Don't mess with the flu
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My next door neighbor just lost his 50 yo son to the flu. Took less than a week. Son was also a bowhunter and had taken a bison around Christmas.
So if you have flu like symptoms get you to a dr. ASAP.
Terry
That's awful, Terry. My condolences to your neighbor.
Was the son in decent health before the flu?
Matt
That's tragic Coyote. My condolences.
Locally, we almost lost a news anchor, Sabrina Squire, to the flu. She uncharacteristically missed work and, luckily, her news team pushed to see where she was. That led to a neighbor entering her house and finding her unconscious and near death on her floor. She is a middle aged woman. You're correct. this flu is no light matter.
Lost two of my patients this year to the flu. One was 13 years old, the other in her early 40's. Neither was vaccinated.
The last time I got the flu was 15 years or so years ago.
The only time I ever got a flu shot was 20 or more years ago when my ex, a primary care physician, told me I couldn't sleep in our bed unless I got the shot.
Because of her profession, she'd get exposed to whatever her patients brought to her office.
As a result, the only time I ever got sick was because of that.
He was in good health. He and a buddy hauled a bison out of the woods right before Christmas.
Terry
There are some nasty strains this year. At least two kids have died in KS. Also, a man who had been a city marshal for years. He retired in January and died of flu in February.
Several KS schools have closed for some time recently to avoid putting so many sick people in such close proximity - plus some of them didn't have enough healthy staff to keep the schools functioning.
My daughter Kia has the flu right now. Wiped her out for a few days but she is quickly recovering. She has a dear friend that has it that is hospitalized. This is nothing to mess around with this year. You feel any symptoms, get your ass to the Dr....and equally as important, keep your ass away from others until you are fever free for at least 24 hours.
I'm sorry to hear of your loss Terry. Prayers sent for his family.
That is terrible, my condolences to the family and friends.
I get the flu shot every year since I take the train to NYC and my wife has a compromised immume system because of the anti-rejection pills she is taking. I did catch the flu this year but it was a mild case, my temp was only hit 101 for a day but I was wiped out. I spent two days in bed and then I was feeling fine. I actually called in sick for a day which is rare for me since the last time I did that was when I had an operation in 2011.
I stay away from crowds now that I don't play music any more. The one thing I hate is going to the doctor's office. There are sick people in the waiting room. I have to go once a year to get my prescription for insulin and get a full blood check done. My nurse practitioner always wants to give me a flu shot but I have never taken one. I don't even have a doctor just a nurse practitioner. Being a diabetic for 46 years would make the flu real bad for me.
My wife was down for 3 weeks. Came just a smidgen away from Hospitalization.
.. .. .
I, my wife, daughter and granddaughter took a week long trip to Florida. Three of us had the flu shot. My wife did not.
I had the same symptoms as my wife for two nights, running a little bit of fever, and a sore throat. I fought it off, she did not.
I think they got the shot strain correct this year.
I feel it coming on right now. Might have to leave work and start the heavy regimen of sleep and fluids, with Vit-C, D3, and zinc.
How does this flu kill people, so I know what to be alert for at age 52? Does it become lung shutdown via pneumonia?
I consider it a minor miracle that I do not have it. My wife had it pretty good and I took Tamiflu....which seemed to work....at least I didn't get it from her. I flew home from Florida a couple of weeks ago with some guy wearing a hospital mask sitting next to me....
My wife got pneumonia after 5 days. A real bad sinus infection a week after that. She got the Tamiflu meds a day late. ....
.... ..
Fever, chills, coughing, all the usual virus symptoms.
So correct me if I'm wrong here. More people get vaccinated each year and each year we have more people getting the flu?
Influenza viruses mutate rapidly. The vaccines developed for the coming year are based upon the best data available as to what the strains are likely to be like. sometimes they nail it, sometimes the virus has other plans and mutates in an unexpected way. That said, even when the vaccine is less effective than optimum, it is still of benefit in reducing the severity of the disease. The majority of fatalities this year have been in unvaccinated people. I'm required by law to be vaccinated because of my work. I've had the vaccine every year for nearly 20 years, and I am exposed to people carrying the flu far more than the average person and I have not had the flu yet.
Flu shot every year for me....and can't remember the last time I've had it.
They say, that if you wash your hands 10x a day....and never touch your hands to your face you can almost eliminate colds.
My Buddys 70 yr old mom had been administered last rights 2 weeks ago due to the flu....but luckily she pulled out.
Bowsniper, the part that kills folks is the inflammation in the respiratory system typically complicated with pneumonia.
Iktomi, I concluded many years ago that a person has to be brave to be a doctor. Great admiration for those who are willing to serve in that way.
They say the infections turns to septis and that is what is killing the people. Very scary.
Henry, I'm not an MD, I'm an RN.
This flu tends to kill otherwise healthy people at a higher rate than those with compromised health. The reason for that is that this is an extremely aggressive strain, and a healthy person is more likely to have an overreactive immune response that gets out of hand and not only attacks the virus, but the patient itself. The most common result is pneumonitis, a severe pneumonia-like inflammation of the lungs. The vaccine, even though it isn't optimum for this year's strain, can help attenuate the immune response and more narrowly focus it and help avoid life threatening complications.
" I flew home from Florida a couple of weeks ago with some guy wearing a hospital mask sitting next to me...."
The few times I've gotten sick in the last 30 years has been shortly after flying. I think airplanes serve as huge incubators to spread viruses. If I had to fly anywhere right now, I'd seriously consider wearing a mask.
Matt
Sorry to hear that, sad news.
With the amount of mercury and other stuff they put in the flu shot, I don't know if it's such a good idea. My daughter's doctor wont give her daughter the flu shot.
TGbow, do some research! The vaccine is far safer than the flu. I would get a different doctor - immediately!
I must not have had the bad version.... good to go after 24 hours. I think the dangerous flu hits harder and people are down for several days or more. Or eating very old leftovers in the fridge has built up my immunity system. :-)
Flu vaccine contains thiomerosal, which is an ethyl mercury compound. Ethyl mercury is biologically inert, and harmless. Mercury isn't toxic unless it is methylated.