Older people who are refusing the annual flu vaccine – this year with swine flu vaccine included – are instead turning to natural remedies to protect themselves.
They are using everything from herbal mixtures, ginger and lemon drinks to help ward off the seasonal flu.
Take-up rate of the latest flu jab is lower than usual, especially in the Far East, and so a team of researchers surveyed nine countries – including the UK, Canada, China, Brazil and Nigeria – to find out why.
Most who had refused the vaccine believed that they could avoid the flu by having a healthy immune system, and the way they improved that depended on their own traditions of natural medicines. Some consumed steamed pears, others rubbed a coin or had a soothing head massage, and some ate a concoction of cheese, yoghurt and honey.
One thing’s for sure – they are all a better bet than the chemical mix of flu and untested swine flu vaccine being offered this year.
(Source: Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2010; 66: 2297).
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