but it's coming
Any sense of foreboding you may have is warranted;"while the numbers vary,in the United States,
millions of people are sickened,hundreds of thhousands are hospitalized,and thousands or tens of
thousands of people die from flu every years,"says the centres for disease control and prevention
it's the key to bone up on flu knowledge-and the get vaccine.But myths abound how to protect yourself.Here ,experts explain what you need to know.
- The flu is common, but that doesn't mean it can't be dangerous(or deadly)
muscle or body aches,headaches,and fatigue, the flu sounds miserable, but not deadly. even
though some people be bound from it within a few weeks,for others, getting the flu can indeed
be fatal,Martin Hirsch,M.D.professor of medicine at harvard Medical School,professor of infectious disease and immunology at the harvard School of public health, and senior physician in infection diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, tells SELF
"the flu can cause death, particularly in individuals the age of two,over the age of 65,and
those who are immunocom promised ,"hirsch explains .that includes pregnant people,whose
immune systems function at lower capacity because otherwise they'd see a growing fetus
as a potential threat.
influenza can also be dangerous for those who don't fall into these categories."even young
healthy poeple can be affected by the flu and become gravely ill and at the risk of dying
it happens every years schaffber says.
- Flu season varies annually
January and February are typically the worst months, schaffner says,although he notes that there's a great variation from year to year,both in terms of how long it lasts and the severity
we just have to wait and see.
If you're interested keeping tabs as flu season play out, there are plenty of trackers you can use
to see how things are progressing .This one on weather .com processes the lates available data in real time, which some flu trackers don't.
- No matter how young or healthy you are, you need to get the flu shot—it’s not just about you
Everyone older than six months should get vaccinated to
protect themselves and those around them. The flu vaccine prevented an
estimated 1.9 million flu cases and 67,000 flu-associated hospitalizations
during the 2014-2015 flu season, according to the CDC
.
Besides the vaccine, there are other things you can do to
avoid getting—and spreading—the flu, like washing your hands properly, avoiding
contact with people who have it, and cutting down on how often you touch your
eyes, nose, and mouth. Still, the vaccine is the most important factor, experts
say. The earlier you get vaccinated, the better, although you can get immunized
throughout the flu season, Schaffner says.
- And, yes, that means getting a shot every single year
Getting the vaccine doesn’t mean you definitely won’t come down with the flu, though
The vaccine, which works by triggering the formation of antibodies that protect against the virus, isn’t perfect. “In good years, the vaccine is protective in the range of about 60 percent,” meaning if you get the shot, it reduces your risk of coming down with the flu by 60 percent.
To target the most common strains, the vaccine guards against A and B viruses (which differ based on their proteins). All recommended vaccines protect against two influenza A viruses—H3N2 and H1N1—and one or two B viruses, Hirsch explains. If one B virus is included along with the A viruses, the vaccine is called trivalent. If two B viruses are included, it’s quadrivalent.
To figure out which strains to focus on each year, scientists analyze data from over 100 countries that do year-round surveillance on which influenza viruses are most often making people sick, then tailor the shots to target those.
But the virus doesn’t stop transforming once the medical community starts formulating the vaccine. “It takes about six months to produce enough vaccine to distribute, and the virus continues to change,” Hirsch explains.
So, yes, you might get the flu even after getting the vaccine. But if you do, you’ll likely deal with a milder bout of the illness. “The very serious complications, like influenza pneumonia and death, seem to be reduced in people who get the vaccine,” Hirsch says.
And if you do get the flu, you’ll be contagious before you even know itIf you get symptoms and think you can stay home to avoid infecting others, there’s what S
chaffner calls “a biological flaw” to that reasoning. “You start exhaling the virus the day before you get sick,” he says. “The virus is in your body and already being transmitted.” Just another reason to do everything you can to not contract the flu in the first place.
- You can’t get the flu from the flu vaccine
It’s normal to get a local reaction, like some soreness, redness, or swelling at the injection site. You might even get a fever for around 24 hours, Schaffner says. But that’s not the flu, it’s a common, harmless immune system reaction to the vaccine.
Some people get your garden variety cold after getting the vaccine and mistakenly blame the immunization. And if you get the vaccine but then get the actual flu right away, it was already in your system, Cummings says.
- . You actually have a choice in your vaccine
The-CDC doesn’t officially recommend one kind vaccine over the others for most people, so you have options.
The common standard-dose trivalent shots are created with inactive influenza viruses grown in eggs. There are also tailored versions that are higher dose or trigger a stronger immune response for people over 65. If you’re allergic to eggs, you can look into Flublok(the CDC calls it a "recombinant trivalent shot"), which doesn’t use eggs to create the vaccine, Manon M.J. Cox, Ph.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of Protein Sciences Corp, which manufactures Flublok, tells SELF. It also doesn’t contain the antibiotics or preservatives that are present in egg-based vaccines. There’s nothing unsafe about these ingredients when present in other vaccines, but if it’s a concern of yours, Flublok means vaccination is still an option.
This year, the nasal spray vaccine, which was available for needle-averse people between the ages of 2 and 49, isn’t available because experts realized it wasn’t protecting from the flu as well as the injectable versions. Fortunately, people who don’t like needles can request an intradermal flu vaccination—since it goes into the skin instead of the muscle, it uses a smaller needle than the regular flu shot.
The perks go beyond just shielding you. “The body makes its protection against the flu after vaccination,” Schaffner says. “Some of that protection goes across the placenta, so after the baby is born, that baby has some of his or her mother’s protection for the first months before we can vaccinate.
- It’s safe to get the vaccine if you’re pregnant—in fact, it’s encouraged
- The flu vaccine does not cause autism
- If you do get the flu, you don’t necessarily just have to suffer through it
Beyond that, take it easy. “The important thing is to quarantine yourself a bit—this is the time to rent a movie rather than go out,” Schaffner says. Not only are you protecting other people from getting sick, you’re giving your body the rest it needs to get better.
11 things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Flu
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