# That Flu going around **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 5, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536 "2000-01-05T01:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/1 "2000-01-05T01:59:00Z")
Don’t know about your area, but hospitals in Monterye County, Laguna Beach are FULL or flu patients. Way too many. Nasty strain going around seems very very contagious. The Flu shot this year covers it, however. whew. On the news they said to wash you hands A LOT but I thought flus are transfered thru the air thru droplets…thus, avoid people who cough, right? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/2 "2000-01-05T02:04:00Z")
I had a nasty flu (still recovering) for most of the holidays… very icky, don’t recommend it to anyone. * * * – Teeming Millions: [http://fathom.org/teemingmillions](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions) “Meat flaps, yellow!” - DrainBead, naked co-ed Twister chat O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![Christabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Christabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christabel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/3 "2000-01-05T02:05:00Z")
I’m in Northeast Missouri. There has been alot of it going around here as well. Some how we have been lucky to avoid it to this point. I had intentions of getting a flu shot but didn’t get around to it. I hope I don’t end up regretting that. ---
**Author:** ![lvick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d07c76/32.png) [@lvick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lvick)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/4 "2000-01-05T03:39:00Z")
Well, let’s see, I had the flu shot and still got pretty sick. Out 2 days before X-mas and still recovering. 'Course I work in an ER and probably got exposed out the wazoo. On the other hand, I hear that the standard flu shot is only about 85% effective, so it’s still a bit of a crap shoot. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/5 "2000-01-05T03:41:00Z")
I’m in the Thumb area of Michigan. There’s an ucky bug here, too. Some folks are getting the full-blown flu, some are just getting a really bad cold. Four people in my office were out with the flu over the holidays. My 10-month-old nephew had the bad cold at Christmas, and my 2 year old daughter caught it. OJ, water, Dimetapp & Motrin seemed to take care of it for the kids. I don’t have it…yet. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/6 "2000-01-05T16:18:00Z")
Flu shots take about two weeks to go into effect. They are usually a mix of the four most common or dangerous flu strains. That is four viruses, not one. There are always a dozen or so strains out there so you can still get the flu even if you get a shot. ‘Flu’ like ‘cold’ is a group not a specific virus. ---
**Author:** ![Melatonin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Melatonin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melatonin)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/7 "2000-01-05T16:24:00Z")
I got my flu in Florida and personally delivered it to central Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/8 "2000-01-05T16:32:00Z")
Flu? Yesterday in Toledo five hospitals closed their emergency rooms for anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. They said they had too many patients to serve properly and diverted ambulances to other hospitals. However, they were still accepting walk-in patients. Does this seem a bit backwards to anyone else? Wouidn’t it be more likely that someone arriving in an ambulance is in more serious need of medical attention than a walk-in? * * * Easy one-step assembly instructions. Pour **Beer A** in **Uncle B**. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/9 "2000-01-05T17:30:00Z")
Sounds reasonable Unclebeer but consider that someone in an ambulance will get to a different hospital quicker than the walk in and is already being monitored. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/10 "2000-01-05T17:52:00Z")
I’m in California, too (San Diego), and it’s hit hard here as well. Both my kids got it, then I got it, then my husband got it–and he did have a flu shot at least a month earlier. ---
**Author:** ![missdavis102](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7feea3/32.png) [@missdavis102](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missdavis102)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2000, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/11 "2000-01-05T19:01:00Z")
I think my flu experience started in Alabama, went with me to Austin over Thanksgiving (when I actually succumbed and felt like death), then returned with me (and I continued to feel like death for another few days). I didn’t completely feel like myself for a month. I hear it’s bad this year - it sure felt awful - and I sympathise with anyone who suffers it. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/12 "2000-01-06T11:22:00Z")
Several classmates and I went to New Orleans for NYE, where someone managed to pick up a case of walking pneumonia and transmit it to everyone in the van. When I e-mailed the dean for an excused absence, she said, “So you rode home on the Mycoplasma Express, too, huh?” Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![eden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f9b8f/32.png) [@eden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eden)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/13 "2000-01-06T22:36:00Z")
Humph. I am just starting to feel better after my New Year’s guests brought the flu to me. I am just kicking myself for not getting a flu shot. I am wondering if there’s any way to make mucus production profitable…black market mucus? I also actually caught myself wondering whether it is possible for your sinus cavities to explode (implode?) inside your head. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2000, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-flu-going-around/12536/14 "2000-01-07T00:41:00Z")
Eden: Yes, it is possible for a sinus cavity “explosion,” of sorts. I don’t remember all the details, but this happened to a woman who works in my office, a couple of years ago. She was in the hospital for a couple of months, and it was touch-and-go for a couple fo weeks. She was off work for well over a year. It was scary.