Flu vaccines come in two forms: a shot and a nasal spray (marketed as FluMist). The main difference is that the spray contains weakened live virus and the shot contains killed virus. Both forms are effective, but the spray is not recommended for...
Flu treatments won't get rid of the virus, but they can relieve the symptoms. Some treatments can even shorten the length of time the flu virus spends in your body. Stay home from work, school or other public activities if you have the flu. You...
Influenza ("the flu") is a contagious disease with symptoms such as fever, chills, cough, fatigue, and muscle pain. Flu vaccines protect against flu infection, and are formulated yearly to provide protection despite seasonal changes in the virus....
According to the CDC, 5 to 20 percent of the United States population get the flu every year. In addition, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized, and around 36,000 people die every year due to flu-related complications. Besides getting a flu...
Flu-related complications result in over 35,000 deaths each year according to the website flu.gov. For this reason the Centers for Disease Control recommends vaccination as the best way to protect yourself from catching this virus. The live flu...
The flu, also known as influenza, is a contagious illness that primarily targets the respiratory system. It is caused by influenza viruses.The symptoms may be mild to severe and even cause death. Individuals at risk for more severe symptoms...
The flu virus is highly contagious and can affect anywhere from 5 to 20 percent of those in the U.S. each year, according Flu.gov. While most healthy people easily recover from the flu, others develop serious complications that, in some cases,...
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 5 to 20 percent of the US population catches influenza ("the flu") every year, and about 36,000 cases end in death. Fortunately, vaccines are available that provide protection from the seasonal...
Influenza, or the flu, is caused by a virus and is easily spread by person-to-person contact. The symptoms may be displayed as a cold, but the flu is a respiratory infection that can cause a mild to severe illness and can lead to other problems,...
Seasonal flu sidelines millions of Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Your best bet for avoiding this fate is to get a seasonal flu vaccine every year, advises the CDC. The flu shot is safe for...
Pregnant and breastfeeding women run an increased risk of developing complications from the flu virus and as such, their doctors may recommend that they take an influenza virus vaccine. Flu Mist is an influenza virus vaccine given to children and...
The flu is a contagious respiratory disease caused by infection with an influenza virus. Each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu affects 5 to 20 percent of Americans. Some people, such as the elderly,...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2008, seasonal flu results in more than 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths each year. Getting a yearly seasonal flu vaccine, the CDC says, is the first and most important...
The drugs available for the swine flu include antiviral medications to help fight against the virus, and vaccinations to help prevent the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...
The nasal flu spray is used to prevent influenza virus infection. Each year the vaccine is prepared using live influenza virus materials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests the mist exposes the body to a small dose of...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu vaccine is effective in 70 to 90 percent of healthy adults under 65 years of age, providing that the flu strain matches the flu shot composition. The vaccine administered...
The traditional flu vaccine is given through a shot. This vaccine is inactive (dead) and usually enters the body through a needle into the arm. There is also a nasal spray vaccine that contains live virus and can be sprayed into the patient's...
The annual or seasonal flu vaccine is highly recommended for nearly all individuals, according to the Mayo Clinic. Each year health officials create a vaccine that is thought to immunize people against viruses expected to cause the flu, or...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends influenza vaccinations for almost everyone over the age of six months for the 2010-2011 flu season. The intranasal, or nasal spray, form of the vaccine contains three strains...
"You're just going to feel a little prick now." Said by many nurses prior to administering a flu vaccine, this may underestimate the real pain felt by flu vaccine recipients during and after administration. According to the Centers for Disease...
Seasonal flu and H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines are available in the United States in intramuscular injection ("flu shot") and intranasal (nasal spray) forms. While the exact ingredients will differ slightly depending on the company that manufactured...
The flu can be more dangerous for pregnant women and can affect the pregnancy itself. Severe illness can stress the fetus, and it's hard to track the effects of the flu on a fetus or diagnose whether or not it is infected. The flu vaccine cannot...
Swine flu, which is also referred to as 2009 H1N1, is a contagious influenza virus that was first detected in the United States in April 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although there is no specific...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend the annual flu vaccine as the first and most important step towards reducing the risk of seasonal influenza. The flu vaccine is available in two forms: the flu shot and a nasal spray....
Swine flu is the common name for the novel influenza A virus H1N1, first identified in March 2009. According to the World Health Organization, swine flu became a pandemic, with cases reported in more than 200 countries.
Swine flu, or H1N1 flu, consists of an influenza virus that occurred in pigs and then changed its genetic structure to infect humans. Symptoms of H1N1 flu, MedlinePlus indicates, are similar to the regular seasonal flu with fever, cough, sore...
The flu is a viral infection, not bacterial. It can be passed to others by coughing, sneezing, shaking hands or touching germs on a phone or door knob. Healthy adults are contagious for about 5 days after flu symptoms develop. Recognize the...
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains, vaccines work to stimulate the body's immune system. When a person gets infected by a virus, the body creates antibodies that are used to fight off that virus. Once the virus has been...