General Medical issues thread

[Flashback]

Flashback, you had better start listening to your body, your wife and any number of family/friends/AFF'ers Down Under to let your body catch up. You're a long time dead. I'd rather see you alive (next time I'm in the 'ol Blighty)

I will caveat it with Mrs F also had the same thing and was down for about a week and a half - so I don't agree with her theory She's only just getting better now too.

 

[love_the_life]

I will caveat it with Mrs F also had the same thing and was down for about a week and a half - so I don't agree with her theory She's only just getting better now too.

Well that's your story. We probably beg to differ

 

[Flashback]

Well that's your story. We probably beg to differ

Haaaaa!

 

[JohnK]

Can't wait for this year to be over.

Mum taken to hospital in ambulance 4 days ago for a different reason but is still there with a severe stomach infection.

Wife still fighting bacterial infection and on 3 lots of antibiotics and has picked up a cold/influenza virus the past few days and has fever and whole body aching. Fingers crossed daughter and I don't get it.

 

[love_the_life]

Can't wait for this year to be over.

Mum taken to hospital in ambulance 4 days ago for a different reason but is still there with a severe stomach infection.

Wife still fighting bacterial infection and on 3 lots of antibiotics and has picked up a cold/influenza virus the past few days and has fever and whole body aching. Fingers crossed daughter and I don't get it.

Oh John, I hope both your mother and wife pick up soon. I know your wife has had this infection for quite some time and can't seem to get rid of it. As for your mum, that must be a worry as she is not a young woman and things knock oldies around a lot more. No doubt your dad is worried as well.
Best wishes to you all.

 

[JohnK]

Worried about mum. I should be home but I'm on holidays.

 

[Flashback]

Dr said it's viral - so not much I can do but keep resting up. Annoying given it's been 2 weeks now, but that's life

 

[love_the_life]

Dr said it's viral - so not much I can do but keep resting up. Annoying given it's been 2 weeks now, but that's life

Well you best follow the doctor's orders then. Well enough to go on holidays next week or are they off for the time being?

 

[Flashback]

Well you best follow the doctor's orders then. Well enough to go on holidays next week or are they off for the time being?

Not a chance I'm not going.....! The first few days of the trip is in one location (rare for us) and chill time anyway, so should be fine. Travelling over in comfort at least, gotta love those QR sales

 

[Milboo]

I keep my Physio amused...had a Pilates session scheduled this morning but it turned into a treatment session as I was sneezing a bit this morning and managed to jam a rib out of place. Not particularly pleasant...

 

[straitman]

A friend of ours died the night before last and it appears to have been from the flue.

 

[Flashback]

A friend of ours died the night before last and it appears to have been from the flue.

Sorry to hear that straitman.

 

[love_the_life]

A friend of ours died the night before last and it appears to have been from the flue.

Very sorry to hear that Straitman. It’s been very bad this year and people who have been otherwise fit and healthy seem to have developed complications, some with devastating results.

 

[cove]

Always a tough time when you lose a close friend Straitman. The flu has been serious this year and the flu shot was not brilliantly effective.

 

[Pushka]

Condolences straitman. They are saying that young people are particularly vulnerable to the strains this year with even immunised people falling ill as an unexpected strain appeared.

 

[whatmeworry]

Condolences straitman. They are saying that young people are particularly vulnerable to the strains this year with even immunised people falling ill as an unexpected strain appeared.

The strain was expected but it mutated, hence making the vaccine slightly less effective. Then again only about 20% of people got vaccinated.

 

[JohnK]

A friend of ours died the night before last and it appears to have been from the flue.

So sorry to hear. It has been a really bad flu season.

 

[Pushka]

The strain was expected but it mutated, hence making the vaccine slightly less effective. Then again only about 20% of people got vaccinated.

I thought it was more that the vaccine used was not as effective at combatting influenza A as it should have been.

 

[whatmeworry]

I thought it was more that the vaccine used was not as effective at combatting influenza A as it should have been.

They used the right strain (H3N2 strain) but the sub strain might have slightly mutated however you are right because as it seems the H3N2 strain was not effective in triggering an immune response, especially amongst the elderly. Even with right strains, the jab is only 70% effective. Also calls to use a better version of the flu vaccine. Having said all that, I still recommend getting the flu jab, especially if you healthy because if more of us get it, the less chance the elderly, sick and kids will get it.

The flu vaccine targets four strains of the flu: H1N1, two B strains and H3N2. It is highly effective against H1N1 and B strains, but only 20 to 30 per cent effective against the H3N2 strain.

Unfortunately the H3N2 strain has been dominant this flu season. It is also the strain that affects the elderly the most. The elderly are also the most difficult to vaccinate, due to a weakened immune system.

As well as being potentially lethal itself, the flu can open the door for potentially fatal bacteria, such as golden staph.

Professor Hurt from the World Health Organisation called for federal Health Minister Greg Hunt to urgently roll out the two new vaccines.

One contains four times the dose of flu vaccine; the other a chemical that boosts the immune response and therefore the vaccine's effectiveness.

"Studies for both of those two vaccines suggest they do result in much improved effectiveness, particularly in the elderly," Professor Hurt said.

Why didn't my flu jab work this year?

 

[whatmeworry]

Going further down the flu jab rabbit hole, the Northern Hemisphere is now citing Australia as an example for getting the flu jab.

Flu does constantly evolve, forcing new vaccine to be brewed each year to match the strains specialists expect to cause most illness. In the U.S., CDC's Jernigan said this year's shots aren't perfect — but that the H3N2 strain traveling around the globe hasn't significantly changed, so the vaccine remains a pretty good match.

Get your flu shots, warns U.S., wary after Australia hit hard by influenza

The group recommended a new influenza A H3N2 strain, and swapped out the Victoria-lineage B strain with a Yamagata-lineage virus that had been recommended last year as the second B strain in quadrivalent vaccine formulations.

WHO swaps out H3N2, B strains in Southern Hemisphere flu vaccine

It comes after public health experts warned that a flu epidemic in Australia was likely to hit the UK in coming months, and that it represented “the largest flu outbreak we’ve seen for some time”.

The number of GP and hospital visits for influenza has been around 50 per cent higher in Australia in 2017, compared to 2016. In one high-profile case a previously healthy teenager died after contracting the “horror strain”, known as Influenza A. Nathan Brown, 19, died from complications from influenza A after his organs began to shut down and he developed complications including pneumonia and kidney failure.

Flu jab uptake falls in Scotland amid warnings over 'deadly' Australian strain

Western Sydney has been hit with a mutated influenza A H3N2 strain, also known as 'the killer flu'.

This year's flu season, which began in June, saw more than half of the patients in western Sydney carrying this strain of the virus, which had a noted affect on hospital beds and emergency departments.

Mutant Flu Strain Risk In Western Sydney