# 3976
My Great-Grandfather had a sure cure for the flu.
He said, “Boy . . . at the first sign of a flu or cold, you should take to your bed . . and proceed to drink a quart of good Canadian Whiskey every day for two weeks!”
Otherwise, he warned, “the blasted thing would take a full 14 DAYS to get over . . .”
I can’t vouch for Grand Dad’s Rx, except to tell you he died at the age of 86 - the way I want to . . . quietly, and in his sleep - not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
Every one, it seems, has a pet cure for the flu.
In the Ukraine, the traditional use of onions and garlic are popular. They may not cure the flu, but they do encourage social distancing.
Personally, I’m a chicken soup, kinda guy. It may not have proved very healthy for the chicken . . . but I think it is probably good for you. (Whiskey chaser optional)
Of course, it is far better not to get the flu, than to try to `cure it’. And `cure’ is the wrong word. Once you’ve got it, the best you can hope for is to make it easier to endure.
Since I make a lousy patient (medics, nurses, and doctors are notoriously bad patients), my main strategy is to avoid catching the virus.
And so I get the flu shot every year.
I’ve already had my seasonal shot, and I’ll take the H1N1 as soon as it is offered.
The Web is filled with offers for potions and lotions and devices and pills to prevent the flu, or to treat it if you already have it. Experts warn that most of these will do little but empty your wallet . . . and a few could actually cause you harm.
This from The Canadian press.
Experts say don't fall for swine flu 'cures' or myths, stick with flu shot
By Pat Hewitt (CP) – 3 hours ago
TORONTO — Pop a vitamin, ban doctors' neckties, vacuum away swine flu germs and smoke an e-cigarette to ward off H1N1.
Those are just some of the suggestions making the rounds on the Internet that have health officials and experts shaking their heads.
The Web is awash with dubious advice and various flu kits for sale as H1N1 deaths continue to rise, vaccine shortages force clinics to close and officials find themselves unable to provide a hard date for when the general public can get their flu shot.
The message from experts to those tempted to buy into such schemes - don't.
Dr. Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Toronto's Mount Sinai hospital, chuckles when he hears about some of the alternative remedies, including one that suggests putting onions around the house, like a farmer did with the Spanish flu in 1918, to absorb the virus.
"Well in 1918, what could you do? You had little else. Unfortunately that doesn't make any biological sense and there's been no scientific evidence that such a thing would actually work," said Low.
"It sounds kind of cute and might be a little obnoxious to have to have peeled onions around the house."
Still, questionable cures are so commonplace that Health Canada and the Competition Bureau were compelled last Wednesday to issue a warning advising people not to purchase products claiming to fight or prevent swine flu.
Health Canada said it was monitoring the Internet and would take action against Canadian websites selling unauthorized products.
I will admit that I’m not quite as dismissive of things like a little extra Vitamin D, or C during flu season as the doctor in this article, but I certainly wouldn’t rely on them to protect me against the flu.
Most of the flu supplies I’ve seen advertised online have either been of dubious value, or horribly overpriced.
So the best advice is caveat emptor.
And get your flu shot.
You should also ask your doctor if the 23-valent pneumococcal (Pneumovax) vaccine is appropriate for you.
CDC Issues Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations
