This is a head-bang-desker....
The facebook entity known as I Fucking Love Science is long on book-smarts but often shows a shortage of knowledge of the world, AKA "common sense." She posted "Should you be worried about bird flu?" with a link to "Bird Flu is Back, But Should We Be Worried?" My short answer is NO.
No, we shouldn't be constantly worried about an isolated case of X somewhere. If it comes closer, it might be something to read-up on. Read up on who catches these things. Who gets badly sick of them. Read up on how they're transmitted. We should ALREADY have read up on how to make ourselves more resistant to various viral and bacterial threats to health.
Constantly stressing ourselves about something that probably has no impact on our lives is a waste of good stress-hormones. Worrying about having that carby treat "just this once" EVERY DAMNED DAY is far more likely to be relevant to your well-being.
Really.... The news is designed to hook us in to reading more from the same source, not to actually inform us about anything. Since television began broadcasting 24/7, and the creation of all-news channels, i've seen a HUGE difference in the style of journalism they deliver. Like the Weather Channel which overdramatizes minor storms to get people to stay watching longer, the corporate-employed "newscaster" is more dedicated to getting his/her name in front of the viewer than actually inclined to tell you what OF IMPORTANCE is actually happening in the world.
So PLEASE DON'T PANIC!!!! STAY CALM! (i gag on those faux WWII "stay calm" derivatives...) If you limit your sugar (which damages immunity) and make sure you're nutrient-replete, and above all DON'T FRENCH-KISS AN EBOLA VICTIM, you stand a reasonable chance of living through the (northern-hemisphere) winter....
This might be my last flu shot; I was one of the unlucky ones who got the flu shot last year in the fall, as I have every year since I turned 50...and then got a BAD case of the flu in March. I dutifully got my shot again last month. I know it doesn't cover all types of flu, but still... I've only had true flu 3 times in my life, and last March was a doozy.
ReplyDeleteInterested to hear your take on the various types of adult (especially) immunizations. I would get the Shingles one but I'm allergic to some components, so it's out. Need to check out the pneumonia immunizations, I guess, since I'm over 60...
i haven't had a heavy-duty virus in YEARS -- not since i started using systemic enzymes. Dr. Wong says that the secret is that one's proteolytic enzymes eat the casing off viruses which allow them to attack our cells, and a well-made supplement works too.
DeleteI've never had a flu shot, and don't see the need to -- but then i don't go to a workplace anymore, where one's coworkers think they're noble because they come into the office when they're sick.... On this side of the pond i don't see the need for other immunizations either FOR MYSELF, but if i were required to, to travel to other countries, i wouldn't have a problem with it. And i believe in childhood immunizations if they're given in a proper manner -- at the right ages, and spread out appropriately. Some adults MAY need some shots, but i don't think i do.
It is just my opinion, but I think there is a lot questionable in current immunization practices (immediate hepatitis immunization after a baby is born is just one good example), especially flu shots. As a person with a predisposition to have allergies, I just stay away from such scam . You basically have to threat me with deportation, heavy fine or a jail time to force me to get a flu shot.
DeleteThere are deadly deceases when risk is too high, I would cave to it, but not flu shots, parotitis, gardasil, pneumonia shot for my family members as far as I have to decide it . I have a good resistance to infections now, as my other family members. My mom's uncle was cured from tuberculosis when antibiotics were not available eating a lot of pork fat, eggs, batter he was buying from a black market and selling all material possessions. May be eating less vegetables and more eggs and butter when immunity should be re-enforced is a good prevention practice.
I have not
yes, immediate immunizations of newborns seems ... poorly thought out! adapting to a new environment is stressful enough without immediately presenting ANOTHER challenge!
Deletei agree -- giving the body what it needs to fight infection makes sense -- it has systems designed to do just that. when antibiotics work, they're great things ... but sometimes they don't.
"No, we shouldn't be constantly worried about an isolated case of X somewhere"
ReplyDeleteThe biggest load of bollocks is the threat of terrorism. What chance has the average US or UK citizen have of being killed by a rabid religious nutter? next to nil I reckon. More chance of being run over on the street by a drunk driver or struck by a lightning bolt. But Jeez what licence it gives to the 'Fat Controllers'
Kind regards Eddie
:-) i'd be MORE inclined to worry about teenagers on antidepressants, myself! ... but i'm not.
DeleteI'm much more worried about the junk food in the break room at work and the constant snacking. I think I will be covering for lots of folks while they manage their chronic diseases.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have good results with vaccines.. still have Hep B immunity after my rounds of vaccines in the 1990's. I used to work daily with massive amounts of other people's serum, plasma, and blood. Now, only occasional exposure (with the proper PPE, of course).
:-) if i had to work around sick people and their "byproducts" i'd have to rethink some of my stances, i'm sure. But my situation being what it is ... i feel confident that i'll stay well this winter.
DeleteOTOH, it's hard to predict what might be a surprise stressor and set us off! Last year, our trip to our son's farm made the dog sick, and i got a touch of the bacteria too (obviously from him). It seems to have set off my histamine problems BIGTIME....