With flu season upon us, it’s time to start thinking about vaccinations and prevention. And though the vaccine is a highly contested method of prevention, it’s best to get one to prevent it all you can.
In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about this oh-so-common virus.
- You don’t need a flu shot every year. This is false, of course, because the influenza virus changes every year. Every year the vaccination is tailored to the most prevalent strains, so you definitely need a new one.
- You can catch a flu from the cold, the rain, or a draft. None of these inherently expose you to flu virus, so none of them are true. The only way to catch the flu is by being exposed to the virus.
- “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” Please let this one die. You need to hydrate a flu more than a cold, sure, but there’s no reason to eat less.
- Long-lasting fever needs antibiotics. Antibiotics are only for bacterial infections, not for viruses. An antibiotic will do nothing for a flu, unless you’ve developed a bacterial infection in the process.
- You can’t spread the flu if you have no symptoms. In fact, you can. Around 20% to 30% of people with the flu virus don’t show any symptoms.
- If you get the shot, you’re good to go. Just because you have your flu shot doesn’t mean you can run around licking subway poles. Still be sure to wash your hands regularly and avoid contact with flu carriers.
- You can catch the flu from the vaccine. Those who think this have a misunderstanding of how vaccines work. The flu vaccine is created with an inactive virus that can’t infect you. If you get the flu after your shot, it’s not the shot that caused it, some other strain did, or you caught it before you got your shot.
