Worst Flu Season Ever In USA...do you have the flu?

Nope - protected.

We had it a few weeks ago.
Seemed like the whole nation besides my awesome immunity-self was sick.

My daughter had a fever over 102F last Friday, it broke overnight and she was tired on Saturday but otherwise ok. She had a flu vaccine & so did I. No one else in our family has it but I know of numerous cases of adults, teenagers & kids being hospitalized with the flu this year. 3 kids in Michigan have died.

It's a bad strain this year!

We all get vaccinated each year but protection is not 100% guaranteed. The vaccine is based on the previous year's strain, and is less effective the more the virus has changed from the previous year.

Think I got the stomach flu yesterday, feeling poooooor.

Here's an article:
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/n...arly-looks-bad

"...the vaccine formulated for this year is well-matched to the strains of the virus seen so far, CDC officials say."

So that is good news.

It goes on to say,

"The last time a conventional flu season started this early was the winter of 2003-04, which proved to be one of the most lethal seasons in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths. The dominant type of flu back then was the same one seen this year.

One key difference between then and now: In 2003-04, the vaccine was poorly matched to the predominant flu strain. Also, there's more vaccine now, and vaccination rates have risen for the general public and for key groups such as pregnant women and health care workers."

I don't take the immunization injections so when I felt it coming on almost two weeks ago I fought it off. At the first sign of sneezing/clear nasal discharge/aches and pains/low grade fever, I loaded up on Oil of Oregano and Olive Leaf Extract capsules every 12 hours. One bad night and then it was totally gone in 48 hours. Worked for me.

No, but on the 2nd cold in only a couple of weeks. Luckily doesn't seem to be as bad as the first one.

No. And I refuse to support the money-grubbing vaccination industry. I've not been sick in like 5 years. Thank god my job doesn't require me to get vaccinated.

Also, +1 on oregano oil. That stuff is potent and works a charm!

I caught it here in N.Y.C., two weeks ago. Absolutely terrible. I have never seen so many persons at the court house, showing flu symptoms. Terrible strain of the flu this year.

The flu has been just nasty this season. Have not fallen yet (knock on wood), but I know a lot of people who have suffered threw it. Gonna have to try some Oil of Oregano and Olive Leaf Extract capsules.

Oh I had it. And I had a flu shot too! You don't get sniffles folks. You go from zero to 60 in 10 seconds flat. Anything else is something else. A very good thing to get over for sure!

I do not have the Flu

No. Vaccinated.

Day five for me, almost gone. Came on fast, felt pretty horrible for the first several days. Just now getting energy back.

I am protected. Did the flu shot in November last year. Even lot of celebs were under the weather for golden globe

Ditto

Never had the flu as far as I know, nor do I take the vaccine. I guess I've been really, really lucky! However, I hope everyone takes care to stay well this season and wishing a speedy recovery for anyone who is under the weather.

Take care.

Seeing a lot of it in my neck of the woods. S'why I am home from work late. This time of year I get very little sleep.

The cure for the flu was invented and marketed over a decade ago - the Australian drug Relenza and then an equivalent American drug were put on the market. Relenza costs about $80 and has to be inhaled within a day and a half of developing symptoms.

Until these drugs came along, many were worried about the possibility of death tolls in the hundreds of millions if something like the Spanish flu of 1919 came along again.

Anyhow, nowadays, given that these sure-fire drugs are available, one has to be a cheapskate to suffer from the flu.
Regards,
Renato

P.S. My observation in the workplace over decades in Australia is that a huge number of people seemed to get viral infections (not flu) after vaccinations, whereas I and numerous others who didn't bother with the injections seemed to hardly get any viral infections or, if we did, seemed to get over them fairly quickly.

P.P.S. During the Swine Flu epidemic of 2009, I was living here in Victoria Australia, which for some strange reason had become the world epicentre of that flu outbreak in terms of reported confirmed cases. Whole buildings were being shut down and workers sent home. But the funny thing was, during that entire time I only ever met one person who claimed to have had it, and he said he got over it in a couple of days. And some friends who were teachers said they new of some other teachers who had gotten it.

It sure didn't seem like much of an epidemic to me. Funnily enough we flew into Hong Kong that year where everyone was wearing masks - which struck us as funny, since we'd just come from the world epicentre of the outbreak, we weren't wearing masks, and at that stage had never come across anyone who had had Swine flu.

This was in very sharp contrast to when I lived through the New Zealand flu epidemic that hit Italy in 1975. I was there on a two month vacation at the time, and literally I was the only person walking around the neighbourhood who didn't have it. Everyone else was home in bed, and unable to get out of bed.

Okay. I jinxed myself. I now have influenza B. And I had the flu shot. Granted I got the flu shot back in October, and immunity with the shot wanes by 3 months, (which is why I wanted Flu-Mist which has better duration of immunity, but our hospital pharmacist refused to buy more private stock, which is why I got the flu shot, and everyone in my house got the flu shot, only to find out a week later that a big-wig's wife managed to finagle FluMist for her kiddoes.... pays to know people, I guess. But it's okay, cuz they get sick a lot.)

So maybe it's waning shot-immunity. *Or* it could have something to do with the fact that in my sleep-deprived haze, I put my pants in the dryer with two ball-point pens in it, and spent an ungodly amount of time trying to remove a Jackson-Pollack painting from my dryer with rubbing alcohol. I am positive the alcohol stripped my mucous membranes of any immunity I once had.

So now I've got a headache, and I'm not sure whether it's from sticking my head in a dryer full of isopropanol, or if it's the flu. (I *did* test positive on a rapid screen.)

I'm off to town to find oil of oregano now. :P

n.b. For those families with preemie babies who have bad lungs, someone recommends (probably the CDC) that family members get two flu shots (1st in October-November, 2nd in Jan-February), because of waning immunity by February. FluMist shouldn't have that problem, but it is not allowed for kids < 2 yrs old or pregnant women or those with T-cell immunity problems (HIV, organ transplant, cancer patients on T-cell suppressing drugs, etc.)

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Which then begs the question, did the academics who decided that the FluMist provided longer immunity remove confounding factors such as that those for whom the FluMist is indicated are naturally more healthy than those who can receive the shot? Okay, maybe it's all a buncha bull-hooey. I do gotta say though, this episode of flu is not nearly as bad as the one I got when I was a first-year resident.

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Gah! I discovered that oil of oregano is not recommended (by the label) for pregnant or nursing moms. I could understand that if there were a natural anti-histamine in it that would dry up breastmilk. And I read somewhere in a herb book (the name of which I no longer remember), that oregano extract used to be used as an abortifacient. But then I read in another place that oregano can be a galactogogue because of estrogen like compounds. I really wish people would do more proper research on it. All the anecdotal evidence makes my already throbbing head spin.

I have already caught the flu this year and recovered. Am doing well now. It was a super strain flu this year with lots of dry coughing. Terrible.

Just got over it last Saturday after being off work for a week (longest ever I have called in sick for non injury) and I think I am getting it again!!!

What you need is some snake oil, I mean oregano oil. It works a treat for basenoters. Don't bother any of that scientifically proven mumbo jumbo like flu vaccines, they don't know anything. And if it doesn't work, it might at least give you an appetite for some pasta.

Alternatively, you could read an article written by a doctor on the subject of oregano oil and the flu:

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/...il-of-oregano/

I hope your symptoms improve soon.

I am still hacking up loogies, and it's been over two weeks. Am I the only one whose voice is alternating between Kirstie Alley and Fran Drescher?

Have escaped it so far, but my wife didn't.

I work at a hospital and am around sick/flu patients all the time and have never gotten the flu. I do get my flu shot every year though.

Without oregano oil? It's a miracle! 😉

Vaccinated in October and have sailed through the flu season to date. I caught it once, 15yrs ago and for those of you unsure of whether you've ever had it...you've never had it. Because once you have, there's not doubt it. It is NOT a bad cold. It is 48-72hrs of absolute misery.

Reminder: You can not get the flu from the flu vaccine. Some develop a brief, mild head or bodyache, which is still preferable to influenza. Also, it takes about 5-14 days following the vaccination for your immune system's antibodies to become primed enough to mount a response to an exposure. You may still be susceptible to catching it during those 5-14 days.

FAQs: Symptoms emerge 1-4 days after after exposure.
We can start spreading the flu 24hrs BEFORE our symptoms even emerge.
We will continue to be contagious for another 5-7 days after the first day our symptoms are felt.
It is spread by droplet exposure, i.e. we most likely caught it by standing within 6ft of our flu-buddy while he was coughing or sneezing.
These are all excellent reasons why we should call in sick.
It's unrelated to what people call "stomach flu", which is typically a different virus spread a la oral-fecal route.
And if you're still with me, if you catch the flu, you will not be able to enjoy your Scent of the Day or post to the "What are you eating/drinking?" thread for several days.

I've not contracted the flu since I was a child (around 20yrs ago), and have never had a flu shot that I can recall. For the most part, I don't get sick. I may get a minor head cold when the seasons change, but that's about it. I haven't thrown up in probably 20 years.

Thank you for the informative post, Schilling!


I don't know what I was suffering from a few days back and which now seems to return in a variation. But it was tough. A whole day I was just passed out. I had to press my hands against my head to be able to open my eyes (I'd appreciate some scientific explanation for this kind of mechanism).

But the sleeves of my shirt caught up the fragrances I was testing the day before at Scent Bar and at Sage's (I usually dig in up to my elbows).
I must say „Perfect Veil” by Sarah Horowitz was quite comforting during my unheard whining. It's the better, because less musky „All That Matters” to me.
Then there were some stains of Sage's „Peridot” perfume oil left which gave me whiffs of a beloved fresh and creamy fig.
On the left I tried „Antonia” by Puredistance which comes pretty close to Chanel N°19 I think. I thought it has some amazon attitude. But couldn't sniff it for long as I sprayed it on my wrist where it's quickly washed away. Also another perfume oil of which I've forgotten the name.

Today I can't smell anything. I have a memory of Bois D'Armenie this morning, when I thought I was over it. And before I started the second homeopathic self-medication this week. Now I am experiencing what is called initial aggravation, I guess.

But I will be served a nice fennel risotto soon and even though it will not evoke any tasty sensations, I can enjoy the texture.


Stay healthy folks!

Lol. Vaccines are made by the government or by companies contracted by the government, provided free of charge. You have to pay someone qualified to administer it. Although for animals, you can order a vaccine for 3 bucks from a catalog and inject it yourself. Hmm...yeah, I guess the industry is a bit money-grubbing.

This is NOT the worst flu outbreak in America. People are being isolated in hospitals for flu-like symptoms, but many of the flu nasal swabs are coming back negative (at least where I work; I can't vouch for whatever happened in Boston or other places).

I haven't had the flu; I am required by my job to be vaccinated. But I haven't felt any flu-like symptoms since. I had sinusitis back in November, but I would rather have that than the flu.

There are many studies on the efficacy of carvacrol.

"The findings of the present study highlight the promising role of oregano, carvacrol and thymol as new lead structures in the search for novel antibacterial agents." (http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/56/4/519.full)

Just one example of hundreds.

Here's another with a few decent studies linked: http://informed-health.net/the-healt...f-oregano-oil/

Knock it if you want. The problem is, you have the same mentality as this commenter at the site you linked to:

"Only good science can tell us whether oregano really works."

That's not true. It works, or it doesn't. If studies haven't been done that prove the efficacy of it when ingested, that doesn't mean it doesn't work. I know, I know, n=1. Thing is, who's going to spend the money to potentially prove that something that is cheap and readily available (and non-patentable) is as (or more) effective than the drugs and vaccinations that generate millions?

I think I will stick to peer reviewed scientific research. But please enjoy your oregano oil. I'm sure it won't do any harm. Good luck.

Niff, I'm all for peer reviewed research when it's available.

I just dislike it when science becomes someone's new religion, and they discount people's very real experiences simply because the science hasn't yet been conducted to back it up or deny it. Science once said that margarine was better than butter, that eggs were horrible (but later, a super food), etc.

The human body has a wonderful way of curing itself. Therefore, people can use different potions and lotions, and attribute their recovery to them. If you rub peanut butter on your forehead you will still be "cured of the flu." Correlation between oregano oil and getting better does not prove that it works. Anyway, I'm not going to say more, so good luck with the oregano oil, and have a nice life.

Patented drugs also involve the placebo effect for a part of their efficacy (~23%?), the amount the placebo effect contributes in any particular drug is either not known or not divulged by the manufacturer.

FYI:

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...12446014.shtml

I don't really follow the point of part of a drug being a placebo. Surely a drug is either a placebo or it isn't? How can it be a little bit placebo? It's just silly!

Sorry about that. I wrongly assumed from your previous posts that you were fairly well versed in the various manifestations of the placebo effect as it affects the efficacy of pharmaceuticals.

Take a look at the chart on page 5 of 30 (page 569) of this link.


http://pharmacology.ucsd.edu/graduat...cebarticle.pdf


Silly as it may seem, the chart basically shows just one example of how the placebo effect enhances certain pharmaceuticals, as demonstrated using scientific examination processes that opiate analgesics are more effective when the patient knows what they are being given and/or when they are being given it.

And that enhancement is an important part of what the placebo effect is all about in pharmaceutical medicine: efficacy of the drug and enhancement by placebo effect.

Many thanks, but I was being ironic.

What a coincidence!

It's 4 weeks, and I can finally smell Must de Cartier again. (or rather the dupe someone gave me that spilled in the hall closet) Just in time to get RSV.

Working in a hospital, I get vaccinated free of charge. Whatever strain of influenzae that is active this year is especially nasty. My 16 year old daughter was not vaccinated, and she caught it two weeks ago confirmed with nasal swabs. She was in bed for a full five days. I had to force her just to take in fluids. She ran fever for like three days, and her cough was horrendous. I nearly took her to the hospital one night just because it looked like she needed fluids. It is taking people weeks to recover from the flu this year.