From the web master…..Although this is from the September issue of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, it still valuable information…..

The high-dose flu vaccine may trigger a greater immune response against the virus in adults ages 65 and over and may increase protection against the flu.

For some older women, the flu is far more than a fever and sniffles that sidelines them for a few days. It can lead to serious complications like bronchitis and pneumonia. The flu can also worsen existing conditions such as heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. A higher-dose flu vaccine has been available since 2009 for adults 65 and over, but questions remain as to whether it can protect better than the traditional vaccine, according to the September 2014, Harvard Women’s Health Watch.

The high-dose vaccine is called Fluzone High-Dose. Like the regular-dose flu vaccine, it contains the three flu strains experts believe will be most abundant in the upcoming flu season. But it also contains four times the usual amount of immune-stimulating antigens against the virus.

Should people over 65 get the high-dose vaccine? It’s an area of debate and discussion, and so worth talking about with your physician, says Dr. Elisa Choi, a clinical instructor in population medicine at Harvard Medical School and an infectious disease specialist at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.

Some studies have found that the high-dose vaccine stimulates a higher immune system response in the lab, but it isn’t yet clear whether that translates into better protection against the flu in the real world.

The high-dose vaccine also comes with some downsides worth considering: more pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, as well as body-wide side effects like muscle pain, headache, and fever. Most of these effects are mild and short-lived.

There are currently no official recommendations advising seniors to switch to the high-dose flu vaccine.

The type of vaccine isn’t nearly as important as getting vaccinated as early in the flu season as possible. Flu outbreaks can start in October, and it takes two weeks after getting the shot for the body to produce antibodies against the virus. Some people hold off on vaccination out of concern that the protection wanes over time, but the shot should provide protection for the entire flu season.

Read the full-length article: “Time for your flu vaccine: Do you need a higher dose?”

Also in the September 2014 issue of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch:

* 8 creative ways to avoid too much sitting

* Tips to improve memory

* What to do about thinning hair

Harvard Women’s Health Watch is available from Harvard Health Publications, the publishing division of Harvard Medical School, for $20 per year. Subscribe at http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/womens or by calling 877-649-9457 (toll-free).

– Courtesy of PRWeb