Flu Pandemic? Reason to Panic? (short answer no)

It's difficult to turn on a radio or television today without seeing something about the H1N1 virus and the global scare. There are critics standing on one fencepost after another telling people what they should do to prevent this flu from taking over the world. So here is my take on what's going on.

The H1N1 virus is going around. It started last spring and took on the very intimidating name "the Swine Flu" that's because it is an adapted virus that began in pigs and now finds itself virulent (or able to live and cause harm) in humans. With the cooler weather coming back and children congregating in schools it is riling up again. Fortunately it is a fairly weak virus and MOST people who contract this virus will easily fight it off.
My wife is a middle school teacher and picked up the flu on her third day back in classes. she felt a little sick on Thursday night, was miserable Friday, and Saturday felt mostly fine with a little left-over cough. The following Wednesday she went to her medical doctor for the cough which had worsened and was given a flu test, where she was told that if it was positive then she had the H1N1 flu and if it were negative then there was a 50% chance she had the H1N1 flu, and because that's the only flu that has really started up around here yet it's likely she had it anyway.
So why do I write about this? Because people are scared, and think this is the end of civilized society as we know it. It's not. How did my wife get over the flu so quickly? I feel it's because when she started getting sick I adjusted her Thursday night, Friday morning, Friday afternoon, Friday before bed, and Saturday afternoon. Getting adjusted helps your body to function at its optimal peak and allows the immune system to do its job. No matter what you hear about a miracle medication or vaccine it is only your immune system that will defeat the virus. This is not the first Epidemic of flu that we’ve seen here in this country. An interesting bit of historical information crossed my desk yesterday that I thought I might share with you. It’s from a book by Walter C Rhodes, DC and it quoted below.
1918 Influenza Epidemic Records from Walter C. Rhodes, DC
"The Official History of Chiropractic in Texas," by Walter C. Rhodes, DC, states chiropractic care came into its own during the 1918 influenza epidemic. The following statistics from his chiropractic records leave no doubt chiropractic care offers value for influenza and pandemic preparedness. Pandemic Preparedness from Chiropractic Records of 1918 Influenza Epidemic: IOWA During the 1918 influenza epidemic, Davenport, Iowa, medical doctors treated 4,953 influenza cases with 274 deaths. At the same time, 150 chiropractors, students and faculty of Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 cases during the influenza epidemic with only one death. The state of Iowa reports medical doctors treated 93,590 influenza patients with 6,116 deaths or one out of 15. The rest of the state, except for Davenport, reported 4,735 patients treated by chiropractor care with a loss of 6 which is 1 out of 789 during the influenza epidemic.”
So what does this show? (personally I love the “leave no doubt claim” because of course there is some doubt, but It’s been my experience that being under chiropractic care helps my body’s immune system function better and overcome many of the biological challenges that It’s faced since I began getting adjusted. But think back to my wife’s experience. Why did she go to the Dr? because her body wasn’t able to overcome the bacterial infection that had taken this opportunity to set up house in her lungs and she needed some extra help. I think that’s important to note. Chiropractic is great, and I’ve seen it do amazing things for myself and patients in my office, but it’s part of a total healthy lifestyle solution. Not the end all be all of healthcare.
So call Hahn Family Chiropractic today and let me help your body function at it’s best to help you though the cold and flu season, and if you’re already a happy chiropractic patient, take a moment to call or write your house representative or senator and make sure you have access to chiropractic care with whatever decisions are made for national health care. You’ll be glad you did.

Chiropracticly yours
Dr. Eric