Before I go on to my next blizzard-day task (I have already vacuumed some carpeting; cooked lunch; will soon make a batch of apple/plum jelly from the juices I have canned the past summer for a much-belated Christmas gift for Dear Ones we shall see tomorrow)…but first I have to blog about two items that are rumbling around in my mind under the category of "ruminations".
Today’s local news included an item about some meningitis cases that proved to be antibiotic resistant and that is very bad news. It brings up one of my Big Issues which got hatched when I was doing extensive research on extremely large livestock confinement operations in our state and elsewhere. One problem with such livestock operations is the need to use massive amounts of antibiotics in the livestock feed just to keep the animals reasonably "healthy" if one can call being constantly dosed with antibiotics, healthy. One side effect of this is that antibiotic residues are present in the meats we eat and this contributes to further antibiotic resistance to bacteria that attack humans such as meningitis. The horrendous overuse of antibiotics by Medical Doctors over a long period of years is another contributing factor to resistance. Giving out antibiotics to patients who demand "medicine" for any small ailment has led to people becoming resistant to many antibiotics when they might really be needed. There is a case, regionally, of a child having meningitis and the disease did not respond to the usual antibiotics needed to cure the dangerous menigeal disease in humans.
Another item which I heard on a radio or TV news report had to do with the REAL start of the "flu season" announced by the national health authorities located in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the sort of "flu" (the bronchial, high- fever, ache- all- over, headachy flu) for which we are urged to seek flu vaccine each year….the messages in the fall are very urgent and people usually flock to get their annual flu vaccination. I have never "flocked" for such a vaccine, after getting really sick once from the shot. I decided then and there, that I would study alternative ways to build my own immunity and have been very successful avoiding this "hard flu" for years. In the news item I heard last night, the Center For Disease Control has announced that, with the real beginning of the flu season, there are several kinds of "flu" for which the vaccine won’t do a thing to prevent. Surprise! Surprise! but I am NOT surprised. That is one of the issues on which I based my decision NOT to take the yearly flu shot….the CDC has to guess what flu variety will make its appearance and are really making a stab in the dark when they decide on the vaccine to use in a given year. Now there are a couple of flus that are not covered by this year’s vaccine. Not a surprise to me!!!! I have come to rely on an over- the- counter product developed by a school teacher; it is a homeopathic remedy called "Airborne" and it just knocked out a developing "cold" for me about 10 days ago; that, along with Sambucol, an elderberry extract syrup developed by a Virologist are my mainline defenses against winterflu and colds. Eating daily servings of "live bacteria" yogurt seems to protect me from any forms of "stomach flu" as I have not had that particular misery for many years either and that happened after I started using live bacteria yogurt on a daily basis many years ago. EAting a lot of fruits and vegetables high in Vitamin C and A is also most helpful.
B.G. and I will begin taking Airborne doses this week about two days before we travel on an airliner; this is recommended by the developer of Airborne since the air circulation systems on airliners are "closed" and you get to breathe in any coughs or sneezes emitted by half-sick fellow passengers. I have used Airborne before flights several times in the past two years since I learned about the product, and have never gotten an infection on a flight but I have relatives who have gotten some very bad "bugs" on airline flights. We are not taking any chances… as we intend to fully enjoy our short winter vacation as much as we can!!!
Now there is another item to take care of on this Blizzard-ey Day: a "break" to be taken in the recliner with the daily crossword puzzle (the faithful rural mailman delivered the mail in the storm) and possibly a little refreshing nap? (I hope)
