The flu vaccine will protect you from getting the flu. No vaccine can protect all people from all flu viruses circulating. There is no money-back guarantee from drug companies, government health departments or doctors for the vaccine to work, particularly in people with depressed immune systems such as the elderly. In January 2013, New York was declared a state of emergency with more than 19,000 reported cases of influenza, almost five times the 2012 number. A United States government analysis of that season's flu vaccine has since reported that it was effective in only 56 percent of people who received it, and largely failed to protect the elderly against an especially deadly strain.
You can get the flu from the vaccine. Flu vaccines do not contain live viruses, so this is not possible. But the side effects while your body is responding to the virus and building the antibodies needed, could mimic a cold. Anything else is coincidence.
The flu vaccine increases your immunity to the flu. Slightly, not significantly. The bottom line is that flu vaccines are best left for the immune compromised such as people recovering from surgery, diabetics and the elderly. A small percentage of vaccinated people will be spared the flu, but a higher percentage of people with already healthy immune systems will have their immunity lowered and experience other illnesses.
Flu viruses breed on often-handled surfaces. Door knobs, handrails, taps, cupboard handles, used cloth hand/tea towels, shared pens, toys, phones, keyboards, game controllers, desks and tables, all have the potential to collect bacteria and viruses. Some viruses can survive on objects for months, even after bleaching – but the flu virus is not one of them. Unlike gastrointestinal viruses, flu germs only survive on environmental surfaces from a few minutes to up to 24 hours, so none of these places play a significant role in the transmission of the virus. Spraying with disinfectant and bleach to stop the flu virus will not make any difference. If you have the urge to clean, start with your hands.
Antibiotics and antibacterial hand sanitisers kill the flu. The flu is a virus, not a bacteria, so both are useless. However, the flu virus can weaken the immune system and allow bacterial invaders in, resulting in infections such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections and pneumonia – for which you may need antibiotics and antibacterial hand sanitisers.
Rest room hand dryers kill germs. Paper towels reduce finger bacteria, whereas warm-air hand dryers increase it.
Drugs can cure the flu. Antiviral drugs only reduce the time you are sick by one or two days and make you less contagious. Given the flu can drag on for up to three weeks, nothing makes a significant change.
One flu illness protects us. Having the flu once in a season does not protect you from getting the flu again – from another virus strain. In most flu seasons there are several types of strains circulating.
Being cold causes a cold. Mum was right about keeping your head and feet warm. But you are not going to catch a cold/flu if you go outside without a coat or get wet – you have to pick the virus up first. We are more prone when everyone is huddled in dry indoor environments. As long as you don’t get hypothermia, being cold may actually boost your immune system – just like having a fever. Researchers have found a temperature-sensing protein within immune cells that, when tripped, allows calcium to pour in and activate an immune response.
Feed a cold, starve a fever? Since the flu lasts for weeks, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to avoid eating. Your body needs fuel (calories) to increase its temperature and therefore increase interferon, a protein that helps prevent virus reproduction. This is why some people create their own high temperature by “sweating it out” in a bath, sauna, or under the bed covers. You may not feel like eating much, but poor nutrition will not help.
You can’t have the flu if you’re feeling well. Actually, 20-30 percent of people carrying the virus have no symptoms.
Chicken soup helps a cold. Other than the soup steam ventilating the nasal passages, some research found it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils — immune system cells that participate in the body's inflammatory response. According to one doctor it contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky so you can expel it more easily. But I can’t find any conclusive studies, so the jury’s out. At the very least, chicken soup with vegetables contains lots of healthy nutrients, fibre, increases hydration and is comfort food.
Rest, don’t exercise. You do need rest, but a little exercise will probably make you feel better. Intense workouts, however, weaken immunity.
Over-the-counter cold/cough medications are OK for children. No! They may cause serious and even life-threatening side effects in children, and are banned in New Zealand for children under the age of six.
– Sue Pairaudeau
Research writer at Health 2000
You can get the flu from the vaccine. Flu vaccines do not contain live viruses, so this is not possible. But the side effects while your body is responding to the virus and building the antibodies needed, could mimic a cold. Anything else is coincidence.
The flu vaccine increases your immunity to the flu. Slightly, not significantly. The bottom line is that flu vaccines are best left for the immune compromised such as people recovering from surgery, diabetics and the elderly. A small percentage of vaccinated people will be spared the flu, but a higher percentage of people with already healthy immune systems will have their immunity lowered and experience other illnesses.
Flu viruses breed on often-handled surfaces. Door knobs, handrails, taps, cupboard handles, used cloth hand/tea towels, shared pens, toys, phones, keyboards, game controllers, desks and tables, all have the potential to collect bacteria and viruses. Some viruses can survive on objects for months, even after bleaching – but the flu virus is not one of them. Unlike gastrointestinal viruses, flu germs only survive on environmental surfaces from a few minutes to up to 24 hours, so none of these places play a significant role in the transmission of the virus. Spraying with disinfectant and bleach to stop the flu virus will not make any difference. If you have the urge to clean, start with your hands.
Antibiotics and antibacterial hand sanitisers kill the flu. The flu is a virus, not a bacteria, so both are useless. However, the flu virus can weaken the immune system and allow bacterial invaders in, resulting in infections such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections and pneumonia – for which you may need antibiotics and antibacterial hand sanitisers.
Rest room hand dryers kill germs. Paper towels reduce finger bacteria, whereas warm-air hand dryers increase it.
Drugs can cure the flu. Antiviral drugs only reduce the time you are sick by one or two days and make you less contagious. Given the flu can drag on for up to three weeks, nothing makes a significant change.
One flu illness protects us. Having the flu once in a season does not protect you from getting the flu again – from another virus strain. In most flu seasons there are several types of strains circulating.
Being cold causes a cold. Mum was right about keeping your head and feet warm. But you are not going to catch a cold/flu if you go outside without a coat or get wet – you have to pick the virus up first. We are more prone when everyone is huddled in dry indoor environments. As long as you don’t get hypothermia, being cold may actually boost your immune system – just like having a fever. Researchers have found a temperature-sensing protein within immune cells that, when tripped, allows calcium to pour in and activate an immune response.
Feed a cold, starve a fever? Since the flu lasts for weeks, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to avoid eating. Your body needs fuel (calories) to increase its temperature and therefore increase interferon, a protein that helps prevent virus reproduction. This is why some people create their own high temperature by “sweating it out” in a bath, sauna, or under the bed covers. You may not feel like eating much, but poor nutrition will not help.
You can’t have the flu if you’re feeling well. Actually, 20-30 percent of people carrying the virus have no symptoms.
Chicken soup helps a cold. Other than the soup steam ventilating the nasal passages, some research found it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils — immune system cells that participate in the body's inflammatory response. According to one doctor it contains a natural amino acid called cysteine, which can thin the mucus in your lungs and make it less sticky so you can expel it more easily. But I can’t find any conclusive studies, so the jury’s out. At the very least, chicken soup with vegetables contains lots of healthy nutrients, fibre, increases hydration and is comfort food.
Rest, don’t exercise. You do need rest, but a little exercise will probably make you feel better. Intense workouts, however, weaken immunity.
Over-the-counter cold/cough medications are OK for children. No! They may cause serious and even life-threatening side effects in children, and are banned in New Zealand for children under the age of six.
– Sue Pairaudeau
Research writer at Health 2000
Cold and flu myths
Do rest room hand dryers kill germs? Does being cold cause a cold? Does the flu vaccine protect you from getting the flu?