flu

Flu Spreads By Who Kids Play With, Not Sit Near
By Ben Popken on February 8, 2011 2:00 PM  
A new study debunks some commonly held believes about how kids pass on the flu to other kids, and to their parents, NYT reports. More »

CDC Will Probably Advise Flu Shots For Everyone This Fall
By Chris Walters on February 25, 2010 3:00 PM  
An advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control has recommended that everyone get flu vaccinations from now on, not just people in special higher risk groups. According to WebMD, "the CDC almost certainly will make universal flu vaccination official U.S. policy for this fall's 2010-2011 flu season, as it consistently follows the advice of the panel of outside experts." More »

H1N1 Phishing Email Making The Rounds
By Chris Walters on December 4, 2009 10:59 AM  
The Centers for Disease Control have issued a warning that there's a new, swine flu-themed phishing email going around. It says something about an imaginary State Vaccination H1N1 Program, and asks you to create an account on the cdc.gov website—and if you click the link, malicious code may be installed on your system. Obviously you have brain worms if you fall for this. More »

No Rebooking For People With H1N1 , So, You Know, Good Luck Flying
By Meg Marco on November 23, 2009 1:59 PM  

—>When I look at flight attendants I do not see mere mortals. I see heroic flying immune systems. When the zombificating superflu does eventually strike, those who survive will no doubt be ruled by former flight attendants and elementary school teachers. In the meantime, they'll somehow continue working in a "flying petri dish" as some airlines continue to refuse H1N1 as an excuse to rebook.  More »

The Dumb Health Scare Gadget
By Chris Walters on November 19, 2009 7:02 PM  

—>Quick, give Hammacher Schlemmer $70 + shipping so you can bring one of these magic H1N1 wand obliterators with you on Black Friday! The "technology for people who don't get technology" catalogue explains that the wand's UV light will kill "99.98%" of H1N1 viruses after you hold it 3/4" above a surface for at least 5 seconds. That's certainly convenient. Just carry it with you and use it on doors, boxes, shopping carts, and of course the cashier's hands before you accept any change. Be sure to bring an adapter for your car, however, because it only lasts about 90 minutes after an 8-hour charge.  More »

You Can Make Your Own Liquid Tamiflu At Home
By Laura Northrup on November 12, 2009 6:59 PM  

—>G.'s young son was recently ill with H1N1, but no pharmacy in the city where he lives had liquid Tamiflu in stock. (Even the federal government released its stockpile not long ago.) He writes that nearly every pharmacy he called turned him down. Then he learned that the liquid can be made from Tamiflu capsules by pharmacists, or even by parents at home. Why didn't the pharmacy staff, or his doctor, tell him this?  More »

Iowa Feline Catches Swine Flu
By Laura Northrup on November 6, 2009 8:15 PM  

—>When you're home sick, snuggling with a pet can have tremendous healing powers. "Plus," you might say to yourself, "at least Fluffy can't catch this awful swine flu I have." Well....not so fast. It's not common, but a cat in Iowa has been diagnosed with, and recovered from, swine flu.  More »

Least Delicious Halloween Treat: H1N1 Virus
By Laura Northrup on October 31, 2009 8:00 PM  

—>As trick-or-treating time looms, we'd like to take this opportunity to remind you: BOO!!! SWINE FLU!   More »

Swine Flu Self-Assessment Saves You Worrying
By Chris Walters on October 9, 2009 7:08 PM  

—>Do you have H1N1 flu? Probably! Aaaugghh! But before you haul your feverish butt to a clinic or a doctor, consider taking this free online flu self-assessment test from Emory University. It probably could have been combined into a one-page flowchart, but that's not as much fun as pressing YES/NO buttons.  More »

Find Flu Shot, Cheap Generics With Medtipster
By Chris Walters on September 29, 2009 7:19 PM  

—>Medtipster is a website that locates nearby sources of discount generic versions of prescription drugs, as well as flu and other immunization shots. You enter the drug (or shot) you're looking for and your zip code and it spits out a list of nearby pharmacies. Currently they don't list H1N1 vaccination sources, but they say they're going to add that info as soon as it becomes available.  More »

Reminder: Ingesting Silver Does Not Cure Anthrax Or Swine Flu
By Laura Northrup on September 11, 2009 7:56 PM  

—>Sure, there are plenty of websites out there touting colloidal silver as a miracle cure for every disease in existence. This would be great if it actually worked. Now that flu season looms and H1N1/swine flu panic has returned to the nation, Consumer Reports Health would like to remind you that no, you can't cure chronic or communicable diseases with colloidal silver. Plus, it might turn your skin blueMore »

Trade Walgreens Hippie Cold/Flu Remedy For Actual Flu Shot
By Laura Northrup on August 4, 2009 11:15 AM  

—>First, there was Airborne. Then there was Rite-Aid's house brand version of Airborne. Now, the Walgreens brand of homeopathic cold and flu remedy was also the subject of a class action lawsuit, and the settlement is at hand.  More »

$500,000 In Consumer Refunds From Rite Aid After False Cold Remedy Advertising Suit
By Laura Northrup on July 14, 2009 11:41 PM  

—>Remember the class-action lawsuit against the makers of cold-and-flu-preventing magic potion Airborne? Airborne claimed that it could prevent or shorten colds and flus, without any actual scientific evidence to back those claims up.  More »

Carnival Cruises Is So Over That Swine Flu Thing
By Carey Alexander on May 16, 2009 5:00 PM  

—>Pack up your maracas, Carnival is returning to Mexico! The cruise line wasn't happy with putzing off the California coast, and the CDC says that swine flu isn't deadly enough to keep us out of Mexico forever. By the end of the month, souvenir-seeking Americans will again be able to down margaritas and scoop up trinkets in Cabo, Cozumel, and Puerto Vallarta.  More »

Can You Get Swine Flu From A Dollar Bill? "A study published by Swiss researchers shows that an infectious virus can survive for three days on bank notes, and 17 days 'in the presence of respiratory mucus.'" [Consumer Reports MoneyMore »

Monitor Swine Flu With Zero Media Hype
By Ben Popken on May 6, 2009 7:22 PM  

—>Trancy.net is a news aggregator that keeps track of the swine flu but removes all the media hype, leaving just the data. The best-part are the auto-updating graphs fed with WHO (World Health Organization) data showing confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, and number of countries reporting confirmed cases.  More »

Important Announcement: Drugstore Has Tamiflu; Commence Panicking
By Laura Northrup on May 4, 2009 9:53 PM  

—>Anticipating a swine flu/H1N1 panic in your workplace, school, or airplane? Walgreens in Colleyville, TX has you covered.  More »

Swine Flu Household Cleaning Tips From The CDC If someone at your home has contracted swine flu, prevent its further spread by following the advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Consumer Reports HealthMore »

The WSJ Health Blog is live blogging the CDC H1N1 flu update. [WSJMore »

Here's why you don't rely solely on Twitter for news about health scares. [xkcd] (Thanks to Rebecca!)  More »