Flu
Prevention: Are There Alternatives to Vaccines?
Flu prevention starts with good
hygiene and sanitation standards. Be sure to wash hands thoroughly
and often. Always cover your mouth when you cough or your nose when
you sneeze and never touch someone else's used tissues. If you are
sick, stay home for work or school. Also, be sure not to share straws,
cups, or silverware. Flu prevention starts with the individual.
Other flu prevention tips given by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) are:
- Avoid close contact with sick people. Also,
when you are sick keep your distance from others.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Germs can be spread when one touches something contaminated
and then touches the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Since there are shortages of the 2004
flu vaccine, since flu vaccines are not for everyone, since
there may be flu shot side effects,
as with any type of medication, and since strains of the flu
virus do not always match up to the strains in the flu
vaccine it is wise to exercise other options for flu prevention
in addition to or in place of the flu
vaccine.
Others who can suffer from flu
shot side effects are:
- Those who suffer from Guillain-Barré
syndrome (GBS)
- Infants under 6 months of age
- Anyone who has had severe flu shot side effects
in the past
- Anyone who is sick with a fever
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