The Flu Shot

Humans have been plagued by disease throughout history and just about everyone has experienced the flu or common cold at some point in time. During your life, you will probably have more cold or flu infections than any other type of illness. Humans have an amazing immune system that helps them fight foreign invaders, but sometimes the way your body fights these invaders causes unpleasant side effects that are often treated with over-the-counter medications.

1. What is the flu?
2. Influenza is a virus, should antibiotics be taken to treat the flu or a cold? Why, or why not?
3. Why do you need to get a flu shot each year and what is your opinion about getting the flu shot?
4. Would it be reasonable to expect that science will develop an immunization for influenza in your lifetime? Why, or why not?
5. You all have your own strategies for preventing or recovering from a cold. Please share your favorite strategy for fighting the common cold. Find and cite a source (reputable if possible) that either supports or disputes your favorite strategy.
6. The internet has become a very popular source of health information. Evaluate the credibility of the source you provided. (Hint: Sometimes you can find this information at the bottom of the main page).
   1. Can you find the author?
   2. Is the material written objective and reliable?

Just reponse each posted down below # 1 to 3.

Posted #1

Good morning Professor and classmates,

The flu is a highly contagious respiratory illness, caused by the influenza A or B viruses. Because it is caused by a virus, antibiotics are not effective in treating the flu. Antibiotics are only utilized to treat illness caused by bacteria, and taking antibiotics when unnecessary can have side effects including stomach pain and diarrhea. The flu vaccine is a highly effective tool used to reduce the number of incidents of the flu, as well as helping to protect members of the community that might be immunocompromised, such as the elderly and very young children. Because of the rate at which the influenza virus mutates, I don't believe an immunization will be possible. The ever changing nature of the virus means that one year, a certain shot may work, but by the next year, the virus might have become a different strain that needs to be handled differently.

With an immunocompromised child at home, we take very aggressive steps to be proactive in preventing the cold and flu. Besides the flu shot, everyone coming into our home must remove shoes, thoroughly wash hands, and liberally use hand sanitizer. School clothing must get changed as soon as possible to prevent any possible transfer of germs. We even have a standing barrier across the front entrance to the main living room that no one can pass without following these precautions. However, despite this, there are occasionally times when people get sick. One of my long held remedies, passed on from generation to generation, is giving a bit of honey to soothe sore throats. According to Allen & Arrol (2014), this is actually an effective course of treatment when used regularly. I had long believed it was just an old wives tale, but this journal article is from what I believe to be a very reputable and trustworthy site.

References

Allen, M.G, & Arrol, B. (2014, February 18). Prevention and treatment of the common cold: Making sense of the evidence. CMAJ-JAMC. Retrieved Septemeber 28, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC39282…

Posted #2

Hello Professor and Classmates,

According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, the Flu is a contagious illness caused by the influenza virus that affects the respiratory system and if not treated properly at times can lead to death.

The Flu is an illness it should not be treated with antibiotics because they are used to treat illness caused by bacteria and the flu or common cold are caused by a virus. Treating someone with antibiotics when not needed can cause the person to develop immunity to the antibiotics putting them at risk bacterial deceases.

It is important to get vaccinated against the flu because this is a virus that is constantly evolving and is transfer from person to person therefore putting all of us at risk. There are different strains of influenza therefore the vaccine you got last year may not be the same to treat this year’s strains. According to MacKenzie (2018), the two strains circulating this year are Yamagata and Victoria which are caused by influenza B and the common flu are caused by influenza A.

Advances in technology as well in the medical field can lead me to believe there is a reasonable expectation that scientist can and will develop an immunization for influenza. There are vaccines we can take every year therefore scientist are not too far from finding a long term solution for this problems that affects the world population every year. I hope I can still be alive to see it but only time can tell.

I can honestly say that I always wait until I am sick to start with the prevention and by then it is already too late. I do get vaccinated every year which helps a lot but I still get sick from time to time. There are times that I try to be discipline and take vitamin C and airborne to help with the prevention. Once I am already sick I use Alkazeltzer Plus Cold medicine or Terra Flu and they do work for me and my family.

Posted #3

Hello,

This is great timing as I am on a team to vaccinate our federal staff with this years influenza (flu) vaccine starting next week. The flu is a viral infection of the respiratory system. It can cause a variety of symptoms including fever (may or may not have), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and it's possible to have vomiting and/or diarrhea. (CDC, 2018) As for treatment of the flu or cold, antibiotics are not recommended, as they commonly treat bacterial infections, not viral ones.

We get flu shots every year because the virus mutates, or changes. Similar to how humans, throughout their lifetimes, change in form and personality, the virus becomes more effective at overcoming obstacles that prevent its spread. What that means for vaccinations is that the ones that were administered the previous year may no longer be effective. It is up to the Center for Disease Control to determine which influenza strains are prevalent this year, and which vaccines to recommend for distribution. Get your shots, don't mess with deadly viruses.

I don't think it's expected to have a true vaccine for the flu, giving you lifetime immunity within our lifetime. However, I don't think it's impossible for this to happen either. The researchers would have to find something unique to the flu virus, be able to isolate, and then eliminate or otherwise block that part of the flu from being active. If only it were that easy, but again, frequent mutations make it hard to nail down the virus for good.

Fighting the flu is miserable, as anyone can tell you. Your body won't listen to your groaning and whining, and you've just got to endure the suffering until it's over. Curled up in your bed watching The Price is Right in the early afternoon, with some Gatorade and some saltine crackers with a nearby bucket and an available toilet. In the event it gets serious and your body begins to lose the fight, you'll need to visit your local medical clinic or hospital to be evaluated, diagnosed, and possibly treated with antiviral medications (CDC, 2018). In the even more serious of cases, you'll be admitted to the hospital and intravenously fed medications and fluids, while having your vitals being constantly monitored.

The Center for Disease Control is the go-to organization for diseases. They are the United States federal source for all things disease, from prevention to treatment. Their work has been incredibly reliable thus far and is used by the federal government to vaccinate their employees, civilian and military.

Key facts about influenza (flu). (27 August 2018). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm