Influenza (flu)
Is Man Flu Really a Thing?
"Man flu" is a derogatory term that some people (women, mostly) use to describe a fellow suffering with sniffles, congestion and a cough. It implies that men can be wimps when they come down with any …
Does Tamiflu Speed Recovery from Influenza? What…
The CDC has made it official. The flu is back! Preliminary reports suggest that it could be a bad year for influenza. The CDC has reported higher case reports than usual at this time of year. At the m…
Will the Flu Shot Protect You from Influenza Thi…
Have you been vaccinated against the flu this year? Will the flu shot protect you from getting influenza? We won’t be able to answer that question for several months. That’s because it takes the C…
Flu Shots Fail to Protect Kids with Leukemia
This is the time of year when everyone is supposed to get a flu shot. The vaccination is supposed to protect people who are particularly vulnerable to influenza. Kids with leukemia fit into that categ…
Will the Coming Flu Season Be Vicious?
Experts are warning that the coming flu season could be a doozy. That's because Australia is just wrapping up their winter with a dreadful influenza experience. Compared to last year, there were far m…
Should You Be Rushing To Get Your Flu Shot?
The full court press is on again to get your vaccination against influenza. This happens like clockwork. In the spring the swallows come back to Capistrano. In the fall we see public service announcem…
Not All Flu Shots Are Created Equal
How effective are flu shots? The influenza virus changes from year to year, and consequently the vaccine must change as well to keep up. This means that experts need to study vaccination effectiveness…
Is Vitamin D Good for Colds? Will it Battle the …
Grandmothers in Scandinavia have been forcing children to swallow cod liver oil for hundreds of years. They knew it acted as a tonic in the winter to keep colds and other upper respiratory tract infec…
Tamiflu to Help You Recover from the Flu
When flu season arrives each year, people start to pay extra attention to hand hygiene and getting enough sleep. Those tactics can be helpful, but they are far from perfect for preventing an influenza…
Are You Vulnerable to This Year’s Flu?
Flu season is starting slowly this year, and we don't yet know how it will play out. What strains will be most prominent in this year's flu? Before long, however, people will probably be suffering fev…
Did a Flu Shot Cause Severe Shoulder Pain?
Before flu season starts, we are all urged to be vaccinated against influenza. The flu shot is not supposed to have serious side effects, and it is seen as the best public health measure for protectin…
What Happened to the FluMist Nasal Spray Vaccine…
Now that it is almost fall, it is time to start thinking about flu shots. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, all children older than six months of age should get shots this year and bypa…
Do You Have to Finish All Your Tamiflu?
The focus on vaccines to prevent influenza sometimes overshadows antiviral drug treatment such as Tamiflu. Antivirals have actually been available for decades, but they haven't had much press. Part …
Study Says Acetaminophen Is No Good Against Flu
Many over-the-counter cold and flu medicines contain acetaminophen, better known as the active ingredient in Tylenol. (In English-speaking countries outside North America, this medication is known as …
Will the Flu Shot Work Better This Year or Will …
The drumbeat from public health officials to "get your flu shot" is approaching fever pitch. That's because influenza season is right around the corner. With holiday travel only a few weeks away, it i…
Do Statins Screw Up Flu Vaccine Effectiveness?
Two articles in the Journal of Infectious Diseases suggest that statin-type cholesterol-lowering drugs may impair the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine. Impact of Statins on Influenza Vaccine Eff…
Is My Lasting Shoulder Pain Due to the Flu Shot?
It is hard for the FDA or the CDC to admit that there is ever a problem with the influenza vaccine. Every year about this time there is a huge campaign to encourage virtually every American to get a f…
Flu Medicines Make Sense for People at High Risk…
Flu season is right around the corner. Should you get your vaccine now? Flu Shots Have Been Disappointing: Most people are encouraged to get a flu shot to reduce their likelihood of developing influen…
Why Does My Shoulder Still Hurt So Much After a …
Last year we learned a new acronym from our readers: SIRVA. It stands for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. This is the first message we received: "It has been seven weeks since I had…
Can Flu Shots Cause Long-Lasting Arm Pain?
On December 27, 2014 we first heard about the possibility that a flu shot could lead to persistent arm pain. Don V. shared his experience with the relatively new "Quad" influenza vaccine. This quadriv…
Why Don’t More Doctors Prescribe Pills for…
From all indications, this year's flu shot was a big disappointment. It was not very effective at preventing influenza infections. But antiviral medications against flu viruses do work. Why have they …
Flu at Epidemic Levels! What Should You Do?
Have you noticed that friends, family and co-workers are sick? Perhaps you too have fallen prey to this year's influenza virus. Well, the CDC has just acknowledged that the country is in the midst of …
The Furor Over the Flu Shot Won’t Die Down
The flu is back and the news is bad. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that its primary strategy, vaccination, may not work very well this year. Bad Guess Every year health off…
Influenza Spreading Around the Country
Reports from public health officials indicate that influenza is widespread around the country. The predominant virus causing illness is a variety of H3N2 that is not covered by the flu vaccine because…
New Flu Drug Approved
The FDA has just approved a new antiviral drug to treat influenza. Rapivab, also known as peramivir, is administered to adults in a single intravenous injection during the first 48 hours of flu sympto…
This Year’s Flu May Be a Little Different
The flu is making an appearance around the country, but in many cases it isn't behaving like the usual influenza. There are reports that people are ill with aches and fatigue. They lose their appetite…
Flu Season Roars in Early
The flu season has begun early this year, and it could be bad. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepare a map of flu prevalence each week. For last week, it showed widespread infections …
This Year, Flu Shot Is Less Than Perfect
Public health officials are urging everyone to get their flu shots this year, but they admit that the H3N2 virus has mutated. That means the vaccine will offer significantly less protection against th…
New Influenza Medicine Shortens Illness
Influenza viruses have been notoriously hard to treat. Vaccines are far from foolproof. That's because the viruses often mutate and even when there is a good match between the flu shot and the circula…
Complete Data on Antiviral Flu Medicines Indicat…
The Cochrane Collaboration, a network of independent scientists who evaluate medical interventions using strict objective criteria, has raised questions about the effectiveness of the antiviral flu me…
Tamiflu Saved Lives in Swine Flu Epidemic
A look back at the 2009 to 2010 swine flu epidemic has revealed some interesting data regarding the use of the antiviral drug Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir. Researchers evaluated data from…
Tamiflu Fights Flu Symptoms Fast
Q. I got the flu a few years ago and took Tamiflu one day after my symptoms began. I improved quickly and dramatically, with all my symptoms more or less non-existent within two days of starting the m…
Reducing Fever May Help Spread Flu
Taking popular fever-reducing drugs (such as acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen) for the flu may increase the spread of the virus. A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B used…
The Flu is Back: What’s The Inside Story o…
Here we go again with scary flu stories. Open up a newspaper or turn on the evening news, and you are likely see reports of worrisome influenza outbreaks all across the nation. Here are just a few exa…
Could Vitamin D Keep You Healthy This Winter?
Despite increasing scientific scrutiny of the benefits of vitamin D, there is still mystery and confusion about this essential nutrient. Part of the complexity is due to the fact that vitamin D is not…
Underutilized Antiviral Flu Drugs Could Save Chi…
The drumbeat has started to get your flu shot. As influenza starts showing up around the country you will no doubt be urged to get vaccinated. But last year's vaccine produced dismal results. Even tho…
Will the Flu Shot Protect You from Influenza Inf…
The drumbeat has begun. Americans are being urged to line up early for flu shots. The message is that if people act fast to get vaccinated now they will be protected from influenza when it becomes wid…
Choosing Which Flu Shot Is More Complicated This…
Public health officials are urging people to get their flu shots early. This year, though, the decision about which vaccine to ask for is more complicated than ever. Some vaccines are now being made i…
Home Flu Test May Help Sufferers Get More Timely…
Flu season isn't far off, and some public health agencies are already encouraging people to get vaccinated. In future years, people might be able to test themselves for influenza at home to tell if th…
Flu Shot Fell Short for Seniors This Year
At the peak of this year's influenza season, public health officials were panicky. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a flu epidemic in mid-January. The city of Boston and …