Flu prevention
I'm soooo happy to find that Spark Wellness clinic on Chicago Ave S. is offering homeopathic flu remedies made from this year's actual flu viruses. Apparently patients who already had flu this year donated tissue samples and the remedies are made from those. In this way you get exactly the strains that are circulating today, rather than guesses and projections from last year about which strains might dominate. You can also be assured that they are safe since homeopathics are diluted essence of the original matter; you don't get the flu from homeopathics the way you do from the flu shot or nasal spray. Finally, there is no risk of viral shedding, so others in the community, especially those who are immuno-compromised, are not placed at risk. Yay!
Fever remedy
This is soooo cool. I found this on Namaste Health Center's website. It is weird but makes so much sense. Traditional medicine has gems like this that should be resurrected:
Magic Wet Sock Treatment
We love to recommend this old-time nature cure remedy that anyone can do at home. It involves using the principles of hydrotherapy to boost the immune system for both acute illnesses and prevention. All you need is two pairs of socks and a bowl of ice water! Grab a pair of thin cotton or polyester blend socks and put them in a bowl of ice water by your bed. If you are feeling chilly or feet are cold, take a warm bath or at least warm your feet first. Take the socks out of the ice water and wring out until barely damp, then place on your feet and put dry wool socks over the top and get in bed. While you are sleeping, your body is increasing circulation and lymphatics to dry the damp socks, which can also make a low grade fever much more productive to kick out even stubborn viruses! You will likely wake up sometime during the night and your feet will be hot and socks are dry, at that point you can take off the socks…the whole process of warming the socks is what will boost the immune system. Sounds weird, but it works!
What is the difference between colds & flu?
So, other than being caused by different viruses, what are the differences between having a cold and having the flu? How can one tell by one's symptoms?
Colds and flu can present with similar symptoms, but flu is distinguished by body aches and fever. A cold can produce a low-grade fever (under 100*F) but flu will produce the real thing (over 100*F). Both are contagious for about the same amount of time, with variance depending on the particular virus.
From the CDC website:
The period when an infected person is contagious depends on the age and health of the person. Studies show that most healthy adults may be able to infect others from 1 day prior to becoming sick and for 5 days after they first develop symptoms. Some young children with weakened immune systems may be contagious for longer than a week.
And according to Dr. Sears, the famous pediatrician:
In general, a cold is contagious from about 24 hours before onset of symptoms until about 5 days after onset.
Flu vaccine unveiled
The flu vaccine has been poking its ugly head in my field recently in ways both unusual and personal.
The Research
First, a University of Minnesota study was published this fall that shows that the vaccine isn't nearly as effective as researchers and physicians have expounded for so many years. (That is, if you believe they really provide the protection that they boast at all--immune systems do not respond the same to vaccines as they do to getting immunity through illness.)
After reviewing optimal influenza vaccine efficacy and effectiveness studies from 1967 to 2012, the CCIVI research team found that injectable trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (TIV):
Protects healthy adults 18 to 64 years of age at a rate of approximately 59 percent Lacks consistent evidence of protection in children age 2 to 17 years of age Inconsistent evidence of protection in adults 65 years of age and older
A review of optimal influenza vaccine efficacy and effectiveness studies from 1967 to 2012 found that the nasals spray live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV):
Protects young children 6 months to 7 years of age at a rate of approximately 83 percent Lacks consistent evidence of protection in adults 60 years of age and older Lacks evidence of protection in individuals 8 to 59 years of age
According to CCIVI researchers, these figures are problematic because they demonstrate one of the primary barriers to new influenza vaccine development: perception that current influenza vaccines are already highly effective.
The take away for me is that even according to its proponents the flu vaccine doesn't work as well as they have stated in the past, and even less so for the most vulnerable to the flu, the very young and the elderly. The take away for the researcher is that everyone should still get the flu shot but should also promote giving money to more research on flu vaccines.
Pharmacists' confusion & Fairview Hospital's policy
From a more personal vantage, I have a neighbor, a Caucasian woman, who was diagnosed several years ago with a rare blood disorder that usually only affects African men. It's not cancer but she's gone through multiple rounds of chemo and, most recently, she had a bone marrow transplant. She was at Fairview Hospital recovering. Friends and family were warned not to come visit unless you have had a flu shot, show no signs of having a cold and have not been around snotty kids. If one chooses not to get a flu shot, then one can't see her until mid-January (assuming she lives that long). So, another neighbor of mine called a pharmacy, explained the situation and asked how long would one have to wait for the vaccine to be effective? No wait necessary, he assured, it's effective immediately. Not being retarded, my neighbor knew that the idea that the body could develop immunity immediately is ridiculous and called another pharmacist. This one said it takes six weeks to build immunity; that sounded more reasonable. But, she thought, why not ask the nurses at Fairview. She called the ward that our friend is on and asked the head nurse the same question. Again the answer was that there is no need to wait; just come in once you have had the shot. Apparently the vaccine is most effective against liability rather than flu virus.
The neighbors get the flu shot
So, I went to get a flu shot, as did my other neighbor. Even waiting the six weeks, we'll be able to see my sick neighbor and give her an imagined protection (her peace of mind is worth it, we figure) about a month earlier than if we didn't get it. Since my health insurance doesn't cover the shot, I was offered it free if I filled out a form. Apparently there are gobs of federal monies slated to cover these pharmaceuticals. Side effects of the shot include pain and inflammation around the site of injection (not for me, however) and "flu-like symptoms". It's not the flu, my pharmacist explained carefully, because you are getting the flu shot which contains dead virus, not live. But you may feel sick for the next week; feel free to take NSAIDS. I flashed to every person I've ever known to get flu shot telling me how they are sick but that they "know it isn't the flu because they just got the flu shot." (Picture me hitting my forehead with my open hand, aghast at the failure to connect the dots.)
Traditional medicines all expound the importance of individual response to environment and pathogens. This was part of the debate when germ theory was in its infancy. But the idea of individual response lost and germ theory chose not to deal with the problem of why one person will get sick and another won't when exposed to a pathogen. Seems to me that this vaccine "side effect" proves traditional medicines' claim.
Now I'm sick
So, now I'm sick--intentionally--when I wouldn't have been otherwise, most likely. And if I had become sick, I would have developed real immunity for much of my life, not a chance at the possibility of immunity for an unknown length of time (a year?? longer?? The CDC website has pages on the subject of flu vaccine effectiveness, but nowhere does it mention for how long the vaccine is supposed to be effective.) My eyes are achy, my sinuses inflamed and I'm fatigued. Could be worse, I suppose, and I'm glad it's not.
Remind me again why we are doing this?!
Air Condition Syndrome
I posted this in an old blog 10 Aug 2010:
The middle of the hottest, most humid summer in my history in Minnesota is a great opportunity to bring up a modern American Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis—air condition syndrome. This syndrome can cause us to contract acute illness such as head cold or flu. Over time, it can contribute to or worsen chronic conditions such as joint pain and stiffness or menstrual problems.
Our bodies deal with the heat of summer by opening our skin’s pores. When our pores are open and we either walk into an air-conditioned building or enter an air-conditioned vehicle, the cold from the air-conditioning enters the pores. The pores, in response, contract and effectively trap the cold. But since our bodies know that it is hot outside and we need to get rid of excess heat, the process happens over and over again, for a time, without necessarily going out into the heat again.
In TCM, Cold (big “C”) is a pathogen. It does refer to environmental cold (small “c”) because traditional peoples always recognized that changes in the weather could cause illness. Since we are warm-blooded beings, we don’t want to lose excessive amounts of our energy to trying to keep warm if we can help it. When we are cold and our body has to harness energy from other areas of our metabolism in order to keep us warm, our immunity is lowered and we become susceptible to pathogens (which the ancient Chinese could not detect). Hence in TCM we cut to the chase and blame the Cold.
Cold trapped in the body slows the flow of Blood and Qi and produces Stagnation. Stagnation is experienced as pain, stiffness, discomfort. The longer a Stagnation presents, the longer the course of treatment required in order to get results.