Hot MedFax

Did you get a flu shot ?  For the first time in eight years, I didn't this year, I know, I know, you can get the flu from the flu shot and if you're allergic to eggs . . . Say what? It's just not true, says  Dr. Jennifer Caudle, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, at newswise.com.  “Every year, it’s the same battle,” Caudle writes on her website. “Every year, I urge my patients to get the influenza vaccine. And every year, they come up with a bucketful of excuses.” Perhaps the most common myth associated with the vaccine is that the shot can actually cause the flu. In her article, Caudle recounts that, when she was a medical student, she became ill a few days after receiving her shot. She notes, however, that it is simply not possible to get influenza from the flu, explaining that, in her case, she may have contracted the virus before the vaccination took full effect or she likely had another type of virus that caused flu-like symptoms, the Web site r...

Personally, I think they're gross.  But lots of people love 'em, including my son, especially when he wore braces. What am I talking about?  Gummy bears. And now a new study has found that, if you're allergic to them, be careful when you get a flu shot. It's apparently all related to gelatin. If marshmallows make your tongue swell, according to newswise.com, and gummy bears make you itchy, that means you're allergic to it.  And maybe you should take precautions if you get a flu shot. “Gelatin is used in the flu shot, as well as other vaccines, as a stabilizer. Because it is found in the vaccine, those with a known allergy to gelatin can experience allergic reactions, such as hives, sneezing and difficulty breathing," newswise.com quotes Stephanie Albin, MD, an allergist and American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) member. It used to be eggs you had to watch out for, with flu shots, but now it's anything gelatin-based.  Last month, ...

Here's a horrifying fact.  You're far more likely to get the flu from your doctor and his staff than you are the public.  That's because, according to Judith Graham, posting at nytimes.com/newoldage, only 60 percent of healthcare workers get the vaccine. This includes my husband, a dentist, who's cavalier about getting sick (though a recent cold made him whimper like a baby and he wound up giving strep to our son).  All I know is, he better not bring it home to me! http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/as-flu-rages-caregiving-suffers/