Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with influenza

Should I get the H1N1 vaccination?

KokuRyu — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:38:23 -0800

Is it really worth getting the H1N1 flu shot? First of all, I trust the medical system and doctors in general, and understand the need to vaccinate the general public against this new flu, as well as other seasonal flus.

However, I've heard that it is possible to get slightly sick as a result of the H1N1 flu vaccination, which is something I don't want to experience.

I've never actual had the flu before. Although I am susceptible to chest colds each winter, I've never experienced influenza, ever.

I live in an area that has been identified as an H1N1 "hotbed", and I do a lot of business travel, and have been traveling a lot this fall, and am therefore in a lot of situation where I could be exposed to the H1N1 virus. I have a child in elementary school, who could also act as a vector.

I have also worked as a teacher in the past, and when 15-20% of students stayed home sick because of the "flu", I always thought it was an exaggeration - I was so ignorant of the flu that I thought they must have a common cold - but I never came down with the virus.

I suspect I may be immune to the flu. Do I still need to get a vaccination?

Infant: H1N1 flu vaccine now or wait for preservative-free version

NortonDC — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:15:16 -0800

Is it worth delaying H1N1 swine flu vaccination for an 8-month-old infant to get the preservative-free version? As for me, shoot me up, whatever, go nuts. But I wonder about the wee one and the higher concentration of thimerosal she would get due to her tiny mass and two shots to my one. Is it worth delaying until we can be sure we're getting the preservative free version? What are the facts and numbers driving the answer?

I understand there's no established link for autism. I get that. But mercury is still best avoided when feasible, so does the current pandemic change the definition of "feasible"?

NaturalNews-type scaremongering will be disregarded, so don't bother with that. Thanks.

Days of swine and roses

zadcat — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:39:01 -0800

Odds are that the flu I've had since Friday is H1N1: a Canadian government tracking site says that 97% of diagnosed cases of flu here right now are H1N1. Does this increase or decrease my need for an H1N1 shot when they become available?

flufilter....

St. Alia of the Bunnies — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:56:59 -0800

With all this flu talk, it got me wondering...I got a really bad case of it back in March. (Doctor confirmed.) Could it possibly have been of the swine variety? I know they didn't start tracking it till mid April, but I do kinda wonder. FWIW it took me forever to get over, and I did have some mild nausea with it (the doc gave me medicine for that as well.) I did have a nasal swab to confirm that it was flu and not some other virus, fwiw.

So, could it have been?

Can I stop taking Tamiflu?

emmling — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:41:43 -0800

I was diagnosed with type-A influenza with a "high possibility" of it being H1N1 on Monday. I have been holed up in my apartment since then, taking the Tamiflu the doctor gave me. But it's making me feel worse - after I take it, I become dizzy, headachey, and nauseated. Can I stop taking it, or should I finish up the pills I've been given now that I've already started on it? YANAD, YANMD (and my doctor only speaks Japanese).

Hello, my name is H1N1.

halogen — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:11:19 -0800

How is the swine infuenza virus identified? I'm asking because I was surprised to learn today that my country doesn't have the equipment necessary to identify the virus. Even if I assume that there are no affordable sequencing facilities in Bulgaria, and that producing/importing the antibodies necessary for serological tests of the capsid is too difficult, shouldn't identification still be possible by growing the virus, PCR, restriction digest and running it through a gel? The virus has been fully sequenced, after all.

Maybe there isn't a company in the country that can synthesize oligos/primers for PCR in the first place (business idea, here I come)? Other than that, any standard lab should be able to complete the procedures above, unless I am wrong in my assumptions and it doesn't even work that way.

Go to work or stay home?

St. Alia of the Bunnies — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:52:44 -0800

Flufilter: It hit me like a freight train on Friday-went to the doc, and yes, it's the flu. My question for the hivemind is this: Do I try to go back to work tomorrow? I think my fever finally broke today but I still feel like I was hit by a truck. OTOH I do have a scheduled day off Tuesday so even if I work tomorrow and then feel worse I have a day off to look forward to. OTOH I don't want to give this to anyone else at work-particularly my boss who is having outpatient surgery on Wednesday.

What is a conscientious employee to do??? (and it's a long story but I was rushed out of my doc's office on Friday because of another patient's emergency so it isn't like I got to ask them. Plus today is Sunday.)

(If it matters-I work at a florist shop. So that means contact with the public. )

How can I not get the flu?

allen8219 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:56:22 -0800

How can I avoid getting the flu? I have gotten spooked by a couple coworkers who got SICK from the flu, which they caught from their kids, and I am very intent on avoiding the same fate (trouble coming out of both ends). Short of covering myself in saranwrap and lysol, and then hiding in an ICBM silo, what do you suggest? I'm going to get a flu shot tomorrow morning, and I just bought some Purel hand sanitizer that I plan on using as often as I remember.

Is there any truth to immunity-boosting supplements? Should I exercise more? Or avoid the gym and exercise less? I'm in Washington, DC, and it's like 33 degrees out, so running outdoors isn't an attractive option.

Healthy bunny! Healthy me!

honeyx — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:52:00 -0800

Will I give my new bunny the flu? Sorry if this is basic science, but I just can't find anything through google...
Tomorrow I am bringing home a sweet little baby bunny to join the family! Yay! However, I have also been meaning for some time to get a flu shot, and I think I should do that this week as well. (I am young, but have a weak immune system, so its important that I get one.) I know that the inactive/dead vaccine is generally available and I will get that if possible, but my concern remains that I will get my new bunny sick.
Is this possible? Can influenza be transmitted from human to rabbit -- even if it is a "dead" vaccine?

What will happen to cities if a pandemic occurs?

stokast — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 10:57:07 -0800

What will happen to cities if a pandemic occurs? How would the city be cut off from the rest of the world? What would that be like? Would people be advised to stay where they are? If lots of people left, what problems would they have?

Vaseline on my nose? Good idea? Really?

jperkins — Fri, 26 Nov 2004 18:01:27 -0800

I've caught my first cold of the season and the frequent nose blowing is irritating the skin near my nose. I seem to remember a suggestion to use vaseline on the irritated skin - does that sound like reasonable solution?