--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Bhairitu <noozg...@...> wrote: > > authfriend wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer" <rick@> wrote: > > > >> I don't even know if I'd be eligible for a flu shot. > >> There's a shortage, and I don't think I'm in a high > >> risk category. 59 yrs. old. Not pregnant. > > > > No, you probably won't be able to get a swine flu shot > > with the first batches they release. But later on there'll > > be more available, quite possibly for those not in high- > > risk groups. And you should get the seasonal flu shot, of > > which there'll be plenty. > > Why should Rick bother with the seasonal shot if he > rarely if ever gets the flu?
Because having gotten it rarely if ever in the past says NOTHING about whether you'll get it in the future. It's like saying, I've never had an auto accident, so why should I bother with a seat belt? The whole thing with the flu virus is that it keeps *changing* every year--that's why they have new shots every year, because the previous ones don't give you immunity to the most recent virus. It's especially important not to get the seasonal flu this year because we'll have a double dose of flu virus, so a lot more people are going to get sick. This is going to strain health care resources, hospitals and doctors and clinics and emergency rooms. Anything we can do to *minimize* that number will be to the good. > People who meditate should be able to recognize the > early invasion of a virus in the body. Way earlier > than a non-meditating person would. If you have a > still mind then it is easy. That's one of the things > we learned meditation for. I'm sorry, but this is utterly irrelevant as a basis for not getting a flu shot, seasonal or swine type. The point is NOT TO GET INVADED IN THE FIRST PLACE. > As soon as you notice it there are a number of things > one can do. Even MAPI has some flu recommendations > on their site. And for the ayurvedic challenged, > flu usually occurs when one has a kapha imbalance and > because of the excess mucus the virus has a lot goo > to play around in. Dry up the goo and see what happens. > BTW, that is how many cold medicines work is to dry you > out. Sorry, Bhairitu, but you're as ignorant of medical facts as the town-hall shouters are about health reform. Drying up your secretions is *not* going to prevent you from getting the flu. In fact, it may make you more vulnerable. And of course once you've noticed it, via woo-woo or because you start to feel lousy, it means you've been spreading the virus around already for several days. Sure, there are lots of things you can do to make yourself feel somewhat better once you've come down with it, but the point is NOT TO GET IT IN THE FIRST PLACE IF YOU CAN POSSIBLY HELP IT. Once you've been infected--which will very likely be well before you notice--you'll be shedding the virus throughout the illness and for up to a week after all your symptoms have disappeared. Look up HERD IMMUNITY, please. BTW, drying up your secretions is not a good way to deal with an ordinary cold. The best way is to *push fluids*, especially *warm* fluids, to dilute the secretions so they'll drain more easily, and because the cold virus doesn't like higher temperatures.
