Men suffer more: flu facts and myths



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1. Children are more contagious: fact

Young children make more viruses, secrete more viral particles and do it longer than other age groups. They are therefore not only more contagious, but also contagious longer. Adults are contagious on average three to five days after the first symptoms, children can stay until seven contagious days .

2. Influenza vaccine does not protect against influenza 100%: done

Get vaccinated against influenza? That's the question. Those who get vaccinated can still get the flu. Indeed, the creators of the vaccine must estimate months in advance the variants of influenza encountered in the winter which is almost impossible to predict. Dutch research from last year showed that between 2003 and 2014 seven of eleven times had a different type of virus than the vaccine against. In these cases, the efficiency was only 20%. While vaccine manufacturers predict the strains well, the efficiency is also at most 60%.

Still is that 20 to 60% is always better at the lack of protection. In any case, the influenza vaccine reduces the risk of getting the flu and protects it from its serious consequences. If you have the flu despite the sting, it is often less severe and less likely to cause pneumonia or heart problems. And the likelihood that your condition worsens because of the flu is smaller. If it does not work, then you could not hurt yourself. Especially for "at-risk groups" – children, people over 60 and people with certain diseases or disorders (for which the jab is free) – the sting is recommended because they are more likely to become seriously ill. influenza. The best time to get the jab is between mid-October and mid-November. The puncture takes about two weeks to protect against the flu and the protection lasts about six months.

3. The flu is more serious in men: fable

Depending on how they behave when they are sick, women warm up and apologize about themselves and as if their last hour had been beaten, it seems obvious: the flu virus must hurry more severe strike in men. Scientists said a few years ago that this may well be the case but came back later. In an experiment in Sweden the only striking difference between men and women with flu symptoms was that men sighed more often. And that was obvious even without research.

4. You can catch the flu by catching colds: fable

"Dress warmly, otherwise you'll catch cold," we hear from the beginning. But being sick of a cold is a persistent misunderstanding. The fact that we mainly contract influenza in winter is due to the fact that we are much more indoors, in offices and poorly ventilated spaces. The influenza virus can spread without being disturbed. In addition, the flu virus multiplies more easily at low temperatures, so it stays active longer in winter.

However, your warm outfit is not completely absurd because you are more susceptible to infections if you are cold. Your body is so busy keeping warm that it is at the expense of your resistance. In addition, the blood vessels of your airways – where viruses enter – shrink when you are cold. As a result, fewer immune cells are pumped into the airways and viruses are more likely to multiply. But it is not true that you can contract the flu (or cold) virus only in the cold.

5. You can catch the flu twice in one season: done

One flu is not another. Since there are different variants of the influenza virus each season, you can theoretically use more than one and therefore get sick twice. In practice, it is almost impossible because after this first infection, your body is extremely attentive to intruders. If you just heal from the flu, the airways will strengthen in no time if a new virus tries to enter. It takes a lot of bad luck to be hit twice in a row.

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