With flu season starting early what to do....

Today's Post:  Friday, 9-6-2013

A.  Every year there are scary statistics posted about yearly deaths from the flu.

This summer I found out two critically important things.

1.  Of the 36,000 number predicted the actual death rate from the flu itself is about 500.  The other 35,500 was from people dying of pneumonia who got the flu first.

2.  Research done in a flu epidemic in Europe that did kill people directly proved conclusively that it killed people severely deficient in vitamin D3 and was survived by virtually everyone with a good blood level of vitamin D3.

Conclusion:

Yes.  Getting the flu shot is protective.  You likely will get fewer cases of the flu over several years if you get the flu shot every year.  And, every time you avoid the flu, you’ll avoid any pneumonia that you might have developed as a complication.

However, the two most effective ways to avoid dying during flu season are to:

1.  Take 3,000 to 5,000 iu of vitamin D3 year round to ensure you have enough when you need it if or when the flu shows up where you are.

2. And, get the pneumonia vaccine which prevents a majority of the various kinds of pneumonia. 

The best news is that the protection from the pneumonia vaccine lasts more like 5 to 10 years instead of one year.  So once you get it, you are protected without having to get it every year. 

The exception may be to get the new kind that protects against 13 kinds if you previously got the older form that prevents 9.

B.  The best strategy is to do all 3:

1.  Take 3,000 to 5,000 iu of vitamin D3 year round.

2.  Get the flu shot every year. 

The flu viruses are slightly different each year. Each year’s shot does have the kinds of protection that are most likely to need.

The flu viruses are slightly different each year.  But the protection lasts a bit, so if this year’s version is similar to the one five years ago, you may avoid the one this year or have a much milder case if you had the one five years ago.  That means that to some degree the protection is cumulative.

3.  Get the pneumonia vaccine immediately if you haven’t ever gotten it and then get it every five to ten years after that.

This 3 part strategy is by far the best strategy, because, in people who get that much vitamin D3, they will get fewer cases of the flu or pneumonia that the vaccines don’t cover and those they get will be milder; AND both the flu vaccine AND the pneumonia vaccine will be more likely to work and prevent those diseases!

Why get vaccinated when it’s 60% likely to work when by taking enough vitamin D3 first and during and after it’s more like 90% + likely that it will protect you?!

C.  Start each part of the 3 part strategy you don’t already do or have done for this year right away. 

On Facebook, one of the people who does posts I see had a bad case of the flu over her Labor Day weekend which she is still recovering from. 

So as of today, the flu season has started this year already and you should take action now or very soon for the best protection.

If you don’t take the vitamin D3 yet, you can go to any health food store and get vitamin D3 inexpensively from Carlson or any other good quality supplement company.  Vitamin D3 is quite affordable.  100 capsules of 1,000 iu vitamin D3 costs less than $10 including tax most places.  And, if you take 3 a day, that’s a month’s supply!

You may need to wait to get the flu vaccine but get it at your first opportunity.

If you haven’t yet gotten the pneumonia vaccine, be sure to start the vitamin D3 and then get the vaccine a week or so later.  Or, if you already take enough vitamin D3 – at least 3,000 iu a day, get the pneumonia vaccine within a few days if you haven’t already done so.

D.  If you get the flu anyway, here are two things to be sure to do.

a) Only do things to lower the fever if it gets higher than about 105% or you get severe symptoms from it.  When you get a fever, it activates your immune system to counter attack the flu viruses.  If you turn that off early, you’ll have a longer, more severe case of the flu.

b) However DO protect yourself from getting dehydrated by the fever!  THAT is always critical do to.  It makes the difference between being sick and being severely limited and weak too.

Make sure to drink a LOT of water! 

Between the fever burning off extra water and feeling bad causing you to forget, you can get even worse from adding dehydration. 

If you drink extra water first thing in the day and then right after you visit the bathroom all day long, that will do it! 

You still feel sick; but you don't get weak or dizzy or debilitated to or get as many follow on infections.  You’ll be far safer and more able to do things if you need to do them.

Doctors SAY to drink lots of water but most of them totally forget to say why it's so tremendously important!! 

It is!  Now you know why!