<p>I have a long flight next week. H and I both had the flu shot and I am hoping that with 3 flights and 4 airports we don’t pick up any viruses.</p>
<p>^^^^Good luck. It’s a jungle out there. :)</p>
<p>OP said that he or she “is not able to get” a flu shot. I don’t know what that means. If it means that it’s medically contraindicated, then the request for other ways to prevent flu is sensible. Hand-washing is the best. As to this:</p>
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They are helpful if they warn people against quack remedies that won’t help, will waste money, and might cause somebody to decline something that really will help (like a flu shot).</p>
<p>dodgersmom, I’m not sure who put you in charge of the thread, but by now you must be aware that threads often take on a life of their own and wander a bit from the original topic, and the mods have never said that’s not okay. In this case, useful information about the flu is being provided, so I don’t understand why you’re so up in arms about things.
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<p>Advising someone that there is no such thing as a “naturopathic” way to prevent flu is indeed helpful, because it will keep them from putting their confidence in worthless remedies and guide them toward the actual ways to avoid the illness (e.g., handwashing). If a poster asked for the best Ponzi scheme to invest in, responding that Ponzi schemes are scams to be avoided at all costs would be quite appropriate.</p>
<p>As for the nurse who mentioned seeing patients who got the flu despite having had the shot–well, the hospital isn’t going to admit any of the people who DIDN’T get the flu after getting the shot, so how are her observations in any way useful to this discussion? We know that the shot is about 65% effective, so of course some patients will be in that unfortunate 35%.</p>
<p>I figured dodgersmom was a moderator. Not true? Now I’m confused.</p>
<p>Interesting information for patients with egg allergies who do want to get a flu vaccine:</p>
<p>[ACIP:</a> Egg Allergy No Problem With Flu Vaccine](<a href=“http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACIP/27262]ACIP:”>PRIME® Continuing Medical Education)</p>
<p>I would discuss this with a doctor ***of course ***if I had an egg allergy, but it is a significant deviation from past recommendations.</p>
<p>So are there or are there no natural products that can help prevent the flu?</p>
<p>I think your question has been a answered by several with ways to help protect you against getting the flu if you are not medically able to take the shot. There is no magic answers just anecdotal responses besides hand washing and wearing a mask. I would google the topic.</p>
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</p>
<p>Water, soap (for washing hands).</p>
<p>Healthy diet, exercise, handwashing, prayer, good luck, and staying away from infected people could help you avoid the flu.</p>
<p>IMO vitamin D helps, too. I don’t get the vaccine and don’t remember the last time I had the flu–probably in the 80’s.</p>
<p>Oh, knock on wood, too.</p>
<p>Vitamin D can be gotten by just exposing your skin to enough sunlight (but not enough to get sunburned).</p>
<p>A recent study found that vitamin D supplementation did not give a statistically significant difference in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). Most URTIs are colds, although flu is included (but uncommon compared to colds).</p>
<p>[JAMA</a> Network | JAMA | Effect of Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Healthy AdultsThe VIDARIS Randomized Controlled TrialVitamin D3 and Upper Respiratory Tract Infections](<a href=“http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1367547#qundefined]JAMA”>http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1367547#qundefined)</p>
<p>You seem to think natural is better by virtue of its being natural. Not true. </p>
<p>Get the flu vaccine if you can. If you can’t for medical reasons, there really isn’t much proven besides the hand washing and general good hygiene. MommaJ is right.</p>
<p>Going to Thon, questbest? See you there.</p>
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<p>There was a study done in the recent past which found that some people just seem to be resistant to getting the flu. The researchers did not know if it was due to a past exposure, or if these particular people just had immune systems which were able to correctly target and destroy the virus, or what exactly the deal was. Like most studies, one can’t draw a conclusion, one can only see the need for further studies.</p>
<p>The problem is that many of the same people who seem to be resistant to the flu extrapolate their lifestyles to others (you don’t need the flu shot, just drink lots of orange juice like I do, or take this supplement or vitamin, etc.) when it really doesn’t apply. Not saying you are doing that atomom, your post just reminded me of the study.</p>
<p>And in some cases, the people who believe they are incapable of getting the flu have just been lucky and eventually find that their luck has run out. That happened to me several years ago. I really believed I was somehow charmed and couldn’t get it. One year my luck ran out and that was the absolute sickest I have ever been in my life. I felt like I might die, and at the time, I didn’t really care if I did. I was that miserable.</p>
<p>New Naturopathic Doctors have not been licensed in Florida since 1959. The few licensed N.D.s that are left in Florida are pretty old guys.</p>
<p>
Yes yes yes to this, Nrdsb4. There is a lot of subjective, ragingly nonscientific information out there. I knew a woman who died last year at the age of 103. She had never had either the flu OR the flu vaccine. Or so she claimed, and her son, who nagged her each year to get a flu shot, backed her up. She used to sniff at her friends who got the vaccine. Most of us are not made of the same stuff.</p>
<p>The only problem with the frequent handwashing is the state it leaves my hands in - cracked, peeling, bleeding (which is probably none too healthy either - but better than the flu).</p>
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Maybe hand sanitizer instead of washing so much?</p>
<p>When one comes to the forum to ask questions, there will always be posts from people’s experiences in what does and doesnt work for them. This is a broad area of people from all walks and experiences. People will extrapolate the information they may feel is useful and discard what they are not interested in. Most times, people already know the answer, but want to find others that support their own info. If someone need scientific info, there are other forums, periodicals, organization to which a more researched information can be taken. This is not that place.</p>
<p>I am getting paranoid. When I went to pick up a few items at the grocery and drug store I just carried the items in my hand versus getting a cart or basket. Frazzled- one of the item purchased was and handcream to combat the drying effect of all the hand washing.
Also trying hard not to touch my face.</p>
<p>From Medscape for physicians; The reason I got mine this year.</p>
<p>“Tell Patients: It’s Not All About YOU”
Arthur L. Caplan, PhDDisclosuresJan<em>14,</em>2013</p>
<p>[Medscape:</a> Medscape Access](<a href=“http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777598]Medscape:”>Tell Patients: It's Not All About YOU)</p>
<p>"You Should Protect the Weak and Vulnerable</p>
<p>Why? It’s not just a matter of self-interest. Ethically you ought to get a flu shot in order to protect the weak and the highly vulnerable. Flu vaccination does the community a lot of good.Newborns and the immune-compromised cannot benefit from a flu shot; they lack enough immunity capability. The elderly don’t build as much resistance to flu from a shot as do the young. And fetuses are at great risk unless their mothers get a shot.The best protection that those in these high-risk groups have is for those they come in contact with to have been vaccinated. The more that newborns come in contact with people who are vaccinated, the less likely they will die or get hospitalized due to the flu."</p>