Influenza vaccination in exceptional cases makes sense

Risk of flu increases with cold temperatures

22/10/2013

As soon as the temperatures drop, as every year the danger increases, with the „real“ Influenza, which, in contrast to the harmless cold, is a serious infectious disease that may even be fatal. For this reason, many health experts recommend a flu vaccine every year, which, however, is considered very critical on the other side. Is a vaccine against influenza meaningful, or not? There is still disagreement about that.

Influenza can even kill you
As soon as it gets colder outside, it starts again: dripping noses, coughing, scratching the throat - more and more people are stuck with a supposed „flu“ which, however, turns out in most cases as a harmless cold. But also the risk for one „real“ Flu or influenza is on the rise, which is a serious infectious disease that typically causes a sudden high fever over 39 degrees, usually accompanied by chills, sweats, generalized weakness, headache, sore throat and dry cough. As the body is severely weakened by influenza, it can lead to bacterial infection in severe cases, as a result, complications such as meningitis, myocarditis or pneumonia may occur, which can eventually be fatal.

Flu vaccine for at-risk patients
The flu viruses are either by the infected by coughing, sneezing, speaking or even simple breathing (droplet infection) or by a „contact infection“ in the form of handshakes. Since more time is generally spent with other people in the room in winter, the viruses are easy to play, especially in the cold season. Accordingly, experts recommend each year again the so-called „Flu shot“, On the advice of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, especially persons over the age of 60 years should take advantage, but also pregnant women from the second trimester of pregnancy, and generally people with increased health risks, for example due to chronic diseases the respiratory system or diabetes.

Disagreement over effectiveness
A vaccine as protection against the flu? According to various studies quite useful, because it can allegedly reduce the number of diseases, doctor visits and prescriptions by 20 percent. But that's just one side of the coin - because other studies show that there is no clear evidence of effective flu protection from a seasonal vaccine for the 17-65 age group. The main argument: Because the influenza virus is subject to constant mutations, a flu can never be prevented by a seasonal vaccination 100% - because this can only be effective against the current virus type.

Healthy home remedies through the winter
Therefore, the need for a flu vaccine should always be considered carefully, because who has an intact immune system, can get healthy and fit through the cold season without vaccination. In addition to a healthy and balanced diet and sufficient exercise, a variety of home remedies that can be used in the case of a harmless cold to quickly revitalize the body help. In addition, there are a number of preventative home remedies for colds such as regular nasal irrigation with saline solutions or lozenges containing the extract of cistus, which help prevent a blocked or runny nose from developing. (No)