Ramblings of a Crowe

Flu Shots, what's the big deal?

People are panicking because of the shortage of flu shots here in the US. It's all over the news, in the papers, on the radio. People are talking about it at work, on the street, via e-mail. It's like the flu is the next Black Plague and we're all doomed to die if we don't have our shot.

I don't get it.

What's the big deal? I mean, I understand that certain people should get a shot. The elderly, Health care and food workers, those who suffer from other illnesses that could be in danger if they happened to catch the flu, perhaps some small children (thought I'll get to that later), etc. Maybe these people should be getting the flu shot. It'll probably benifit them, but other than that, what the hell is the problem? When did coming down with the flu become such a big deal?

I have no idea when this new fad started, but I remember a time when there were no flu shots and everyone never paid such a simple sickness another glance. If you happened to get the flu, you stayed in bed and let it run it's course. Sure, some people get super sick and end up in the hospital, but that was rare. Has it become more common? Now that I think about it, I haven't had the flu in YEARS. I was in highschool the last time I got really sick with the flu and it was nothing compared to the bronchitis I had when I was 15 (which left my hearing damaged thanks to severe ear infections). Now people are running to Canada to get their precious flu shot because the US isn't providing enough vaccine for everyone here.

Do people even understand what the flu is? I can't help but wonder. In this day and age where sterilization is popular, I worry about things like this. I mean, think about it, we can buy all sorts of cleaning aids that kill germs (bleach, lysol, etc.), laws and rules keep our food and goods clean and realitivly germ free, new science lets us lead fairly germ free lives, immunizations keep us healthy, and medicines are availible to combat annoying bacterial diseases (which many doctors hand out like candy). Compared to our ancestors, we are fairly safe from dying due to bacteria and viruses, mainly because we have little to no contact with them.

This is a good thing, I'll be happy to admit. I like being able to clean my bathroom and kitchen with lysol. I like going to the doctor when I get really sick and having medicines to get rid of the infection. I like eating food and knowing that for the most part, it's safe to eat (though not totally and if you think it is, you're fooling yourself). However, I think perhaps, we've crossed a line and that maybe our hypochondria has gone a bit too far. So far, infact, that we've put ourselves in danger by NOT allowing ourselves to become in contact with certain bacteria and germs.

No, I'm not a quack and I don't think people should run out and start licking toilet bowls, but if you've taken even just a little bit of microbiology, you might understand what I'm talking about. Bacteria and viruses, many of them anyhow, are constantly changing. They can adjust to their environments just like living creatures do (though viruses aren't living, technically). It's a process known in science as adaptation. We are fools to think that we'll evade infection forever and by lowering our immune systems against the simplests of pathogens, we are putting ourselves in danger.

Case in point, let's talk about the anitbiotic craze. People rush to the doctor at the slightest sniffle and are given a handful of antibiotics, regardless of the diagnosis. Maybe it's Arithromicine, Zithromax, Penicillin, Bactogen, Amoxocillin, or whatever. They're all popular drugs used to treat everything from ear infections to pneumonia (antibiotics DO NOT help viral infections folks). I've taken them all at one point in time, thanks to a case of chronic bronchitis that has left me susceptiable to various lung ailments. However, I don't think I would have ever had such a problem if it wasn't for my mother, the queen of Hypochondria, who insisted that at every little fever and stuffy nose, I be put on antibiotics. By the time I was fifteen and came down with another case of bronchitis, the germs causing the problem had built up a resistance and none of the regular antibiotics seemed to work. A simple case of bronchitis soon grew out of hand and my ears, sinuses, eyes, etc were infected. I ended up with pnuemonia and my hearing was damaged due to ear infections. I was put on another antibiotic, a super drug they told me (one they give to AIDS patients...no, I don't have AIDS), and that worked like a charm. However, I was sick for over five months, and not only do I still have a loud ringing in both my ears, but I was left with a kind of asthma that appears when I am sick (though it's getting worse as I get older).

After talking with several doctors, I told them my history with antibiotics and they all agreed that my system, and the bacteria that are usually kept in check by my own immune system had become reisistant to certain drugs, creating a kind of "super germ". I'm often sick with various colds and upper respiratory infections, but I refuse to rush to the doctor until I've given my body time to fight off the infection on it's own. My antibiotic options are limited enough as it is, and I would hate for my "lung bugs" to up the ante by becoming even more resiliant.

My point is, antibiotics should always be a last resort instead of a first. The best means of fighting a cold or the flu is to let your body do the work first, then go to the doctor if things get out of hand. At the rate we're going, such common, easily controled germs like Strep and Staph will be our downfall (since they are EVERYWHERE). The flu will be the least of our worries.

My mother and I constantly fight about my son's health. I refuse to take him to the doctor for every little thing. She gets incredibly angry with me, since my son has hearing trouble as well, thanks to a constant plague of ear infections since the time he was born (he has a birth defect that doesn't allow fluid to drain from his ears properly, it's not antibiotic related). He's been on many antibiotics, and they were necessary. His ear infections were very real and untreatable without antibiotics. We've finally seemed to nip the problem though, with the aide of two suguries, though I don't think he'll ever hear as good as a normal person (his speech is just fine though). Still, I don't see any reason for him to be handfed antibiotics for a cold or flu...which are usually caused by viruses anyway. I won't have him being like me when he grows up, constantly sick and with few options left. I'll make him suffer through runny noses and coughs for his own sake. I'll make him get his necessary shots (though I won't make him get a flu shot. I didn't get one when I was a kid and I lived) and I'll only take him to the doctor if his colds only get worse and not better after a good bout of rest and fluids. That's what antibiotics and medicine was made to do. It should NEVER EVER be a subsititute for our own immune system, but somehow, that's the way things have become.

People are wimpy.

If you're one of these people like my mom, who rushes to the clinc at each little cough or runny nose, you might want to do a bit of research. You're doing yourself more harm than good in long run. You'll regret it. Buck up and stop being a baby. A little cold and flu is unpleasant, but so is a couple nights in the hospital hooked up to an IV drip because all the common antibiotics you can take no longer work. Think of the hospital bill! They aren't cheap you know!

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Posted by Zoso at October 27, 2004 09:24 AM