The flu, or influenza, is that inescapable disease every one of us has caught at least once in their lives. Scientists have yet to figure out why some people catch the flu while others don’t or why the symptoms range in severity from one person to another. In this article we will shed light on some of the myths about the flu people believe in.
1- The youth (children) and the elderly are much more prone to the flu. Adolescents and people in their 20s and 30s don’t catch the flu so often. What’s true is, when your immunity system is not strong enough and you are infected with the flu virus, you will catch the flu whether you are old or weak or not.
2- Flu shots can infect you with the flu. People came to believe this myth because our bodies take time to develop the antibodies after taking the vaccine, and you can catch the flu during that time.
3- Having an upset stomach, diarrhea or nausea symptoms may very well mean you have the flu. Sometimes you have gastrointestinal pains as a side symptom of the flu. However, if you have these symptoms on their own without flu’s other symptoms, then you might be suffering from something other than the flu.
4- You should not get the flu vaccine if you are pregnant. This is another myth sprouting from the one that says that flu shots infect you with the flu. On the contrary, a woman with child should take a flu shot to protect herself and her unborn child.
5- If you wash your hands often enough, you will not get the flu. Well, washing your hands guarantees that germs and viruses don’t get to your mouth through the food you hold with your hands. However, influenza can be airborne as well. And even if you wash your hands often, you can get the flu once you sit for a few minutes close to someone who has it.
6- Flu vaccines are worthless if you already have the flu. On the contrary, flu vaccines can stop death or sever sickness that can happen because of the flu. And yes, you CAN die or get hospitalized because of the flu.
7- If you get the flu, take antibiotics to be cured. Any type of flu is a virus. Antibiotics treat bacteria. They don’t treat viruses.