Stefanie (00:00):
The information presented in this podcast is offered for educational purposes, only presenting it is not intended to and does not create a provider-patient relationship between any presenter and anyone else about the medical topics addressed presenters provide general information only not diagnosis or recommended treatments or any other information specific to any individual listeners are encouraged to see their own healthcare professional about all topics address on talk Tuesdays or for any other medical problem.
Stefanie (00:41):
Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us today. My name is Stefanie and I'm part of the team here at my virtual physician. We are direct to consumer multi-specialty telemedicine provider operating in multiple States. It's talked to is eight, and we are continuing our weekly educational series to talk with our experts, explore some common healthcare concerns that we see and hopefully answer some questions you may have today. Our physician expert is dr. Coleman. She is a general surgeon, and today we're going to talk about the flu vaccine. So Dr. Coleman, thanks for joining us again.
Dr. Coleman (01:14):
Thanks for having me back. Um, let's start by talking about current recommendations. What was the guideline for vaccination? Again, the center for disease control and prevention, or the CDC recommends that everyone over the age of six months be vaccinated against the flu virus. This year, Americans should get their flu shots around October. So I think now also the American Academy of family physicians recommends a yearly flu shot for everyone over six months old as well. This is because it can safely and effectively prevent severe illness from the flu. Okay.
Stefanie (01:50):
So you said the flu vaccine is safe. Can you talk more about that?
Dr. Coleman(01:54):
Yeah, so the flu vaccine contains either a dead or weakened form of the influenza virus. So when your body receives that part of the virus, it begins to build up some natural defenses and create antibodies. The antibodies are proteins in your body that help you fight off infection. They work to keep you healthy later if you're exposed to the actual live influenza virus. So it gives you a little, little part of the actual virus for your body to get familiar with and fight off. So vaccination is safe. Healthcare providers that administered flu vaccines for well over 50 years, over this time, there's been a lot of research to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of immunizations. So certainly there are some risks involved to certain people, but the risk of any life-threatening reactions is actually very small and manufacturers have demonstrated the safety of their drugs before being administered by getting FDA approval. Okay. So when would it not be safe to get a flu shot or who should not get a flu shot? Yeah, so the advisory committee on immunization practices or the ACP warns some individuals to talk to their doctor about getting a flu shot. If they have certain contraindications, this means specific medical conditions or particular situations that could make treatment unsafe or, or even harmful. So for instance, someone that has an egg allergy would prevent you from getting a flu shot because eggs are used in the manufacturing of the vaccine. So the, the flu shot may contain some trace amounts of egg protein. And if you're, you know, if you get an Anna Filactic reaction to eggs, you obviously don't want to inject yourself with something that's made with eggs.
Dr. Coleman (03:50):
So in addition to egg allergies, there's some other contraindications. So anyone that's had ganbare syndrome should discuss having any vaccinations with their physician before proceeding forward with the flu vaccine. And then if you've, if you've recently been sick, if you've had a pretty severe illness or you've had a really high fever, you probably shouldn't get a flu shot, right. Then, um, you should, you should get over whatever sickness you have going on before you get a flu shot to this may make you any better. Yeah. So just wait until you're healthy to get the flu shot.
Stefanie (04:29):
Um, that's, that's good information. So if it's safe for you to get a flu shot, are there any risks may cause some reactions they're typically mild and they usually go away within 48 to 72 hours. Usually they include things like injection site soreness. I just had my flu shot done last week and it hurts. I mean, I know it's, it's hard to move your arms sometimes. Uh, some people will get headaches, muscling, and a low grade fever, all completely normal, but things to be aware of, sometimes you can have more severe reactions and these could be signs that you have an allergy to the vaccine. If these signs and symptoms arise, then, then you need to seek medical attention right away. And that would be things like wheezing or difficulty breathing, any skin reaction or hives. Uh, so you may have a little bit of redness around the injection site, but if your whole arm turns red or you break out in a rash everywhere, where you have hives all over your body, that's a little concerning and you should go see somebody, any dizziness, weakness, or feigning that, you know, you can't really explain by, you stood up too fast or you haven't been drinking enough water, things like that.
Dr. Coleman (05:45):
If it, if it's related to when you got your flu shot, then that would be something you should go see somebody about. Awesome. Thank you. So what are the risks associated with not getting vaccinated? So not to means you're at risk of getting sick with the flu. You could miss school. If you're a student medical costs, if you have to go into the hospital or, or see your doctor more frequently, most healthy adults can deal with a minor case of the flu by staying home, taking some over the counter medications for symptoms and they'll, there'll be okay. It usually lasts about seven to 14 days. If you get vaccinated, theoretically, it reduces your risk of getting sick with the flu. It all sort of depends on what strain of the flu is going around and what, which one the vaccine contains. So you could still get sick with the flu, even if you get vaccinated, but it decreases your risk of getting sick.
Stefanie (06:49):
Got it. And what about more serious complications like being hospitalized? Is it possible to require hospitalization from the flu? It is possible. So those people that are considered high risk could suffer a much more serious cases of the flu. Some possible complications include and even death. Uh, some of the factors that put you in the high risk category would be anyone that's over the age of 60 pregnant women, children under the age of 12 and any individual that has underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, HIV, asthma, diabetes, things like that. Awesome. Well, thank you, dr. Coleman, you have shared some great information today and answered questions that I think many Americans have on their mind, especially with flu season, right around the corner. I appreciate you joining us or talk Tuesdays and telling us what we need to know about the flu vaccine for everyone else.
Stefanie (07:47):
Joining us as well. This has been Talk Tuesdays with my virtual physician. If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of our doctors or for more information, you can check out our website at www.myvirtualphysician.com. We look forward to seeing you again. We hope you have a great week. Thanks again, dr. Coleman, the information presented in this podcast is offered for educational purposes, only presenting it is not intended to and does not create a provider patient relationship between any presenter and anyone else about the medical topics addressed presenters provide general information only not diagnosis or recommended treatments or any other information specific to any individual listeners are encouraged to see their own healthcare professional about all topics address I'm talk Tuesdays or for any other medical problems.
