A Dose of Reality

This just in! According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Influenza levels in the U.S. have hit “epidemic” levels and are continuing to rise! So much for the Ebola frenzy and media scare from earlier this year even though Fox News still has their Ebola map and timeline updating live on their website with 19,570 cases worldwide. However, They even have an influenza outbreak map up now for the United States…it’s basically just a map of the U.S. colored completely red…because the flu, unlike Ebola, is everywhere! And can affect anywhere from 5 to 20% of the total U.S. population…annually!

Already this year the proportion of deaths reported in 122 American cities from flu and pneumonia so far has surpassed the typical level for late December at 6.8 percent which is the “epidemic threshold” set by the federal health agency. That means that 6.8% of all those who have the flu are dying from the flu…that’s some very sobering info when you consider that 3 people with Ebola had Americans running for cover and politicians calling for quarantines worldwide. On average, there are about 36,000 flu deaths per year in the United States alone!

The CDC has also warned that the H3N2 strain that’s circulating is linked to flu that’s more severe than usual, with already 10 times more cases this year than usual…and Health officials are also recommending people who catch the flu to ask their doctor for an antiviral, such as Tamiflu. But even antivirals can pose a risk for side effects according to the FDA.

So what to do? Well, for one, be careful out there! Stop worrying about sensational media driven diseases and worry about very real, unglamorous, and not very TV sexy diseases like the flu, which are with us everyday and everywhere and always have been. And take care of yourself and be mindful of others around you. Wash your hands, cough into your sleeves and stay home when you are feeling sick…and perhaps most importantly…when it comes to your health just remember to get real…and stay that way!