The Flu Season...

[abostonboy]

Is it me or is it real bad this year?

I got the flu three weeks ago and it pretty much floored me for a week.

Now, on the trip back from NYC, I sat next to a lady that was coughing on me the whole trip and I have a nice cold.

It just seems everyone I talk to has the same thing.

Yes, it makes me bitchy!

[MrJD]

i got creamed a few weeks back... fucking sucked... stupid germs :bang:

[RottenRay]

Several friends and a few site owners have gotten this years' crap.


Take yer vitamins
Keep yer fingers outta yer nose unless you wash 'em first
If you see someone about to sneeze, duck and cover


This time of year, I drink more orange juice or pineapple juice and take extra C, D and E supplements.


Get as much sunshine and fresh air as you can, especially in your home - start opening windows and ventilating if it's not too cold.


Hand sanitizers are a good idea, but the best bet is washing with soap and water. CDC has acknowledged that running water of any temperature is more important than most alcohol based sanitizers, and that the main concern is flushing your skin of bacteria.


IMPORTANT - if you're at a bar or eatery that has those dryer things, HIT THE BUTTON WITH YOUR ELBOW instead of touching it with your fingers. You're much less likely to stick your elbow in your nose or eyes, and the activation buttons on restroom dryers hold a plethora of viruii and bacteria.


...

[abostonboy]

IMPORTANT - if you're at a bar or eatery that has those dryer things, HIT THE BUTTON WITH YOUR ELBOW instead of touching it with your fingers. You're much less likely to stick your elbow in your nose or eyes, and the activation buttons on restroom dryers hold a plethora of viruii and bacteria.


...

What do you do when you are on a plane and the person next to you refuses to cover her mouth?

[tmt-Walter]

You know I went to the hospital the other day because a friend was having her baby there.
and the next day I had the flu/cold (can't tell the difference) . Anyways it lasted 2 days.

but everyone in my family got sick some time b4 I did.

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

Today was the third time I was laid up this month - I started back at Christmas, then had two additional bouts - deep throat, rough voice, etc... and generally sluggish... already done two rounds of mega meds

I've even gotten vertigo with this one and that's no fun - but at some point did look over this article that crossed my desk

of general interest in the world of uncertainties...


More Expensive Placebos Bring More Relief
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: March 5, 2008
In marketing as in medicine, perception can be everything. A higher price can create the impression of higher value, just as a placebo pill can reduce pain.

Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy (JAMA)
Now researchers have combined the two effects. A $2.50 placebo, they have found, works better one that costs 10 cents.

The finding may explain the popularity of some high-cost drugs over cheaper alternatives, the authors conclude. It may also help account for patients reports that generic drugs are less effective than brand-name ones, though their active ingredients are identical.

The research is being published on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The investigators had 82 men and women rate the pain caused by electric shocks applied to their wrist, before and after taking a pill. Half the participants had read that the pill, described as a newly approved prescription pain reliever, was regularly priced at $2.50 per dose. The other half read that it had been discounted to 10 cents. In fact, both were dummy pills.

The pills had a strong placebo effect in both groups. But 85 percent of those using the expensive pills reported significant pain relief, compared with 61 percent on the cheaper pills. The investigators corrected for each person’s individual level of pain tolerance.

It’s a great finding� said Guy H. Montgomery, an associate professor of cancer prevention at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who was not involved in the research. Their manipulation of price affected expectancies of drug benefit, and pain is the ultimate mind-body phenomenon.�

Previous studies have shown that pill size and color also affect people perceptions of effectiveness. In one, people rated black and red capsules as strongest� and white ones as weakest.� Other information like the country where the drugs were manufactured can also affect perceptions.

It’s all about expectations,� said the lead researcher, Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke and the author of a new book, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decision� (HarperCollins). His co-authors on the report were Rebecca Waber, Baba Shiv and Ziv Carmon.

When you’re expecting pain relief, you’re secreting your own opioids� Dr. Ariely added. And when you get it on discount, you doubt it, and your body doesn’t react as well.

Eric Nagourney contributed reporting.

[MrJD]

What do you do when you are on a plane and the person next to you refuses to cover her mouth?


mini bat ought to do the trick....

http://www.hosting.com/images/store/mini-bat.jpg

[AnthonyDeAngelo]

well obviously whatever I was taking was a placebo!

I've had this thing now since before Christmas and every time I get over it, we go back into LA for a day or two - and I always return with the same flare up and sick again... !

guess we should stay out of LA - I've developed an allergic reaction to the city...

[Fister]

Is it me or is it real bad this year?

I got the flu three weeks ago and it pretty much floored me for a week....

Yes, it is a bad year in USA for the flu. The influenza vaccine for this year only got 1 out of the 3-targeted strains correct, so two strains not in the vaccine have been widespread. I myself missed almost a week of working and way too many days away from the the webmaster forums.

[gaydemon]

I got a flue over Easter.. that together with my family visiting really made my easter!

[RDude]

I've got the damn thing right now. Sick as a dog.