{"id":1395,"date":"2014-02-07T15:40:15","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T21:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2014-02-07T15:40:32","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T21:40:32","slug":"can-flu-shot-give-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2014\/02\/07\/can-flu-shot-give-flu\/","title":{"rendered":"CAN A FLU SHOT GIVE YOU THE FLU?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timothy Neidigh Clears Up Misconceptions About The Flu \u2022 By Brad Goins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Will getting a flu shot ever give you the flu? Ask family nurse practitioner Timothy Neidigh this question and you\u2019ll find that school is in session. Neidigh has definite opinions about the matter and he doesn\u2019t beat around the bush.<\/p>\n

\"Neidigh\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Family Nurse Practitioner Timothy Neidigh<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe flu shot cannot give you the flu,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a rationale behind Neidigh\u2019s assertions. To understand it all, let\u2019s start by looking at just how it is that flu shots come into existence in the first place.<\/p>\n

Neidigh says that in the months leading up to flu season, representatives of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) meet to make educated guesses about what three strains of the flu \u201care going to kill\u201d the most people in the coming season.<\/p>\n

The three strains they decide on are the three strains you\u2019ll be inoculated against when you get your flu shot. And if you get the flu mist, you\u2019ll also be inoculated against the fourth most dangerous strain of flu.<\/p>\n

Because the CDC and WHO are constantly evaluating different, and sometimes new, strains of flu, it makes sense to get a flu shot each year. And you\u2019ll never get a strain of the flu you\u2019ve been inoculated against.<\/p>\n

\u201cViruses are very, very good at adapting [to flu shots],\u201d says Neidigh. \u201cThey mutate so quickly. That\u2019s why a shot a year [is advisable].\u201d<\/p>\n

But no matter what you do, you\u2019ll be never be inoculated against more than four strains of the flu. And there are always many, many more than four strains out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to have a different strain of the flu going around than what you\u2019re protected against,\u201d says Neidigh. \u201cIn fact, it\u2019s likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

What works in favor of those who have flu shots, says Neidigh, is the fact that all the different strains of the flu \u201care cousins, so to speak. They\u2019re related.\u201d If you do contract a strain of flu you haven\u2019t been inoculated for, you can be sure you have been inoculated for something that\u2019s very similar. That means that if the strain \u2014 the virus \u2014 takes hold in you, the symptoms you experience will be far less severe and long-lasting than if you\u2019d never gotten a flu shot.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s Rarely Just\u00a0One Thing\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neidigh seemed skeptical about a recent Daily Advocate report of a \u201cSwine flu outbreak in Louisiana.\u201d Is swine flu the dominant flu strain here now, or will it be in the future?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s very hard to say,\u201d says Neidigh. \u201cThere\u2019s so many different strains of flu. And a lot of times people don\u2019t get tested for what strain\u201d they\u2019ve contracted.<\/p>\n

Likewise Neidigh is reluctant to make predictions as to how the flu season will develop in Southwest Louisiana. The national press seems agreed that Louisiana has widespread incidence of the flu at present. But will the incidence stay large \u2014 or grow even larger?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all but impossible to predict such development, at least with the information we have at present. The way in which a flu season develops, says Neidigh, \u201cis very rarely just one thing. It\u2019s usually multi-factorial.\u201d Factors can range from income levels to child rearing habits to school attendance patterns.<\/p>\n

The flu season is generally thought to run \u2014 roughly \u2014 from October to March. One thing that\u2019s going on in this period is that children have returned to school. If \u201cjust one virus\u201d is present in a classroom, says Neidigh, a number of students in a single class may find themselves with the flu.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Serious Consequences<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neidigh isn\u2019t one to shy away from the fact that the flu can be a fatal disease. While it\u2019s human nature to avoid consideration and discussion of possible death, Neidigh thinks the potential fatality of the flu is also played down because \u201ca lot of people die of the flu, but it\u2019s not documented.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explains by drawing a comparison with the disease AIDS. \u201cNo one\u2019s ever died from AIDS,\u201d he says. What happens in AIDS deaths is that the victim\u2019s immune system becomes so severely compromised that he eventually succumbs to some other disease \u2014 usually a rare and aggressive form of pneumonia.<\/p>\n

A similar situation applies to the flu. Those who have it bad will be weakened to the point that they contract some other disease, and possibly one that\u2019s fatal. And flu can exacerbate long-standing risky conditions, such as emphysema, cancer or immune-suppressed conditions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 48-Hour Window<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neidigh says even those who think they have the flu can still take medical measures to protect themselves against the disease \u2014 but only if they act fast. If you think you really may have the flu, don\u2019t wait a day or two to see whether it gets better.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think you have flu symptoms, it\u2019s very important to see a provider within 48 hours,\u201d says Neidigh. \u201cAnti-viral medication can reduce the length and severity [of the flu]. But it must be given within 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, says Neidigh, it\u2019s all about going back to what your mother told you to do \u2014 get lots of rest and fluids and take Tylenol. It\u2019s a matter of controlling symptoms and waiting for the disease to go through its course.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Systematic Approach To Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Neidigh talks about flu prevention, he offers more practical advice than one usually sees in the host of mass-published flu care guides that crop up everywhere this time of year.<\/p>\n

First, and most important, he says, is to wash your hands.<\/p>\n

Second, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Use tissues, a handkerchief or the crook of the arm. The use of the crook of the arm decreases the chances that one\u2019s hand will become infectious.<\/p>\n

Third, \u201cstay away from big, crowded areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fourth, \u201cwhen you get sick, stay home.\u201d\"fluchart\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The fourth point is especially important to Neidigh, who thinks that the lackluster economics of Louisiana sometimes keep sick, infectious workers going to work because they feel they can\u2019t afford not too. \u201cI\u2019ve had many people tell me, \u2018If I don\u2019t work, I\u2019m going to be in so much trouble.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But, says Neidigh, \u201cemployers should not give employees a hard time about staying home when they\u2019re sick \u2014 especially during flu time. If that person infects everyone else [in the workplace], you\u2019re going to be out a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also emphasizes that he advocates this stance only in regard to diseases that are infectious. If a worker had, say, a twisted knee and \u201cwanted to work through the pain,\u201d Neidigh would be inclined to let him, because he\u2019s not likely to hurt others with such a condition.<\/p>\n

Of course, another obvious measure of prevention is provided by the flu shot. The list of those who shouldn\u2019t get flu vaccines for health reasons is pretty short. Children under six months old shouldn\u2019t get it. Those who are allergic to eggs should avoid it. While extreme reactions to the vaccine are extremely rare, those who\u2019ve had such reactions should not get the shot.<\/p>\n

As for that old bugaboo of determining whether you really have the flu or just a bad cold, Neidigh has a few pointers. Part of the challenge is that the symptoms of both illnesses \u2014 fever, body aches, fatigue and a cough \u2014 are the same.<\/p>\n

The difference, says Neidigh, is that with the flu, the body aches and fatigue are far more severe than with a cold. With a flu, these symptoms can knock out the sufferer and make him feel that it\u2019s all but impossible to get out of bed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One Way To Avoid Crowds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neidigh is a family nurse practitioner. Although he does some work for the Pediatric Center in Sulphur, his primary occupation is that of a practitioner who makes house calls. He runs a company called HealthSmart House Calls.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d think the biggest appeal of house calls would be that they save people who don\u2019t feel up to travelling about and doing business the trouble of going to a doctor. But when I discuss the matter with Neidigh, he leads with another advantage.<\/p>\n

He says that house calls keep patients out of crowds \u2014 in particular the crowds of coughing, hacking, sneezing people waiting in doctor\u2019s offices. Neidigh thinks that sitting around in such a crowd could increase an individual\u2019s chance of getting the flu 50 fold.<\/p>\n

Neidigh says house calls by practitioners are more common in big cities than in the Lake Area. But in those big cities, they can come at a steep price \u2014 sometimes $250 a visit. He says that 80 percent of the house calls he makes in the Lake Area have a price tag of $100 or less.<\/p>\n

Neidigh first conceived of his business 10 years ago, when he was in private practice in Jennings. He\u2019s been running it as his primary business for four years. If you\u2019d like to know more about HealthSmart House Calls, call 905-6895 or email HealthSmartHouseCalls @yahoo.com. The enterprise also has a Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Timothy Neidigh Clears Up Misconceptions About The Flu \u2022 By Brad Goins Will getting a flu shot ever give you the flu? Ask family nurse practitioner Timothy Neidigh this question and you\u2019ll find that school is in session. 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