Flu vaccination, yes or no.

[NorTracNY]

That's what drives me nuts... not just with shots, but with a lot of things. Doing something right VS doing something right for the bottom line. :confused3:

Yes, the over prescription of anti-biotics is a great example. There are so many doctors that just do things that will make their patients happy and get them out of the office. An injection of cortizone does amazing things, including not address the reason for the inflamation. I see things like this all the time.

Even in this topic, the number of studies that are done on the subject and the disagreements still exist. The money from the companies clouds real science. From one of the studies that I referenced prior...

典he preventive effect of parenteral inactivated influenza vaccine on healthy adults is small: at least 40 people would need vaccination to avoid one ILI case (95% confidence interval (CI) 26 to 128) and 71 people would need vaccination to prevent one case of influenza (95% CI 64 to 80). Vaccination shows no appreciable effect on working days lost or hospitalization.

 

[PILOON]

quote---Yes, the over prescription of anti-biotics is a great example. There are so many doctors that just do things that will make their patients happy and get them out of the office. An injection of cortizone does amazing things, including not address the reason for the inflamation. I see things like this all the time.-----

It is called SHOTGUN therapy, about equal to using a sledge hammer to swat a fly.

Some folk actually do the rounds of MD's to get PR's to satisfy their imagined symptomatic ailments.
Those are the ones that have a closet full of pill bottles and generally every brand of vitamin on hand.

It is big business and very profitable.

Give me an MD that tests before prescribing any day.

I, at one time, was a medical sales rep and observed many different traits demonstrated by different groups of MD's.
We classified MD's in 2 categories; those that used up PR pads and those that only needed one pad/year.
Medical reps fought to get to see the heavy writers.
Many pharmaceutical companies organize cruises to introduce new products and you would not believe the luxury of a medical convention which is never 'next door' but in some exotic location.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Isn't it true the vaccine for any given year is at best a guess of what strain(s) may be a problem?

Truth. This year they guessed wrong. I haven't come down with it, since I spend my life on the farm, but those I know who have had it refer to it as "The Plague." Apparently it's particularly nasty.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

1) It is HIGHLY unlikely that you "never got the flu". Virtually every person living has had the flu multiple times. You may have self diagnosed incorrectly that you had just a cold but virtually nobody living in the USA has not been exposed to the flu many times. As a hermit you might avoid exposure but going to school or work in a group setting or shopping at the mall etc ect will definitely get you exposed to flu at least once every few years.

Some years ago I had an office mate who "had never had the flu." He declined the free flu shot that the nurse came around to administer. That winter he came down with "the worst cold he had ever had," which cost him days of work, put him far behind schedule, and left him with a case of bronchitis that took two months to clear up. I sat six feet from him and didn't get a sniffle. He was just in denial.