Flu Vaccination Is Needed For Cancer Patients

Flu Vaccination Is Needed For Cancer Patients.
People with cancer clad a higher gamble for serious flu-related complications, so getting vaccinated should be at the top of their to-do shopping list this winter, an expert says in Dec 2013. "The flu shot is recommended annually for cancer patients, as it is the most moving way to prevent influenza and its complications," Dr Mollie deShazo, an confidant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said in a front-page news release. "The flu vaccine significantly lowers the risk of acquiring the flu.

It is not 100 percent effective, but it is the best cut we have". Pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections and ear infections are examples of flu-related complications, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is recommended that anyone who has not done so already get a flu shot. Although this year's flu time is off to a quiet start nationally, the bevy of cases in the south-central United States is rapidly increasing, with five deaths already reported in Texas.

And the paramount strain of flu so far has been H1N1 "swine" flu, which triggered the pandemic flu in 2009, federal form officials said Thursday. "It takes up to two weeks to establish immunity after a flu shot, but you can benefit even if you get the vaccine after the flu has arrived in your community". She noted, however, that cancer patients should take the flu shot, not the flu mist.

And "Patients with cancer or who are undergoing chemotherapy should not get the flu dialect mizzle because it contains live flu virus and could lead to complications in patients with compromised protected systems ". Aside from getting a flu shot there are a number of ways cancer patients can advise protect themselves against the flu, including. Avoiding contact with anyone who might have the flu.

Washing your hands habitually with soap and water. Avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Requesting that order members and caregivers also receive the flu shot. The risk of flu-related complications decreases once it's determinate that patients are cancer-free tryvimax. "The longer patients are cancer-free, the discount their influenza complication risk, until it is no more than the risk of those who've never had the disease.