Lauri Ann's New Life

I'm getting a bit spooked lately. We're coming to the end of summer and soon the leaves will be turning color to bring our attention to fall. The children are getting back to school and soon will be bringing home the sicknesses ever present when a bunch of school children first get back together. In most places October marks the beginning of flu season and we see the warnings and advice to get our flu shots before the flu gets us.

What spooks me this year is they are already talking about getting flu shots and making it mandatory for school children due to the Swine Flu breaking out last year. I'm supposed to believe that this year's flu vaccine is perfectly safe for my children, my 78 yr. old mother and myself, even tho I can't see how they have had time to go through any testing or trials. Usually it takes years for Big Pharma to bring a product to market, even when they fudge the tests and lie about the outcomes. How is it that they can have a flu vaccine that is going to protect, is perfectly safe, and not harm my family even though they've only been working on it since last year?

As if that is not scary enough, they are suggesting Tamiflu for pregnant women. This is because complications may arize from the flu that require hospitalization. One example I saw on the noon news, they were actually giving the woman a double dosage, even though they have no idea what the effect will be on her unborn child. According to the "Patient Information" sheet supplied by the maker of Tamiflu, "Tamiflu is normally not recommended for use during pregnancy or nursing, as the effects on the unborn child or nursing infant are unknown." We're supposed to put our faith and trust in these doctors.

Once again I will have my family skip flu shots this year and use natural health measures to boost immunities rather than take a chance on Big Pharma's help. I don't want to find out later that it's hurting more people than helping as in the case of when they were going to make Gardasil mandatory.

First up is more Vitamin D. From an article I read they have basically come to the conclusion that flu season hits when it does because we are not out in the sunshine as much. The days are shorter and colder and our exposure to sunlight, especially on rainy days is minimal. A nationwide study in the U.S. found about 9 percent of the children were vitamin D deficient but 61 percent of them were vitamin D insufficient. Researchers are looking at possible new recommendations regarding how much Vitamin D and calcium we should be taking given these new statistics. Right now the recommendations are to aim for 800-1000 IU of vitamin D each day with at least 400 IU coming from food sources if possible. A multivitamin-mineral supplement may be the way to go to make up the remainder if you find that you are low in other key nutrients as well. If not, you could take a vitamin D supplement with calcium to help with healthier bones as well. When selecting a vitamin D supplement, select one that contains cholecalciferol or D3 if possible because of its better absorption. In addition, to maximize your supplement absorption, take your supplement with a meal or snack that contains some fat.

Even though it's taken some bashing in the papers, I personally am also a big fan of Echinacia. It comes in either a tablet or liquid form. For my family it has helped cut short colds and stopped colds from taking over when taken in advance to being exposed. I also believe in taking plenty of vitamin C. Being a smoker I use up just about all I take in. They say if you smoke you should take up to 3000 mg per day. The current recommendation from the FDA is only 250 mg which is just what's needed to prevent Scurvy. The more useful recommendation is approx. 1000 mg. per day according to the studies I've read.

One of the biggest things is to not believe everything Big Pharma puts out. Do some research on your own, and don't panic. For more information regarding symptoms, etc. see my post Swine Flu-Fact or Fiction

Every day there's more news about how many new cases of flu have been discovered and where. The latest numbers that I have seen:

Officials have confirmed at least 93 cases in the United States, including 51 in New York, 14 in California, 16 in Texas, three in Maine; two in Kansas, two in Massachusetts, and one each in Indiana, Ohio, Arizona and Nevada. CDC also said Michigan had two, but state officials maintained only one was confirmed. As of yesterday a 23 month old in Texas who traveled with it's mother from Mexico, is the only victim in the US that has died, and they have discovered 2 more cases in San Mateo, CA this morning.

I have to confess, until this happened I have never really understood what a "Pandemic" was. I just thought somehow it was connected to an "epidemic". I never really paid attention during SARS or the bird flu because it never seemed to get so out of hand so fast. Now it's hitting close to home so if any one else doesn't understand it here you go-

A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics.

I think it's very important to keep the public informed and remind them of ways to prevent getting it. Unfortunately informing the public also means panic in most cases. Once again "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and most of it is just pure common sense precautions you would take in any situation where you may catch an illness from someone else.
According to the news here, in some places there isn't a face mask or bottle of anti-bacterial soap to be had. While these are great to have on hand, according to a lot of physicians they don't really help much. The main things to remember are to wash your hands often, don't touch any of your sinus cavities (eyes, nose, mouth), and stay out of places where people are breathing on you, sneezing, or coughing. If you have symptoms yourself, take precautions not to infect others. This means no matter how guilty your boss makes you feel for calling in sick, STAY HOME. Wash your hands often, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, and throw tissues away immediately.

The initial symptoms of this flu virus are like those of the regular, annual flu viruses: fever, muscle aches, runny nose, and sore throat. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may be more common with this swine flu than with the regular flu, although to me those are the things that always defined a flu vs. a cold, etc. People should seek medical attention immediately if more serious symptoms develop.

For adults, teens, and kids age 3 to 12, the most worrisome symptoms are:

Shortness of breath
Persistent vomiting
Confusion
Dizziness

For children younger than 2, the most worrisome symptoms are:

Very rapid breathing
Not interacting normally, not eating or drinking normally, being unusually irritable, or appearing unusually sleepy
High fever and rash
A bluish color of the lips and skin

Adults should be considered contagious until at least 7 days after the start of symptoms; with children, it may be 10 to 14 days.

Another symptom of the panic is people are starting to order Tamiflu online without a prescription and self medicating. This is really scary. The regular yearly flu shot is ineffective for this particular strain of flu, so people are looking for other answers. I saw on one of the message boards this morning where someone was bragging about being "all stocked up without a prescription" and telling others where to get it. According to one of the health newsletters I get-

Let's not forget that Tamiflu comes with its own problems, including side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, fatigue, cough…the very symptoms you're trying to avoid. And let's not forget that Japan banned this drug for children back in 2007, after links to suicidal behavior.

They are in a dead heat to find a vaccine for this and unfortunately if they come up with one they won't have time for clinical trials to see how effective or how dangerous it is, so the best thing is to do what you can to protect your own immune system. Personally in our house, we use Nutrilite Triple Guard Echinacea. I know there were a couple of headlines that say it doesn't work, but between my kids and my customers, you'd be hard-pressed proving to them it doesn't work. My kids reach for it as soon as they feel like they're coming down with something and I don't even have to remind them. LOL.

Oh, and by the way, cooked properly it's as safe as it ever was to eat pork. LOL.