The Spanish Flu

[Psyborg]

SO I was watching a show on TV the other night about the Spanish Flu (around World War I time frame). They said it had always been a mystery why the flu killed healthier people. But recently they studied it and found that the flu did this because the healthier people's immune systems killed them. Just found that a bit fascinating, and got me wondering if this might link back to some of our friends who felt their original onset was due to a flu vaccination. I know that there was talk when H1N1 was getting more prevalent that it was a similar virus to the Spanish flu. Just makes a fella wonder :)

[mishb]

Have you got too much time on your hands Bob?? :flapper: :lol:

Only joking, it could be feasible that it is all related - why not. I was certainly prevalent in WWII, so it could have been way earlier as well.
Interesting

[Dirty Don]

...residual from the bubonic plague...

[me2]

I've pondered the same question. I was in Hong Kong two weeks before SARS broke out in the EXACT neighborhood where it happened. So, I kind of followed that whole thing after returning home to Seattle. An interesting thing that popped up was that some doctors were saving patients by giving them massive doses of prednisone. Much larger than you would give for anything else. It wasn't the virus that was killing people but their immune response.
Still here is what wikipedia says about using pred for SARS ". The administration of corticosteroids such as prednisone during viral infections has been controversial. Lymphopenia can also be a side effect of corticosteroids, even further decreasing the immune response and allowing a spike in the viral load, yet physicians must balance the need for the anti-inflammatory treatment of corticosteroids (Murphy 2008)."

So some treatments are controversial

[Debbie C]

Well I don't think I'll be getting the flu shot again. I never had it until last year and the reumy at C.C. talked me into it. And then what ahppens if you get the flu and are already on pred ?

[drz]

Well I don't think I'll be getting the flu shot again. I never had it until last year and the reumy at C.C. talked me into it. And then what ahppens if you get the flu and are already on pred ?

Depends upon your current health status and your history for doctors to make an educated guess. My expert at Mayo said I was more likely to die from the flu than from a flare and he felt the odds for me, given my history, that I was better off getting the flu shot with a slight chance of fare than surviving the flu if I got it. The odds of the flu shot helping you decrease a lot as you age but the odds of older people dying from flu also increase even more.

[freakyschizogirl]

I watched the film Contagion when it came out and I have to say I got a mini huff half way through when I realised i'd probably be among the first to die! Would like to think there may be a benefit to our funky immune systems. I also watched World War Z when it came out recently and was pleased when the outcome of the film was revealed ( I wont spoil it now incase people want to see it and haven't). I know these are fictional scenarios but it really does ram home how precious life is and in one breath it could be gone

[norcalian]

An interesting thing that popped up was that some doctors were saving patients by giving them massive doses of prednisone. Much larger than you would give for anything else. It wasn't the virus that was killing people but their immune response.

When I was being treated for PCP my Rheumy had me on 40mg of pred (which happened to be about the dose I was on at that time anyway). He said that it was necessary to inhibit the immune system's response to the toxins released by the bugs as they were dying. Anyway - I remember reading that with the Spanish Flu the fatal responses were due to the immune systems overreaction to the disease. I believe they call it a Cytokine Storm.