Survival Methods During Flu Season

JACQUELYN LOI
Staff Writer

Every year in the U.S. alone, an average of 5 to 10 percent of its population catches the flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January and February is the time that many people start to experience the flu or the common cold. People tend to get the flu by staying indoors from the cold weather, where germs and viruses are more likely to be contracted.

Countless studies have proved that chicken soup does have medicinal value. According to Health, chicken soup acts as an anti-inflammatory.

“Chicken soup contains proteins and many vitamins. When people are sick, they lose their proteins. When [they] eat chicken soup, they gain back the proteins that they have lost,” AHS nurse Anita Man said.

According to Flu.gov, the best way to prevent a flu is to get a vaccination. Those who are vaccinated are 60 percent less likely to need treatment for the flu. The vaccine protects the individual for one whole flu season, which usually begins around January or February and may last until March .

“Countries work together to find out the three major types of flus for that year, because the flu always mutates. The flu shot is the combination of the vaccine for those three flus. However, people may still get sick even after getting the flu shot because there are still many viruses out there,” Man said.

On the other hand, pregnant women have reason not to be vaccinated. In September 2012, a study conducted by Gary Goldman in the Human and Environmental Toxicology Journal showed a 4,250 percent increase in the number of fetal deaths reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System during the flu season of 2009-2010. Furthermore, the flu shot may also contain mercury, a metal that is known to be hazardous to human health.

“I did not know any of this before and it’s actually really intriguing, but I think I’ll be going to go get my flu shot now, regardless of the side effects,” freshman Belinda Cai said.