15 flu myths doctors wish you’d stop believing

They may share a name, but they’re not the same disease. “The stomach flu, also known as gastroenteritis, can be caused by many different viruses [and bacteria] and always causes gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea, nausea, or vomiting. You may still have a fever with the stomach flu,” Dr Dass says. “The stomach flu is usually self-limiting, meaning it usually runs its course within a few days. It is rarely deadly. Influenza, however, can be deadly or lead to dangerous complications, such as pneumonia,” she explains. “Symptoms usually include fever, body aches, fatigue, cough, stuffy nose. You may have nausea or diarrhoea with influenza, but the symptoms are much milder.”

The world’s healthiest people have these things in common. 

It will help, but the flu virus is transmitted by droplets that travel in the air. You could pick up droplets from surfaces – here’s where washing your hands could help – but you can also just breathe them in: “Hand sanitiser is helpful in reducing exposure, but it is not a fail-safe way to avoid the flu,” McIver says. “Handwashing with soap and water is the best way we can keep our hands clean. And above all, don’t touch your face.”

Remember that the virus can be fatal, even in otherwise healthy people. “Many people think they have the flu who just have a different viral illness commonly known as a cold,” says Joshua Scott, MD, primary care sports medicine physician at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, and team physician for the Los Angeles Galaxy. “The flu symptoms are usually much more severe and commonly include fever, body aches and cough.”

Here are 20 old wives’ tales you should stop believing by now. 

Because it takes months to make enough vaccine for everyone, experts have to guesstimate which viruses will be making people sick during the season. Dr Mark says experts review the flu strains that were most prominent during the opposite hemisphere’s winter, consider data from previous flu seasons, and make an educated guess.

“People can absolutely get sick after getting a shot,” says Eugene Y. Park, associate director of emergency medical services at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. “The vaccine helps reduce risk overall by 40 to 50 percent.”

If one is good, two is better, right? Nope: “There is no study that proves getting the flu vaccine twice helps boost your immunity,” says Rebecca Lee, RN and founder of the natural health resource, RemediesForMe.com. “If the strains in the current flu shot are not the ones that are circulating, two shots won’t help.”

“Herd immunity occurs when enough people are vaccinated that a virus has little opportunity to spread. Effective herd immunity requires that more than 90 percent of the population be vaccinated against a disease,” says Tish Davidson, medical writer and author of Vaccines: History, Science, and Issues and shari. “The exact percentage depends on the contagiousness of the disease, and flu is very contagious. With the current low flu vaccination rate, people should not count on herd immunity to protect them. It won’t.”

Sign up here to get Reader’s Digest’s favourite stories straight to your inbox!

Source: RD.com