influenza

The Vaccination Dillema

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Young boy receiving a vaccinationIf you grew up in the 50′s or 60′s, receiving a vaccination was the norm and the thought of not receiving “a shot” was unheard of.  Today, many young parents are questioning the validity of vaccinating their children, whether they are looking at safety concerns or simply their necessity.

A vaccine is a biological preparation that contains an agent that is similar to a disease causing microorganism that is introduced into the body so the immune system can create anti-bodies in order to prevent a future infection of that organism.

The idea of vaccination was first crudely demonstrated in the 1770′s in England.  Later Louis Pasteur refined the technique in developing the first vaccine for rabies.  But it wasn’t until the 20th century that widespread success against measles, mumps, rubella, and diphtheria by vaccination helped convince most to it’s effectiveness.  Additionally, the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950′s and the eradication of smallpox by vaccination in the 60′s and 70′s helped to secure the efficacy of vaccination in the minds of most baby-boomers.

Today, we have vaccinations for those microorganisms as well as seasonal influenza and the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention has a recommended schedule of vaccinations for all ages of people.  Specifically, the CDC recommends vaccination against 16 preventable disease for children.

With the onset of October and the autumn season, not to mention the recent start of school, thoughts on whether to vaccinate or not abound.  This year, the CDC is touting the benefits of this year’s influenza vaccine as being less painful and more aligned with the current strains of influenza that have been circulating.

But many people are still skeptical.  A study conducted in 2010 and published this month in the on-line edition of Pediatrics indicates that 20% of parents who follow the CDC approved vaccination schedule have doubts about it and 13% follow a differently schedule entirely, with more than half of those parents refusing specific vaccines all together.

Although there has been opposition to vaccinations for some time, the increase in the number of young parents who are rejecting vaccinations for their children is related to the success of wide spread vaccinations of the last century.  Experts agree that the lack of incidence of polio, whooping cough, mumps and measles in the United States has created a false sense of security and reduced the perceived need for vaccination.  For those of us who remember the middle of the last century, it was not uncommon to know someone who had contracted polio, making the need for vaccination very personal.

So to me it is ironic that the very success of the vaccination campaigns of the past has created the perception of the lack of need for any type of vaccination.  While, I agree that the decision to get an annual flu shot is a personal one, the decision not to vaccinate against diseases like polio, measles, mumps or rubella can impact more than just one individual, it can allow for the opportunity for these diseases to gain a foothold back into the population which is what researchers are just now beginning to see.

About

Paul Kulpinski is a licensed massage therapist, holistic wellness educator and co-founder of Mountain Waves Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. Information contained in this blog should not be taken as medical advice. Readers are advised to validate the information presented here with other sources including your personal physician for information specific to you.

The Summertime Cold

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Passport and World MapI recently returned from an extended vacation with family with lots of time in air conditioned planes, trains and automobiles.  In the week since we returned, three of the five of us developed full on cold symptoms including sore throat, chills, sinus infection and one was even diagnosed with strep throat.  In the past, I’ve written about the wintertime cold and flu season, where I discussed reasons why more people experience colds in the cold dry air of winter.  But it got me thinking about the summertime cold.

Researchers at Cardiff University in Wales write about the many factors that my family and I likely experienced, including long-haul jet flights, traveling in foreign countries and the stress accompanied with taking a vacation.  There are some 200 varieties of common cold virus world wide.  When we pack ourselves onto an airplane for several hours, we are in constant exposure to a plane load of potential sources of infection.  Add to that travel to a foreign country, and you are exposing yourself to strains of virus for which you likely have not built immunity.  Heap on the stresses of travel, which compromises the immune system and you have a recipe for a cold.

The one factor that seems to be most significant and consistent to the summer time cold, regardless of whether you are vacationing, is air conditioning.  Conditioned air is significantly dryer than non-conditioned air.  This dries out the mucus that lines the nasal passage, which is the first line of defense from airborne virus.   This dry air is typically the same relative humidity of cold winter air.

Several studies correlate a higher incidence of contracting a cold by workers in air conditioned offices than workers in a non air conditioned environment.  One study of over 900 French women revealed a 38% increase in the incidence of doctor visits from cold symptoms over women who worked with out air conditioning.  Another study found that workers in air conditioned offices reported more symptoms of cold and flu than those in naturally ventilated work places.

So if other factors like stress and exposure are a given and the variable is exposure to dry, conditioned air, then one of the easiest remedies is to ensure that you are properly hydrated at all times to combat the dehydrating effects of air conditioning.  Additionally, practicing proper hygiene of washing your hands before eating, or touching your face are important to preventing the spread of cold causing virus.  That way, you can enjoy the rest of your summer and hopefully one last vacation with out being laid up on a beautiful summer day with the aches and chills of the flu.

About

Paul Kulpinski is a licensed massage therapist, holistic wellness educator and co-founder of Mountain Waves Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. Information contained in this blog should not be taken as medical advice. Readers are advised to validate the information presented here with other sources including your personal physician for information specific to you.

Why is Wintertime Cold and Flu Season?

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Did you ever notice that most people get colds in the winter?  Some people even say that’s why its called a “cold” – because you get it in cold weather.   As early as the 1960′s, British researcher Dr. R. Edgar Hope-Simpson theorized that a “seasonal factor” was responsible for the annual outbreaks of influenza following the winter solstice and the disappearance of it after the summer solstice.   This has been a long standing mystery to the medical community, since it is well documented that the people are exposed to the influenza virus year-round.  Why would we be more susceptible to the virus during winter?

Research also shows that vitamin D levels are at their lowest of the year during winter months and highest during the summer months.  Is there a connection?  New evidence is beginning to link the two.

The name “vitamin D” is actually a bit misleading, because vitamin D is actually a hormone in the same family of hormones as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and cortisol.   These types of hormones play an important role in the function of the nucleolus of our cells.   Vitamin D’s role in the body’s absorption of calcium for bone growth, but its only recently that scientists have discovered the link between vitamin D and our cell function.   The latest research, published last year, links vitamin D and our body’s immune system.

While many people take vitamin C to help their immune system, there is little evidence to support its effectiveness.  Vitamin D however, has a growing base of evidence in its role related to the immune system.  Some of the latest research was published in the February 23, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. In that report, researchers studied nearly 19,000 people and found that people with lower levels of vitamin D in their blood were up to 40% more likely to have experienced a cold.  The connection was even more dramatic for those who suffered from asthma or other respiratory disease.

When most people think of vitamin D, they think milk.  However, cow’s milk contains little to no natural vitamin D.  Actually, the U.S. Government began requiring the fortification of cow’s milk with vitamin D as early as the 1930′s in its efforts to combat the bone deforming disease rickets.  That’s how the vitamin D gets into milk.  While there are other dietary sources that do contain natural vitamin D, the best source is to make it yourself.

Your skin synthesizes vitamin D upon exposure to the Ultra Violet B rays of the sun, which are greatest during the middle part of the day.   For people living near the equator, exposing your skin to 15 minutes of sunlight twice a week is enough to generate the vitamin D your body needs to stay healthy.  The farther away from the equator you live, the more exposure time you need because of the indirectness of the suns rays.  So what happens in wintertime?  We stay indoors more, we bundle up in clothing when we do go out and the suns rays are even more direct, limiting our exposure to the UVB rays that produce vitamin D.

The link between wintertime colds and vitamin D is getting stronger isn’t it?  While the researchers do want to study vitamin D’s effects on colds in some clinical trials, it seems worth it to me in the meantime to go outside and get some sunshine each day to help your body manufacture some vitamin D.   It might be just what you need to get you through this cold and flu season.  As for all of the warnings about avoiding the sun, that’s a topic for another blog post that you can read about here.

Sources:
Risk Of Colds And Flu May Be Increased By Vitamin D Deficiency

What Is Vitamin D? What Are The Benefits Of Vitamin D?

Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D

The Vitamin D Cure

Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D

Vitamin D

About

Paul Kulpinski is a licensed massage therapist, holistic wellness educator and co-founder of Mountain Waves Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. Information contained in this blog should not be taken as medical advice. Readers are advised to validate the information presented here with other sources including your personal physician for information specific to you.

Simple Solutions to Prevent the Spread of Flu Virus

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The current buzz in the media and around the water cooler is about the upcoming flu season, especially the H1N1 strain of influenza – or the “Swine Flu”.   While the main focus of the discussion centers around getting immunized, there are some simple habits around good personal hygiene that are key to keeping the spread of virus in check.

First it’s important to remember that viruses, like all flu strains, are transmitted in airborne water particles usually launched by a cough or a sneeze from the person with the infection.  Being in the vicinity of that cough or sneeze, you might inhale those water particles, or get some on your clothing or hands then touch your mouth, nose or eyes.  Any of which will easily accept the water particle carrying the virus.  Now, let’s get real.  “Water Particles” is a nice way of saying mucus or saliva.  That’s what you’re really breathing in or putting into your mouth from the other person, along with that flu virus.  Yuck!

You don’t even need to be all that close to the person sneezing or coughing.  The sneeze or cough can launch those mucus particles several feet and many of the micro-droplets will stay airborne for some time.   Typically, these droplets are so fine that we don’t even see them, so we don’t have an awareness of their impact, until it’s too late and we’ve come down with the flu.  Here’s a good video to explain an experiment by Ruth Carrico of the University of Louisville, designed to teach health care workers about the impact of a cough or sneeze from a patient.  Watch it here.

The first thing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends is to stay home when you are sick to avoid spreading the virus.  Secondly, they teach the practice of “covering your cough”.   This is done by covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue.  If a tissue is not available, they recommend using the crook of your arm (elbow) to block the cough or sneeze.  This is different from when we were taught to cover your cough with your hand.  The reason is (and the video shows this clearly) that all of the mucus particles and the virus are now on your hands when you cover your sneeze with your hand.  When you then touch something, like a doorknob, a computer keyboard, or someone’s hand in a handshake, you’ve just transmitted that virus.  You are less likely to transmit the mucus droplets via your elbow.  Finally, if you do use a tissue, throw it away.  Don’t reuse it.  Then wash your hands.  More on that later.

For those of us who use a handkerchief, while the CDC doesn’t specifically address them, handkerchiefs are reused through out the day and are more likely to spread virus as those moisture laiden “snot rags” are fermenting away in your pocket.   While I always carry one, it’s probably a better idea to use a disposable tissue during flu season.

The CDC also recommends washing your hands regularly during the day, especially after coughing or sneezing, after using the restroom, before preparing and/or eating food, the list goes on.  The see the complete list, click here. When washing your hands, use warm water to wet your hands.  Then lather with soap and rub all of the surfaces of your hands:  the palms, back of your hands, and especially the fingernails.  Continue rubbing for at least 20 seconds.  Then rinse with warm water and dry your hands with a paper towel.

If soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol based hand sanitizer by applying it to one hand then rubbing both hands together covering the surfaces of both hands and fingers with the product.  Continue rubbing until your hands are dry.

Finally, keep your immune system supported with plenty of sleep, regular physical exercise, nutritious foods, plenty of water and manage your stress with regular massage therapy, meditation, yoga or tai chi.

Sure go ahead and get the flu shot, but you’ll still need to practice these simple personal hygiene techniques to keep yourself and those around you protected.

Sources:

CDC:  Seasonal Influenza

CDC:  Clean Hands Saves Lives

How Far Can A Cough Spread Germs?

University of Louisville Cough Simulation Video

Discovery Channel News:  Coughing Robot Spews Flu Germs

About

Paul Kulpinski is a licensed massage therapist, holistic wellness educator and co-founder of Mountain Waves Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. Information contained in this blog should not be taken as medical advice. Readers are advised to validate the information presented here with other sources including your personal physician for information specific to you.

Sanitary Procedures to Prevent the Spread of Virus at MWHA

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The Swine Flu has captured the nation’s attention quickly in the past two days.  So I thought I’d take a moment and explain the routine steps we take at Mountain Waves Healing Arts to help prevent the spread of bacteria and virus – like the Swine Influenze Virus H1N1.

1. All bodywork therapists wash their hands and forarms with soap and warm water immediately before and after each session.  Therapists providing out-call corporate therapy sessions use an alcohol based hand sanitizer in lieu of soap and water.

2. The face cradles of the massage tables are thoroughly wiped with with a disposable sanitizing cloth, or sprayed with an alcohol/tea tree essential oil mixture.

3. Our linens, face cradles and towels are washed and sanitized after each use with extra hot water, detergent and chlorine bleach.

Influenza is a virus that is spread via the water droplets expressed during a cough or sneeze from the infected person and inhaled by another person.  Sometimes influenza can be spread by touching somthing that has the flu virus on it and then touching their nose or mouth.  The Swine Influenze Virus A is no exception, except that this strain of influenza is very rare in humans and mostly found in pigs – hence the name Swine Flu.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this virus contains unique strains of genetic material not previously seen in either swine or human influenza viruses.   This means that most people won’t have natural antibodies ready made in their bodies to respond to an infection and that conventional human flu vaccinations are likely to be ineffective.

In general, once infected with influenza of any kind, the fundamental treatment is rest, fluids and limited contact with others to avoid spreading the virus.  The problems occur with the development of secondary bacterial infections in the lungs that if untreated can lead to pneumonia, respiratory distress and possibly death.  That’s why prevention of contacting the flu virus is the most important first step.  So what are the things you can do.

First, recognize the symptoms of Swine flu – which are the same a seasonal flu.  They include:  fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.  In some cases, people experience diarrhea and vomiting.

Secondly, practice good hygene.  Wash your hands regularly with soap and warm water.  Cover your mouth and nose with the inside of your elbow if you cough or sneeze.

Finally, keep your immune system in top shape by getting plenty of regular sleep, eating nutritious food, getting regular physical activity, drinking plenty of water and keeping your stress levels in check.

While the current spread of the virus may seem to be rapid, it’s not a time to panic.  But it is a time to review your personal wellness practices and tune them up so your immune system is in top shape and ready to defend you if the need should arise.

For more information,  log into the CDC website by clicking on the link below.

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

About

Paul Kulpinski is a licensed massage therapist, holistic wellness educator and co-founder of Mountain Waves Healing Arts in Flagstaff, Arizona. Information contained in this blog should not be taken as medical advice. Readers are advised to validate the information presented here with other sources including your personal physician for information specific to you.