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Flu prevention: What really works?

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    Dr. Marc Siegel weighs in

  • Duration 3:17
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Eighteen member -- thanks very much so if you're worried about getting the flu what can you do to actually protect yourself let's ask doctor Marc Siegel from our medical.

-- -- -- -- your big believer proponent of the flu shot you've written books about.

You know -- the flu shot is incredibly important and I have to tell -- compliance is not there.

We have a 135 million doses available this year from the Centers for Disease Control.

And none of people in the country that have taken flu shots is under 40%.

That's not good but the good news as we know as was just reported that the predominant -- about 80% of the flu we're seeing is a strain.

That's covered in this flu shot so it's gonna work pretty well.

In 2003.

Where we had a very similar kind of flow we didn't have a flu shot that matched.

So I'm gonna urged people out there to get your flu shot now it takes about two or three weeks for you to get immune.

Which we're reporting all these cases but the flu season probably hasn't peaked yet.

You want to get the flu shot and then we also have to talk about how you spread the -- you spread the flu.

By coughing and sneezing on people a cough can travel to twelve feet Gretchen twelve feet just you know.

Showing -- animation here what.

And that's what she can beat -- there's tons of stuff you can impact by just touching it so let's talk about the flu shot in general look a lot of people say.

-- I want to get it because I actually believe that the flu shot gets me sick you say.

That's a -- The flu shot is a dead virus it cannot give you the -- you can have a little bit of an allergic reaction to it you get a -- or two from it.

You cannot get the flu from -- So I you can also get secondary infections and after a lot of people getting pneumonia after they've had the flu now why.

That's the number one killer is pneumonia and we're gonna see more and more cases of that because the -- knocks you down cause the flu weakens your immune system.

And then other infections come in and really our problem like pneumonia like bronchitis like sinus infection Tamiflu.

Is an anti -- prescription you think that that as a good thing and then there are other stuff and other things that you brought here today so we have alcohol by the -- -- We on Tamiflu Tamiflu -- really effective against this year's flu are more forward if you're sick and you have a real risk I brought some other things that have been studied.

And Jensen was actually studied this year in Hong Kong and found in mice to be pretty effective at decreasing symptoms and severity of the flu.

I'm -- and -- -- not as your number one thing after your flu shot and the other thing I like his elder Berry held a very -- the -- was studied in Israel a few years ago.

A nice double blinded prospective trial just the kind -- like.

In with -- sixty people showed a decrease in symptoms and severity I think -- the very T -- using -- a good idea.

What you don't think works is echinacea well echinacea has been around for centuries and everyone's always talking about -- for cold and flu but there's no.

Convincing scientific evidence that it really works.

But it really cuts down on symptoms.

And I'm also worried by the way about taking some of these combos where you have more than one -- you know.

You think magic I'm gonna take something with fifteen herbs in -- the problem is it it may interfere with your medications that you -- already -- These are active chemicals I need to track things some okay which incidentally I'm -- -- the very but I don't want you to take a combination of things.

If you haven't had a flu shot yet it's not too late but the biggest piece of advice that you're giving out positions have it pharmacies have -- get your flu shot after secret.

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