hehe....and found this....maybe it has merit.

The explanation for peaks of illnesses between December and March actually start back in September with the end-of-summer ritual called Back-to-School. Large numbers of children cram together into crowded classrooms in predominantly old, out-dated schoolbuildings whose ventilation and air conditioning systems have been idle for several months over the summer break, allowing mold and other micro-organisms to grow, a process that has been taking place for decades.

Putting this many kids back to gether by itself can trigger a spread of colds and flu, but is aggravated by another late-summer early-fall ritual, "Mandatory" Vaccination Side Effects. Childhood vaccinations are another actual cause of illnesses at the start of cold and flu season, since many of the densly-packed school children, already sharing diseases, are then pumped full of a mix of disease antigens and toxic preservatives which actually supress the immune system. A fairly large percentage will actually come down with a case of whatever illness they were vaccinated against, and, voila, instant mini epidemic. The subject of Childhood Vaccinations is a separate, involved issue.

Just a thought! :dunno:

Also being from the south....I saw a lot of very poor people. I was one at one time.

They cant always eat the foods they need to keep the body strong enough ...so It seems to me, they are at risk. 
Oh and my creepy thoughts of the Center for diasease control being there.

Thats just my thoughts.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

whisperingwinds said:


> The explanation for peaks of illnesses between December and March actually start back in September with the end-of-summer ritual called Back-to-School. Large numbers of children cram together into crowded classrooms in predominantly old, out-dated schoolbuildings whose ventilation and air conditioning systems have been idle for several months over the summer break, allowing mold and other micro-organisms to grow, a process that has been taking place for decades.
> 
> Putting this many kids back to gether by itself can trigger a spread of colds and flu, but is aggravated by another late-summer early-fall ritual, "Mandatory" Vaccination Side Effects. Childhood vaccinations are another actual cause of illnesses at the start of cold and flu season, since many of the densly-packed school children, already sharing diseases, are then pumped full of a mix of disease antigens and toxic preservatives which actually supress the immune system. A fairly large percentage will actually come down with a case of whatever illness they were vaccinated against, and, voila, instant mini epidemic. The subject of Childhood Vaccinations is a separate, involved issue.


Ah, the joys of homeschooling...


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

goshengirl said:


> Ah, the joys of homeschooling...


I'll second THAT... I only have personal experience/anecdotal evidence to offer, as opposed to studies and research and statistics: I've never had flu vaccinations, and so I caught the _dreaded_ *H1N1*, I was sick (not too severely) for TWO DAYS... just another case of the flu  , I kept myself away from others for another 4 days to hopefully not spread it. IMHO most of this fearmongering focuses on germs/pandemics etc etc because the Global Thermonuclear War _*boogeyman*_ has been pretty much defanged since the late 80s; as a govt. it's hard to control a populace that isn't *dependent* on you.


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## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

The greatest single-killer event in the history of mankind: Spanish Flu of 1918. Absolutely no reason why it can't get us again. Most people -- even many preppers -- won't believe it can happen until the bodies start piling up. A similar event, IMHO, is one of the most likely catastrophic SHTF scenarios.

History is a wonderful teacher for those who want to learn.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

horseman09 said:


> The greatest single-killer event in the history of mankind: Spanish Flu of 1918. Absolutely no reason why it can't get us again. Most people -- even many preppers -- won't believe it can happen until the bodies start piling up. A similar event, IMHO, is one of the most likely catastrophic SHTF scenarios.
> 
> History is a wonderful teacher for those who want to learn.


:scratch I think medicine AND (health?) standards (/) of living have improved vastly (in the developed world, which could be why getting the H1N1 in Mexico was a *death sentence* for many, yet in the US it was a case of the sniffles) in 93 years :surrender:

I guess we'll just agree to disagree


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## PamsPride (Dec 21, 2010)

goshengirl said:


> Ah, the joys of homeschooling...


Right on! :2thumb:


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## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

The_Blob said:


> :scratch I think medicine AND (health?) standards (/) of living have improved vastly (in the developed world, which could be why getting the H1N1 in Mexico was a *death sentence* for many, yet in the US it was a case of the sniffles) in 93 years :surrender:
> 
> I guess we'll just agree to disagree


Medicine? What medicine? Many flu bugs are already resistant to Tamilflu, and it is only effective if you have enough to distribute and if you take it shortly after symptoms start. Chances are excellent that it will not be effective on an extremely virulent bug like the Spanish Flu.

Standards of living have absolutely nothing to do with it. Mingling does, tho. And at no point in history does mingling occur more than now. Catch the flu today and be anywhere in the world tomorrow morning. That wasn't possible in 1918.

If every hospital had thousands of respirators in reserve, then modern medicine could have an impact. *But they don't.*


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## IrritatedWithUS (Jan 9, 2011)

In the Western U.S. right now flu is running rampant in my town. 
A tip from me:  *Wash your hands with hot water every time you go to the bathroom!* I'm in the healthcare field and you would not *BELIEVE* how many people either 1. Do not wash their hands and/or 2. Don't wash them properly!


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

IrritatedWithUS said:


> In the Western U.S. right now flu is running rampant in my town.
> A tip from me:  *Wash your hands with hot water every time you go to the bathroom!* I'm in the healthcare field and you would not *BELIEVE* how many people either 1. Do not wash their hands and/or 2. Don't wash them properly!


oh, I'd believe it...

I worked in a care facility that where multiple bedridden clients were getting sick from a contact-transmitted disease... turns out that the reverend wasn't washing his hands 

I taught my godsons to sing 'the alphabet song' when washing their hands

side note: NEVER eat the free bowls of snackfood (peanuts etc etc) from a bar!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

horseman09 said:


> Standards of living have absolutely nothing to do with it. Mingling does, tho. And at no point in history does mingling occur more than now. Catch the flu today and be anywhere in the world tomorrow morning. That wasn't possible in 1918.
> 
> If every hospital had thousands of respirators in reserve, then modern medicine could have an impact. *But they don't.*


Nope, they have very few in reserve. Ventilators are expensive to buy & expensive to maintain, so hospitals keep a bare minimum of them. Our healthcare system is about as prepared for a major disaster or flu as New Orleans was for Katrina. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not. We don't have the equipment, the manpower, the supplies, nor enough medications.


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## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

tsrwivey said:


> Nope, they have very few in reserve. Ventilators are expensive to buy & expensive to maintain, so hospitals keep a bare minimum of them. Our healthcare system is about as prepared for a major disaster or flu as New Orleans was for Katrina. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not. We don't have the equipment, the manpower, the supplies, nor enough medications.


My wife has to see her specialist at a major hospital on a regular basis. We've known her doc for quite a few years and have talked about our mutual interests. 2 years ago after she was done examining my wife I asked her what she thought about a major flu pandemic. She got up and closed the door (she had just come back in with a lab report) and said, "It's going to happen. The big question is when. It might be this year or 5 years or 10, but it's going to happen. We'll run out of venitilators in a matter of days and personell soon after that. Then all our medical preparations will become secondary to security, because the lights will go out, the stores will be looted empty and the police protection will disappear -- becasue, like the rest of the population -- they will either be sick, or their families are sick, or they just aren't going to espose themselves.

Not trying to start a fight here, but too many preppers -- in their zeal to trash gubmint, big biz/pharmaceutical companies and vacines -- are irrationally ignoring one of the greatest threats to their existence.

*Humanity has no meaningful defense against a Spanish Flu-like pandemic, and there is absolutely no reason why it won't strike again. *


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## horseman09 (Mar 2, 2010)

*Swine flu: hospitals 'gridlocked'*

This is what happens with a low morbidity flu? Just multiply it times 1000 when the morgues are overflowing, then the corpses are piling up in homes and even on the streets (think Katrina) and there's no one to take them away.

Swine flu: hospitals 'gridlocked' - Telegraph


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