A Flu-Season Request

[jennylyn_b]

No more crazier than relying on a fly by night vaccine.. that flu shot you got this year won't work next year flu viruses evolve. So youd have to get a new vaccine every year.. I never had a flu shot.. I haven't had the flu in 8 years.. and that shot isnt even 100% effective. Anew strand come along this year and that shot was for naught

My family also doesn't get the flu shot. These fly shots and chicken pox vaccines are ridiculous in our opinion and I know a lot don't agree. The human body needs to build its own immunities.
You may think we are ridiculous but we think those who are there use healthy are ridiculous for over medicating.
My parents get the flu shot because my father is diabetic and the flu would be bad for his system. That makes sense.

 

[jennylyn_b]

I agree. We never get the flu shot and have never gotten the flu. Eat tons of fruits and vegetables and lay off the SAD (standard american diet) fare and you will have an immune system that can more than likely fight off the flu virus on its own. Our diet is the greatest impact on our immune system. We have people eating garbage everyday and wonder why they get sick all the time. Our son is 5 and has had two colds in his life. That's it. He's not some super human, he just had an incredible immune system because he eats the complete opposite that most kids do. Even conventional medicine says our diet and lifestyle has the biggest impact on our health than anything else.

I agree completely our three year old has had one ear infection and one cold. She eats healthy and plays outside year round. We all do. We rarely get sick. When we do its a day or two and our bodies fight it off.

 

[mefordis]

I'd put eat a healthy diet and minimal processed foods and sugar at the top of that list.

1. Cough/sneeze into the crook of your arm
2. Get plenty of sleep
3. Hydrate...with water
4. Wash hands thoroughly and often with soap and water
5. Avoid touching those handrails in the parks
6. Keep your hands away from hour face
7. Take a multi vitamin every day
8. Get a flu shot

These are the things I do...at home and when traveling. I have yet to get sick at WDW....and I go at all times of year. You just can't count on others to do what needs to be done in order for you to stay healthy. The worst thing? Those parents that take sick kids into the parks! They figure they have paid a ton of money and gosh darn it, they aren't staying in their resort room with a sick child. So medicate the kid and off they go! Off to infect everyone else they come in contact with.

 

[averill94]

Oil will not kill a virus and most bacteria that are serious will not be affected either.
Hand sanitizers in general were a device to sell to people who got germaphobic after the H1N1 scare.

Soap and hot water is much much more effective.

Hand sanitizer will not killl yeast or mold or spores either...

And BTW germs do not make your immune system stronger. Just more knowledgable.

Its a fallacy that letting yourself get sick makes you healthier. Its also a fallacy that antibiotics are needed for most common colds or bronchitis or sinusitis. Almost all common illness self resolves in 10-14 days, since most people seek out a treatment by day 4-6 it seems like whatever they do works.... And its just an amazing coincidence due to lack of patience.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I'm more of the "if you are sick, please stay home" variety. If you wake up sick on vacation, please stay in your resort room.

 

[goofy4tink]

I agree. We never get the flu shot and have never gotten the flu. Eat tons of fruits and vegetables and lay off the SAD (standard american diet) fare and you will have an immune system that can more than likely fight off the flu virus on its own. Our diet is the greatest impact on our immune system. We have people eating garbage everyday and wonder why they get sick all the time.

Our son is 5 and has had two colds in his life. That's it. He's not some super human, he just had an incredible immune system because he eats the complete opposite that most kids do. Even conventional medicine says our diet and lifestyle has the biggest impact on our health than anything else.

Absolutely! If we could get people to eat correctly, then it would be a whole lot easier to fight off the germs that are out there!!

What is this flu everyone speaks of? Never had it, nor has my family. I mean not even my extended family!

Do you vomit during the flu? Or is it just a cold with a bad fever and aches?

The one time I had the flu, I had a fever of 103...when it was going up and down, I was either shivering from chills, or shaking with the heat. I was soaked...actually had to change nightgowns and sheets in the middle of three nights!! I thought my joints were on fire...they hurt really badly!! My head felt like it was going to explode. Towards the end, I did get an upset tummy...never got to the vomiting point, but sure did wish I had!!!
I don't worry so much about getting a flu shot unless I'm traveling. Since I travel to WDW every Dec, I figure I'm better off getting the shot...just in case. I do eat the right foods, my immune system is fairly healthy. It's just not a chance I'm willing to take...especially now that I'm 'older'!

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm more of the "if you are sick, please stay home" variety. If you wake up sick on vacation, please stay in your resort room.

Back in Dec 2003, my dd was just 10. We traveled to WDW for a mother/daughter trip. We had had a really bad fall, so wanted to get away. We arrived at AllStar Music on a Wednesday. It was all good. But on Thursday, as we were in DHS and the Haunted Mansion exhibit, I looked at my dd. She wasn't looking so great. I asked her if there was something wrong...she said she felt really weird. I felt her head..she was burning up! Right back to our room...she hit that bed and didn't wake up until later that night. She had some pasta and water and went right back to sleep. The next day, we stayed in the room pretty much all day...just reading and relaxing. She must have brought some germ with her!! It lasted 24 hrs but was really nasty...high temp, upset tummy and severe fatigue. Did I really want to spend 36 hrs in the room? No, but in all reality, dd shouldn't have been out of bed, and who knows how many people she would have passed that germ to?? I'm sure some got it before we realized she was sick!! And I'm really sorry about that, but if you don't know you're sick, you can't do anything about it!!!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Back in Dec 2003, my dd was just 10. We traveled to WDW for a mother/daughter trip. We had had a really bad fall, so wanted to get away. We arrived at AllStar Music on a Wednesday. It was all good. But on Thursday, as we were in DHS and the Haunted Mansion exhibit, I looked at my dd. She wasn't looking so great. I asked her if there was something wrong...she said she felt really weird. I felt her head..she was burning up! Right back to our room...she hit that bed and didn't wake up until later that night. She had some pasta and water and went right back to sleep. The next day, we stayed in the room pretty much all day...just reading and relaxing. She must have brought some germ with her!! It lasted 24 hrs but was really nasty...high temp, upset tummy and severe fatigue. Did I really want to spend 36 hrs in the room? No, but in all reality, dd shouldn't have been out of bed, and who knows how many people she would have passed that germ to?? I'm sure some got it before we realized she was sick!! And I'm really sorry about that, but if you don't know you're sick, you can't do anything about it!!!

Yeah, absolutely true. If you don't know you're sick, you don't know.

 

[Greaser69]

I guess a lot of people don't know what a real flu is. It is not a like a common cold. Real flu (and that is the only thing a flu shot will maybe help to avoid) is totally different. You don't have a runny nose.
The real flu (always caused by a Virus, so not Antibiotic will help) symptons are High Fever, terrible Body pain, sometimes also dry cough.
If you have the real flu, you will know and trust me, you can't visit an amusement park then, as you are so tired you just can sleep.

 

[averill94]

Absolutely! If we could get people to eat correctly, then it would be a whole lot easier to fight off the germs that are out there!!


The one time I had the flu, I had a fever of 103...when it was going up and down, I was either shivering from chills, or shaking with the heat. I was soaked...actually had to change nightgowns and sheets in the middle of three nights!! I thought my joints were on fire...they hurt really badly!! My head felt like it was going to explode. Towards the end, I did get an upset tummy...never got to the vomiting point, but sure did wish I had!!!
I don't worry so much about getting a flu shot unless I'm traveling. Since I travel to WDW every Dec, I figure I'm better off getting the shot...just in case. I do eat the right foods, my immune system is fairly healthy. It's just not a chance I'm willing to take...especially now that I'm 'older'!

yes now that is the flu! My stepdad is on day 3 of 102 temp, whole body aches cant get out of bed. It is just starting now where we are on L.I.. It can last anywhere from 5-10 days.

 

[CalSea12]

I actually got some really good info out of this thread. My only issue is that I have a 2 year old, and need to find a way to keep her healthy. She has only had 2 "colds" in her life, I put cold in quotes because they were really allergy infections.

I am a strong believer in vaccinations all except the darn flu vaccine, which has never done anything but make me sick. I believe in being healthy instead of injecting my kid full of crud that has always made me sick.

 

[North of Mouse]

What is this flu everyone speaks of? Never had it, nor has my family. I mean not even my extended family!

Do you vomit during the flu? Or is it just a cold with a bad fever and aches?

I have only had the 'real' flu (vs. what some people call a couple bad days with cough/cold) a few times, and trust me, you really don't want to know exactly 'what' it is!

I was sick for a week with high fever, chills, and hurting so bad I mostly moaned in the little sleep I could get. I never did get nausea, just so weak and a sick feeling. Lost weight, then was a couple more weeks to get my strength back.

I do not get the shot every year (no particular reason why), but I do know that I never got the flu in the years I've had the flu shot.

Is it perfect? No, but they hit the most prevalent strains that they can see are 'out' there for that particular season. Hope you continue to 'not' know what it is, just trust me when I say it 'can' be dangerous - many people do die from complications every year.

I do know one thing - with the true 'flu' I sure would not be in the parks, or anywhere else except in bed, and for all that know me it takes a lot to get me 'down', but the flu sure does.

 

[xipotec]

I think people who are against a flu shot mostly are against it due to fear of needles .

The mortality associated with the flu each year is very well documented. The reason to get the shot is not only to protect yourself but to protect society as a whole. The less people who carry a viral load that is transmissible the better.

If you have never had the flu you are one of the lucky few. It has nothing to due with lifestyle, it has to do with exposure and susceptibility . Everyone is susceptible at times.

I am in the medical field and have only had the flu once. It was terrible and cost me a week of my life. Even a 45% less likely chance of getting the flu is good. Especially if you have experienced a bad case before.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Every year I say I'm going to get the flu shot, and every year I get a late summer cold that lasts long enough that it's too late for me to get the flu shot before marathon season.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I'm more of the "if you are sick, please stay home" variety. If you wake up sick on vacation, please stay in your resort room.

So true! While the OP has a point, it is general rules of hygiene we should all practice even at home. That being said, when in Disney you are constantly being exposed to people and germy surfaces. Add on a nice few hours in a contained airplane and...well hope for the best. The last three trips I came home and within 24 hours I had the full blown flu. I had my shot, washed my hands, even took Airborne but it still happens. I
Almost feel like a better option is spending a week in a kindergarten classroom to get my immune system built up! At least I was lucky enough to not get sick until I got home.

 

[t_catt11]

My family also doesn't get the flu shot. These fly shots and chicken pox vaccines are ridiculous in our opinion and I know a lot don't agree. The human body needs to build its own immunities.
You may think we are ridiculous but we think those who are there use healthy are ridiculous for over medicating.
My parents get the flu shot because my father is diabetic and the flu would be bad for his system. That makes sense.

You do realize that the flu shot is "fly by night" because influenza mutates so quickly that the vaccine - and your own body's immunities - cannot keep up, right? This is why there is a new flu shot mix every year.

It's only an educated guess as to which strain you may be exposed to in a given year; this year's vaccine protects against four strains. If you are unlucky enough to catch the flue, no matter how much immunity you build, you are still vulnerable to the other strains out there.

This is spoken as a father of five who laughs at hand sanitizer, who worries not one whit about his kids playing with other kids, who believes that the "five second rule" for dropped food is more of a suggestion (read: my kids have been known to eat things from the floor a half hour later)... and my kids are extremely healthy.

I'm a firm believer that over-insulating against every single germ (i.e. folks who keep hand sanitizer clipped to their belt 24/7/365) leads to a weaker immune system and more sickness, but it's a pretty convincingly proven fact that influenza is in a whole other category.

The flu shot might not protect you, as you might get exposed to a different strain... but the flu shot is cheap, nearly painless, and very safe. Even a mild case of the flu will wreck you for a week, and serious cases kill people every single year. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Nancyg56]

We always sanitize everything around us in the plane. We are also very careful with washing our hands and sanitizing when we are in WDW. People who made snide remarks, will stop making them if they come down with an illness while on vacation after spending $7k to be there.

I know. Last year my family planned and paid for a $10,000 plus spending trip, and even though we wiped down every surface in the resort room, and took as many precautions as was reasonable, three of five of us got sick enough to miss park days and meals. It was nothing that we blamed anyone for, but it really was a letdown after a much anticipated special trip.

 

[Nancyg56]

Not to take this in a different direction, but as someone with an egg white allergy, I got horribly horribly ill after getting a flu shot last year. So, be safe , and if you do have an allergy, follow your doctors recommendation on a flu shot. Having a 104 degree fever from the reaction again doesn't sound worth it to me, I'll take my chances with the flu

My DGD had an egg allergy and was able to take an alternate version if the flu vaccine. Your DR can advise you if you want to be vaccinated.

 

[jennylyn_b]

I think people who are against a flu shot mostly are against it due to fear of needles .

Not even close for us. I had allergy shots for 7 years as a child. I have no problems with shots and neither does my husband.
We don't have weakened immune systems. Our bodies can fight it off we don't need more medications filling our bodies making them weaker. If you have a compromised immune system or feel they are needed then go for it. Whether I get a shot or not shouldn't matter. I am the one who will get sick not you right? If you do get the flu from me after having the flu shot then the shot was useless.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Not even close for us. I had allergy shots for 7 years as a child. I have no problems with shots and neither does my husband.
We don't have weakened immune systems. Our bodies can fight it off we don't need more medications filling our bodies making them weaker. If you have a compromised immune system or feel they are needed then go for it. Whether I get a shot or not shouldn't matter. I am the one who will get sick not you right? If you do get the flu from me after having the flu shot then the shot was useless.

That's not how vaccines work.