So just curious.
If I can give the flu to someone else, despite being asymptomatic, how exactly would it be transmitted if there are no bodily fluids exchanged?
Just want to be careful in case I am around anyone who can’t get ill.
Since the flu vaccine is not too effective this year, these tips should be helpful whether or not you were vaccinated.
I don’t think you can pass on the flu if you don’t have the flu, except the way you might pass on a cold the day before symptoms show up. But, not getting a flu shot does not make you an infectious threat. Carry on.
I’d like to know that as well since I spent a good portion of the weekend with my very sick mom. Once she was admitted to the hospital the nurses made us put on masks when in the room with her for “our protection”. I told them that ship had sailed.
Actually, my lung docs say that technically, the ILL person is supposed to wear the mask to prevent the patient from infecting others. Sadly, there are COPD patients who physically cannot tolerate wearing a mask–they can’t breathe while wearing one. Second best, yes, is having visitors wear masks for their protection.
When I got sick in November with bronchitis and went to the stand-alone ER, the first thing they did was swab me for flu. I kept telling them they didn’t need to because I’d had the vaccine. It was a few days later that I learned how ineffective this vaccine is and it explained why they swabbed me.
Swabbing for the flu is not for the faint-of-heart. I think some of my brains came out on that swab!
The flu is contagious for one to two days before showing symptoms. You can spread the flu even if you’re not symptomatic.
The flu is spread through droplets- every time you breath, cough, sneeze, etc you risk spreading the infection. You can also stay more than 6 feet away as that is generally how far it can travel.
The masks are a good option- as are gloves.
this is starting to sound like the ebola threads, lol…
Tips for staying healthy, from a former chemo patient:
WASH YOUR HANDS. Religiously, fanatically. Germs are everywhere-on the doorknob of your office, the phone your kid’s friend just used, the handle of the cart at the grocery store, the pen you used to sign at the pharmacy, that hand you just shook. Transmission often happens when someone rubs their eye or nose with a germy hand, and we all do it more than we know. If you can’t wash, use hand sanitizer.
Avoid crowded places. If you really can’t afford to be sick, skip the cocktail party or PTA meeting.
Eat well, sleep well, exercise, drink lots of water. By keeping your immune system healthy and unstressed you can improve your ability to fight off infection.
Don’t share. By this I mean don’t share things that could carry germs-makeup, water bottles, etc.
I had kids in 3 different schools and an immune system shot to hell the fall and winter I was treated with chemo, yet I didn’t get sick once in that 6 month period. I think it was the first time in my life I’d ever gone more than 3 or 4 months without a single illness of any type. Not as much as a single cold. Other than skipping one cocktail party at the height of an outbreak of a nasty virus, I lived my life as usual but was simply very vigilant about germs.
Sue, when one my kids was dxed with leukemia, a number of years ago, I was super vigilant about hand washing. None of us in the family, even the kid with a zero ANC for periods of time, caught so much as a simple cold for two years. The instant, I let, up…well, let the germs come in and party.
^Yup. I remember my first cold after treatment, something like 10 months after DX. I privately celebrated because for me it marked a return to normalcy. 
Washing hands is one of THE most important things one can do to avoid illness. However, if you are sitting in the vicinity of someone who is contagious with an airborne disease to which you have no immunity and they cough or sneeze, well…
Nrdsb4’s absolutely right. One of the ways S supported me when I was diagnosed was to overcome his extreme needle phobia and get a flu shot.
For me the protocols were temporary. I feel for parents of kids who for medical reasons can never be immunized. Stories like those coming out of CA must put them into a panic.
The CDCs measles number is interesting:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6402md.htm?mobile=nocontent&s_cid=mm6402md_w
Interesting article in today’s LA Times regarding anti-vaxers digging in with their beliefs.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-measles-oc-20150126-story.html#page=1
Note this:
One thing the article doesn’t point out is that there is no Hepatitis C vaccine. One would question her knowledge of vaccines if she can’t tell Hep A, B, and C apart.
Also from the article:
What an idiot. First of all, young kids spike fevers all the time for unknown reasons, and they aren’t that dangerous to them. Second, the DTaP vaccine isn’t given to kids as young as his child–hence the whooping cough.
Best of all, this guy has SIX kids and is a member of the city council in his community.
Also, what do you want to bet that the “Nicole” in the article who didn’t want her last name used is Nicole Rafferty, one of the Orange County moms we were discussing a few pages back? She is also involved in that Moms in Charge group.
It seems to me that there are some strident people at the forefront of this movement, and a lot of meek lemmings who just follow along. Sad.
Despite the data showing otherwise, I know several people who are vehemently anti-vax. They swear that they are 100% positive that early vaccinations made their kids autistic. Based on the passion of their beliefs, I can’t see anything that will make them change their point of view. I’ve always thought it was dangerous to have a group of unvaccinated kids all in one classroom – now with college on the horizon (and the closeness in the dorms/cafeterias) I can see how this could become a serious problem.
Completely ignoring the fact that there is absolutely no link between autism and vaccines, I think it’s really telling that these parents would rather take the chance that their child gets sick and dies than “risk” autism. Truly interesting priorities.
I do wash my hands a lot, and I don’t share drinks or food.
I know some things live a long time on surfaces. Hep B for instance, is much more long lived than HIV, and I still would like to know where I picked it up. Although my brother has lymphoma, I am no use to him as a bone marrow donor because of it.
I have a good friend whose son has severe autism. She has stopped getting him vaccines. I think she needs something to blame. And, to be honest, any type of medical visit is very difficult for her now that he is taller and stronger than most adults. Parenting a mostly non-verbal child/young adult with autism is very difficult and time-consuming, and I’d rather just be a shoulder for her to lean on than to lecture her.
She does admit that her son did seem different from his older sister well before his diagnosis around age 2, and so before the MMR vaccine. To be honest, her husband is awkward in social situations, and seems “practiced” and forced about the things he says in conversation. I’m not qualified to diagnose, so I won’t.
That said, people should be getting their kids vaccinated.
If a measles case appears in our school district, we will immediately be sending non-vaccinated kids home for 21-28 days, and I say that as someone who would be a part of that decision. Those parents have signed a form that says they realize that exclusion from school is possible. I believe we are getting more pertussis vaccinations since people are hearing how painful it is.
I have been interested in why there aren’t any decent studies on the rates of autism in vaccinated versus unvaccinated children. This piece does a good job explaining why that might be.
He makes some points that I totally agree with–one being that the rise of the internet has also correlated with the rise in hype over the alleged autism-vaccine connection. (That is why I think organizations like that Moms in Charge group can be so dangerous…they have an easy platform to spread their message and “convert” people to their point of view.)
I also thought this was an interesting observation: