For reasons which are beyond me, health authorities won’t admit they got it wrong with swine flu. In certain respects this is occurring on the silent as many nations have slashed their orders for vaccines and you hear less about it. In the northern winter predictions of countless deaths have obviously not materialized. In reality the influenza season has been no worse than normal.

Compreendamo-lo

Dire predictions of swine flu in the winter Olympics were created. Not one single instance has happened. In the southern hemisphere we’re getting ready for another winter, still four weeks away. You would be wrong. The truth is that the H1N1 virus was no more severe than any one of the typical flu viruses both in terns of numbers of cases and severity. Some folks get acute symptoms with flu, some people are hospitalized and some die. This happens each year. The predictions of both cases and deaths from H1N1 were so much wide of the fact as to be laughable, if a lot of effort, money and time had not been squandered.

If any additional evidence was needed that the previous winter influenza in Australia was moderate it arrived from the profit result of recorded medical center company, Primary Healthcare. In its half yearly result the firm noted that attendances in general practice clinics were flat. One reason for this mentioned in the half yearly report was that the”lack of a flu outbreak in contrast to last year”. Not only was last years flu season not worse than normal it was milder than the prior year, leading to less visits to the physician.

Tenha em mente

People may get things wrong. All of us do. We can learn from mistakes. So what exactly are we getting in the health department in Australia? Recognition they were wrong? Advice to take care of this winter just like any other? No, we’re getting dire warnings for this season. The threat of another wave was raised. How can you have another wave when there wasn’t a first one? There’s the threat that the virus will morph somehow. It wasn’t serious last year, but it will change this season and be the killer which we were supposed to be terrified of.

To this end the Chief Medical Officer wrote to Australian General practitioners urging them to vaccinate everyone against H1N1. Additionally, it informs us that the government will be spending more health dollars on a campaign to alert the public of the importance of being vaccinated. It admits that almost all of the 20 million vaccines purchased by the Australian authorities have yet to be used. Additionally, it doesn’t mention that the spending on anti viral drugs that have been shown to not work, but that’s a whole other story. Now this is the really interesting part.

Tomar nota

Nowhere is there any mention of what the person can do to support their immune system.

  • Eat a balanced diet with sufficient fruit and vegetables in addition to sources of essential fatty acids like fish, olives (or olive oil), linseed or nuts.
  • Along with this a lot of people can benefit from vitamin supplements, especially antioxidants such as vitamins A, C and E, which help the immune system. Zinc, Vitamin D and Folate supplements are also useful.
  • Regular exercise has been proven to improve the immune system.
  • Drink 30-35ml/kilo of water every day.
  • Most importantly analyze your workload and stress levels and take action to reduce them until they reduce your resistance to illness. The notion that only a vaccine can protect you from the flu isn’t right.

Conclusão

According to the product info the vaccine has a factor, albeit large percent “take” and of course it does nothing against viruses. Your immune system is there to keep you healthy. All it requires is for you to care properly for it. Don’t get caught up in hysteria about killer flu. Don’t be tricked by alarmist predictions. Be accountable for your own wellbeing.