What do you do to prevent the flu...

SnicciFit

...besides the flu shot (it's not 100% effective)?

Here are some things you can do:

http://primaldocs.com/opinion/10-immunity-boosting-foods-cold-flu-season/

- I've got 5 of those 10 covered (and will work on more!)

http://www.drfranklipman.com/flu-who-10-immunity-boosters-to-start-right-now/

- and 7 of these 10 (who avoids anti-bacterial soap??!!!!). I do try not to go crazy on the hand sanitizers. I notice my sanitizer-obsessed friends are ALWAYS getting sick. Probably because their immune systems are shot due to over sanitization (not a real word).

Anyway... just some thoughts about things you can do to try to prevent the flu

SnicciFit

Oh yeah, and don't jump my case because the second link says "sugar is a poison." Is that fear mongering? Yes, probably. Do I have enough sense to know that SOME sugar is not going to kill me. Yes. I hope you do too. Considering the statistics on sugar consumption, I don't think it would hurt any of us to CUT BACK (notice I'm not saying "Don't ever eat sugar again, it will kill you!")

rduhlir

Wash my hands.

Kick anyone out of the work space that has the flu (at least until they are better)

Keep hand sanitizer at my desk.

Shun those who don't have a flu shot.

Those types of things.

quirkytizzy

That's what I do.

aimforhealthy

Hazmat suits.

kr1stadee

Usually I refrain from licking people during flu season.

ldrosophila

Wash my hands!!

That can be a life saver

iechick

I don't get the flu shot. Wash hands and keep eating the way I eat. I've never had the flu.

iechick

Usually I refrain from licking people during flu season.

:laugh:

SnicciFit

Usually I refrain from licking people during flu season.

when does flu season officially start? So that I know when to stop licking people...

kr1stadee

Usually I refrain from licking people during flu season.

when does flu season officially start? So that I know when to stop licking people...

About the same time the flu shots come out..
(oh s#*t, sorry.. I forgot! hahaha)

Ivey05131980

Wash my hands.

Kick anyone out of the work space that has the flu (at least until they are better)

Keep hand sanitizer at my desk.

Shun those who don't have a flu shot.

Those types of things.

THIS!

PaytraB

I don't get the flu shot. Wash hands and keep eating the way I eat. I've never had the flu.

This.
I make sure I get plenty of vitamin C & D over the winter, stay out of range of coughing/sneezing people and wash, wash, wash my hands. I also try hard not to touch many doorknobs (not always possible) as they carry a lot of germs.
I have yet to get the flu and hardly get a cold or sniffle.(knock on wood)

Mokey41

Kick anyone out of the work space that has the flu (at least until they are better)

By that time it's too late. They were already infectious before you saw any symptoms.

jwdieter

Anything that isn't 100% effective, I don't bother with.

So I stress out about everything, eat nothing but cotton candy all day, never wash my hands, and get 2 hours sleep per night.

Escape_Artist

That's what I do.

*giggles* oh dear! :laugh:

stealthq

For a long time, I never did anything special. Got the flu maybe once a decade.

Now that my company requires the vaccine as a condition of employment, I get the shot every year. Causes a sore arm with a golf ball sized lump that I can't lift above shoulder height for a day or so, plus a very slight fever. I'm sensitive (but not allergic) to thimoseral so I get the fun excess inflammation but don't get out of taking the vaccine (they always say they offer one thimoseral-free but it's never available when I go).

Really, unless you're immuno-compromised in some way or this year's flu is super nasty, the vaccine is pretty much a waste of time and money. The efficacy is generally poor. There's a reason the CDC has all kinds of disclaimers and no specific info on their site in regards to the flu vaccine's efficacy (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm).

CollieFit

I'm amazed... Do normal healthy adults in the US, who are not vulnerable or immuno-compromised in some way, pay to get them done privately?

In the UK there are certain groups of people who get them on the NHS (e.g. the elderly, pregnant women etc) but that's about it.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/who-should-have-flu-vaccine.aspx

I don't fit any of those groups, so it's genuinely never occurred to me to get one. I have a pretty decent immune system and am harly ever ill.

SnicciFit

I'm amazed... Do normal healthy adults in the US, who are not vulnerable or immuno-compromised in some way, pay to get them done privately?

In the UK there are certain groups of people who get them on the NHS (e.g. the elderly, pregnant women etc) but that's about it.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/who-should-have-flu-vaccine.aspx

I don't fit any of those groups, so it's genuinely never occurred to me to get one. I have a pretty decent immune system and am harly ever ill.

It's literally a propaganda-fueled craze here! Every TV station, radio ad, billboard...etc. screams at you to get the flu shot. It's offered for free for a lot of citizens (for example, it's offered at no cost to me through my workplace) and as mentioned above, it's even mandatory at some workplaces (mostly hospitals...etc).

SnicciFit

For a long time, I never did anything special. Got the flu maybe once a decade.

Now that my company requires the vaccine as a condition of employment, I get the shot every year. Causes a sore arm with a golf ball sized lump that I can't lift above shoulder height for a day or so, plus a very slight fever. I'm sensitive (but not allergic) to thimoseral so I get the fun excess inflammation but don't get out of taking the vaccine (they always say they offer one thimoseral-free but it's never available when I go).

Really, unless you're immuno-compromised in some way or this year's flu is super nasty, the vaccine is pretty much a waste of time and money. The efficacy is generally poor. There's a reason the CDC has all kinds of disclaimers and no specific info on their site in regards to the flu vaccine's efficacy (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm).

That's crazy! I don't know that I would throw away my job over this, but I do fear that the flu vaccine could end up weakening our immune systems. I'm not against all vaccines. Some actually make sense, this one does not.

MysteriousMerlin

I get the flu shot as a requirement of my job (I work in a hospital where our emergency room is the busiest in the state, so LOTS of patients in and out). This year there are 3 strains of it they're vaccinating us against. I wash my hands regularly, but not excessively. I use the hand sanitizer only when I've handled a pager or cell phone from someone on a nursing floor or housekeeping, and I stay hydrated and make sure I get plenty of rest.

I ended up with the flu last year (only 2 strains in the shot), felt like death warmed over for 6 days. I could barely stand without assistance. It was the first time I'd had the flu since I was a kid (I'm 36 now).

BrotherBill913

Hazmat suits.

funny... lol...

ldrosophila

I'm amazed... Do normal healthy adults in the US, who are not vulnerable or immuno-compromised in some way, pay to get them done privately?

In the UK there are certain groups of people who get them on the NHS (e.g. the elderly, pregnant women etc) but that's about it.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/who-should-have-flu-vaccine.aspx

I don't fit any of those groups, so it's genuinely never occurred to me to get one. I have a pretty decent immune system and am harly ever ill.

I'm not positive but it must be a herd vaccination policy that the US uses. Honestly, I dont have a problem with it a healthy adult can handle the vaccination, and if possibly it did end up being the next spanish influenza. I've been a pin cushion ever since living in Africa, so my views are skewed.

richardheath

No, the flu vaccine isn't 100% effective. That's why more people need to take it for herd immunity to kick in. Herd immunity prevents YOU from getting sick (even if you didn't take the vaccine) by essentially preventing Joe over there from sneezing on you (even though the vaccine wasn't effective in Joe), as he might have caught the flu from Jane, except she did take the vaccine, and it worked for her. The more Joes + Janes you have, the more Janes, so the less likely the virus is to go, well, viral.

So yes, I take the vaccine, and encourage everyone else to take it too.

Otherwise, I just wash my hands (with non-antibacterial soap wherever possible).

peachcats

Buy a mask.
I get so pissed off when people come to school/work sick and cough all over me. Started happening this week already.

zyxst

Nothing. I let my immune system do its job. Only flu I know I've had is the Vietnamese flu that was floating around in the very early 1970s (71-72).

ashleyinthecold

I don't get the flu short, for one thing. Every time I've ever gotten one, I'd get the flu that year. So now I don't bother. I very rarely get sick anyway, so I don't do anything different than I normally do.

willrun4bagels

I've never had the flu, never had a flu shot either. I wash my hands, stay hydrated, avoid gross sneezing/coughing coworkers and make them stay away from my desk, and get enough sleep every night. My SO will occasionally bring a cold home from work (they work with shared microphones and headphones and no one sanitizes them! Ew!), and in that case, I'll make a few cups of Airborne each day, and take Zicam 2-3 times a day for a day or two. I manage to avoid getting a cold/the flu every year *fingers crossed this year is the same*

shano25

No flu shot here.

Just make sure I'm getting my vitamin C and D each day, cooking more with fresh garlic and ginger, adding honey to my smoothies, drinking lots of tea, washing my hands a lot and getting lots of sleep. Just do what I can to keep my immune system strong so it can fight off anything that comes my way.

Last year I got the flu, everyone in my house did so it was inevitable after caring for 3 sick people at one time, but it wasn't anything I couldn't sleep off in a few days.