Flu doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke. according to Prof Tom Meade, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is calling for as many as possible to have the vaccine to guard against the risk.Dr Tim Clayton author of the report suggests prevention is better than cure. I should add immediately that this is an article in the Daily Telegraph 06/12/07 and addressed to the UK. However having "flu doubles the immediate risk of having a heart attack or stroke"
"Flu dislodges the fatty deposits that build up in the arteries, leaving them free to move around the body and get stuck in the brain or heart, where they block the blood flow"

Has anyone living in Udon had the flu jab?


This is me now:-

Prevention IS better than cure and those over 60, men and women, should have their blood screened for a Full Blood Count,(FBC), Fasting Blood Sugar or HbA1c,Liver Function Test, Serum Lipids( Cholesterol level), Erthrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and Urea and Electrolytes (U&E) once a year as a preventative measure.

There are also many other things you can do to help prevent heart attacks and a stroke.

AEK has the influenza vaccine for 2007/2008. 680 Baht. I had mine a month ago.

I started with the Thai flu about 10 days ago.I've never had it before and wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy.
I seem to be over the worst of it now but,initially,every part of my body ached down to the bone.
No appetite and,what is most disturbing,I dont even feel like a beer ! I must be really sick !!
The good thing is that I'm losing a bit of weight for the first time in a few years !
Anyway,thanks for the cheerful news about flu doubling the risk of heart attack and strokes !
Might not have many posts left in me then !!

Zidane

Zindane

We are all pleased that you are over the worst of Flu and thank you for posting at this distressing time. Could you tell us what you were medically advised to mitigate the effects?
We would all appreciate it if you could also run through your symptoms and what you or your partner did to care for you.

Presumably you had a thermometer
Took plenty of fluids
(if not beer then a shot of whisky?)
Tablets for your aching body?
????????????

I was given two injections over two days to stop the aching.Surprisingly,after a couple of hours I did start to feel better.
Had a thermometer,blood pressure checked and weighed.
Told to rest for up to two weeks and drink up to 3 litres of water per day....no alcohol !
Given various medications to take.....anti-biotics,tablets for cough and runny nose,tablets for fever and one tablet to help me sleep at night.

Its not just a distressing time for me but also some of the venues around the Charoensri & Soi Sampan may soon have to start laying off staff as alcohol sales plummet !!!

Zidane

Thanks for the info....

Even the man who waters the workers beer could be crying, if as you say you prop up all these establishments.
However had you reminded your medical advisor that alcohol numbs the brain, acts as an analgesic and in the short term is excellent for ones mental well being, you might have had an early remission from abstainance.

Expect you will make up for lost time though !

Hi all,
I've only ever had flu once - and I never want it again! All the colds etc I've had since pale into insignificance. I spent two weeks in bed, didn't go to work, slept most of the day and night, sweated pools of stuff out of me (I chucked away the mattress after - ewwww!), lost about 5 kg (needed that though!), ached everywhere. No wonder older people can die of it. Every time I woke up I just drank as much water as I could and tried to eat. Yes I agree as above - I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy, although the b*stard falang who offered my Lady 20k baht for the night with him and "not have to tell Phil" can have it!

Cheers
Phil

I get it every year lasts about tne day just finshing it up for this t year went to the pharmacy and got the antibiotics. Finished the entire course today and hopefull the worse is over now. You woudl think I could remember to gte the shot but by the time I think of it I have it.

We tend to take it for granted but the truth is it has killed million's of people over the years.

Seems like lots of people came down with it in the past month here in Udon

prevention is better take Vitamin A-B-C-D-E and herbs grape seed extract and drink lots of juice & water and stay out of crowded places and do not smoke & drink alcohol and you chances of getting the flu is very low if your body is run down from excessive drinking & smoking you will die from the flu get wise and do the right thing your body comes first

Just remember to stop excercising also, eg, running, playing sport, very well documented cases of young fit people collapsing during sporting events and ongoing exercising during bouts of the Flu and they die !

Also Vit C has now been conclusively proven in all the latest medical journals which incorporated international studies etc that it has no effect on the Cold and Flu , purely a placebo effect, but still good for rehydration etc...

The flu is a viral infection and as such antibiotics wont work, but are given for some reasons

1 - Most patients want something from the Doctor when they visit - Thailand is a classic for this, min of 5 pkts of some medications. This is why drug resistant diseases occur

2 - some patients ( elderley ) might get a secondry infection -Pneumonia and they do need these as they dont walk as much etc and cant cough up the secretions associated with flu or colds

3 - the red sore throat is a strepacoccal viral infection and all u need is a local throat anaesthetic - Strepsils etc.....

Hey Wazza, when can we see Doc Wazza's clinic in Udon? I'd be there for magic pills to keep the nasties at bay , to keep the equipment working as I get older , and of course regular check ups/once overs from your elegantly attired Thai nurses & assistants! Of course, with the correct uniform, when I say regular, I mean a weekly event! The white/blue San Mig girls uniform will do or something like! Don't forget to employ an old Thai lady for when the misses comes with me!

I'm willing to be the judge of uniforms for you!

Cheer mate! Hope to see you soon.

Phil

I've had a flu vaccine once in my life. Never again.
Within 24 hours I just about had enough strength to crawl up the stairs to bed, where I stayed for a week.
Will take my chances and deal with the symptons as and when they occur.

Galee wrote:I've had a flu vaccine once in my life. Never again.
Within 24 hours I just about had enough strength to crawl up the stairs to bed, where I stayed for a week.
Will take my chances and deal with the symptons as and when they occur.

I've been getting vaccinated every year for the past 12 years, sometimes I have felt a little queasy a few hours after the injection, but it always passes within a few hours.
I've not had the flu in those 12 years.
My uneducated guess Galee, is that you had already been exposed or were coming down with it, and the injection put you over the edge.
The best time to get vaccinated is BEFORE flu season begins. That is why in the States, vaccinations are offered in late September/early October. Remember, it takes 10-14 for the vaccine to start protecting.
Also, you should not get vaccinated if you are running a fever or have any flu-like symptoms. Wait until after they pass.
One more thing from Doc Jingjai. Just because you have already had one strain of flu, does not mean you cannot get another strain of flu, later on in the season.
The vaccines contain multiple strains to protect you from multiple influenza's.
There's a lot of strange stuff floating around S.E. Asia.

Naam Jai wrote:Flu doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke. according to Prof Tom Meade, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is calling for as many as possible to have the vaccine to guard against the risk.Dr Tim Clayton author of the report suggests prevention is better than cure. I should add immediately that this is an article in the Daily Telegraph 06/12/07 and addressed to the UK. However having "flu doubles the immediate risk of having a heart attack or stroke"
"Flu dislodges the fatty deposits that build up in the arteries, leaving them free to move around the body and get stuck in the brain or heart, where they block the blood flow"

Has anyone living in Udon had the flu jab?


This is me now:-

Prevention IS better than cure and those over 60, men and women, should have their blood screened for a Full Blood Count,(FBC), Fasting Blood Sugar or HbA1c,Liver Function Test, Serum Lipids( Cholesterol level), Erthrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and Urea and Electrolytes (U&E) once a year as a preventative measure.

There are also many other things you can do to help prevent heart attacks and a stroke.

Good luck with saying that in Thai...

Oldfield

Strangely enough medical investigations are written in English, ordered in English and the results given in English. Take this thread to any Thai doctor or Outpatient nurse and they will order these investigations for you on a standard form. They will cost about 500bht., if you do not see the doctor with the results. My advice would be to insist you see the results, you will be paying for, before you see the doctor. If they are all normal and the results are given next to the normal range say you are happy not to see the doctor. That will save you 250bht or more.

Let me know if you need further experienced help.

Remember private health care in Thailand is a profit making business. You will be pressured to spend money unnecessarily. This is certainly true of prescriptions which the Doctor will get a % of from the drug reps.