>> time for sunday hughes call. associate professor at nyu medical center and he has a ph.d. it's a fluke. he has written two books, swine flu the new pandemic and bird flu everything you want to know and need to know about the next pandemic. today we are going to talk about the flu. >> he's pretty good at this kind of thing, too. owe bought ticks at the mount sinai medical center. if only a surgical solution from the flu. we are all suffering. you got your ph.d. for taking care of everybody here. thank you very much. we are doing better. we want to talk about the levels which we are with the latest. there are reports we may be short on vaccines and short on tamiflu. >> i want to talk a couple minutes on the flew. ow side of david and i david did a great job on the flu yesterday. few things people are getting

the wrong idea about. flu is an epidemic every year for a certain period of time couple of weeks usually. maybe we have a more severe one this year we probably do but we won't know that for sure until the end of the year. that's the first thing. it's an epidemic. it is always an epidemic if we can shed a spotlight on the flu how it is a dangerous virus how it can kill and how it will cause other infections to march in like pneumonia, like bronchitis. second thing vaccines. i have been talking for ten years about getting a better flu vaccine. it's a billion dollars to get the research going. you need a different one every year. we have both been talking about how the centers of disease control says 62 percent effective. they a we are the only country in the world that does a test of the flu vaccine in the middle of the flu season to see how effective it is. they go around asking people did you go to a doctor for flu symptoms.

62 percent less likely you will go to the doctor with flu like symptoms meaning it decreases how severe you get the flu. >> they are working now on next year. how? >> as david was saying yesterday we are not really going to know how effective the vaccine is until april. we look back in the rearview mirror to say how will this help. we need a better vaccine. they are already working on the one next year. that's because they have to do it this way. we need one flu vaccine that lasts 10 years. third thing i want to say is people you may not have the flu. you may have something else. you were saying before we came on you were coughing. infant had a cold this week. everybody thinks they had a flu. it may not be the flu or you may have the flu and something else. you may have the flu and bronchitis and the flu and sore throat. >> now no one is going to come near me. i stayed home all week. it seems like rest was the only

thing that really helps. i hope you are feeling better. why wouldn't drug companies over produce a product like tamiflu or flu vaccine knowing they have epidemic levels? >> people are not listening. they are producing 135 million. we have 128. despite everything that is said they are not going to get vaccinated. maybe they are seeing it causes autism. there are a lot of myths out there. the virus cannot cause flu after you get the vaccine. i have a different perspective. we should do a belter job fda and other manufacturers should do better than 62 percent. we will find out in april it was only grated 52 percent of the time. bottom line is this flu virus is fluid and smart one. every year we are chasing it instead of getting it ahead of time.

it has something like antigen shift or grip. all of a sudden it can change and you have almost a completely new strain like a d 1 or a little bit different. now the vaccine will not work against it. the vaccine only has h1n1, h3 h2 and d it doesn't have a lot of other things. starting early this season they have a good vaccine not a great one only good in 62 percent. plus a lot of people aren't doing it now. if you are immuno compromised. >> one week don't get it with a lot of people. >> you have to stay at home if you are sick. you have to consult with your physician. you may not want to go to the

emergency room if you are having a fever if you are dehydrated you are a child and you have a behave change. one thing about the vaccine they are in the works in the pipeline there's a vaccine that targets the person in the middle of the flu virus. all flu viruses have this. this is a great vaccine. if it comes down the pipeline it will be 90-95 percent effective. >> tamiflu helped me. took it immediately. i took it westbouithin the firs 24-hours. there are some risks i took i wasn't sure if it was a common cold which is usually neck up or the real flu which is 103-104. i took it i got to get back to work. i took a lot of fluids. >> who suggested it? >> the professor. >> this guy was operating with intravenous. >> your suggestion is if you think you have the symptoms of the flu take tamiflu? >> talk to your doctor first fund out if you have common cold

or flu stay away from the er's. >> i want to learn more about tamiflu when we come back. how you can prevent from getting the flu unless you already have it. excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that?

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but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! >> we are back now. the flu and you. talked about this before getting advice from the doctors. what do you do if you think you are getting the flu or you don't have it how do you prevent it. you mentioned tamiflu. so far have been healthy. what do you do? >> i took a chance. i had to get back to work. i figured if it is the flu i assume it is the flu i started taking the tamiflu. i called mark i said what are

the side effects? mostly gi. it's an excellent question you have to decide whether it's a common cold or the flu. common cold usually has a lower fever usually congestion you have sore throat but your body aches are not as bad. flu is much more pronounced it really knocks you out. fever 103 and 104. severe body aches unproductive cough. i started taking tamiflu. there are side effects. tame you waat the same time you to get better you take sudafed andal seltzer. i am worried about the increasing toxicity and the effect of it on the liver. >> binge, binge, binge. i was wondering about this. if you look at the ingredients not everybody does they take it off the shelf.

acetaminophen nonprescription drug highly recommended has 625 or 650 milligrams of acetaminophen. that's higher than the normal company soules. if you take that as many as 12 capsules in 24-hours that's a lot of tylenol. >> with flu season everybody is loading up on the products. acid mid fin in 600 products. it is in more prescription drugs than any other chemical we have. 28 million people are saking acetaminophen alone stand alone but it's in 600 other products. >> it is bad for the live. >> terrible things for your liver. if you have more than 4,000 milligrams a day it's damaging to your liver. you don't need that if you are drinking alcohol or other sources. we have a big problem with this. children under 2 should not be taking it at all. if you are over 2 you should be eliminating it. i don't think you should be get

anything where near 4 grams of this stuff. >> 4 glams is about 8 pills. tylenol has 500 milligrams. it's about 8 pills which is what you are were saying. >> add up everything make sure you don't get 4,000. >> maybe you use ibuprofen one day and acetaminophen another. they are telling manufacturers we don't want more than 325 milligrams in there max numb. that's not enough. plenty of these products can add up with colds and flu. >> this is a very important point. if you take a lot of cold medicines percocet, vicodin the list goes on and on it adds up. you don't realize there's acetaminophen on this. you want to make it worse add alcohol to it and you are done. that's real liver toxicity.

abdominal pain nausea and vomiting. it you catch the toxicity in the first 8 hours what they do is doctors would put in and use gastric they wash the stomach and they give you some antidotes. >> charcoal. >> watch your levels and doctor segal what do you do if you think you are getting it? >> you do what he said you go to the emergency room right away. it's less than 2 percent fatal if we get it right away. it is the number one cause of acute liver damage in the united states. it is beating hepatitis now. >> don't mix medication and don't miss medication with alcohol. >> last word. >> as usual. >> meanwhile we are telling you about all of the things you can take with prescription and nonprescription. how about natural remedies. a lot of people want to go that route. the doctors are back with a look at some of the natural remedies to tell you which ones will give you much needed relief.

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>> back now with more on the flu and you. you know there are no cures for the common cold or the flu but there are natural remedies that

can be very effective. dr. seigel we have been talking about over the counter medications, going to the doctor, dealing with flu symptoms. what kind of natural remedies can actually help? >> one is something they used back in 1918 for the spanish flu. yellow jasmine. it is the name of a beautiful flower. it worked in 1918 but studies have not confirmed that. it is expected to cut down on death rates. >> what is it? >> josimion. >> the other thing? elder berry which has been studied in israel in 2004 and was found to decrease in a nice double blind study it decreased flu symptoms. elder berry is a possibility. the other one i found impress i is ginseng. there's a study in mice. looking at ginseng it increased

yo -- increased the amount of flu virus you had and i think it has potential for humans. if i were to do it now i would say ginseng tea and elder berry tea. i would not take this instead of tamiflu. not instead of a flu vaccine but it's an interesting thing to add. >> the only thing that comes close to tamiflu is ang go graphics. it is list of some the herbs up again. it shortens the period of flu. when it comes to echinacea there are mixed data. recently in december there was a great study that came out of switzerland it showed that echinacea can help you against cold and flu, et cetera. obviously ginger is a favorite one out of all of that because it not only causes antiinflammatories, it boosts your immune system.

that happens is our system breaks down from not getting enough sleep when the virus gets in it can shut it down. by boosting the immune system some of these herbals are m fantastic. you can look them up and purchase them. >> the only reason i ask is a lot of people say when they get sick i am loading up on vitamin c. >> vitamin c it wasn't a great study. it has never been shown to decrease flu symptoms or the flu. i would say no. another one that was brought to my attention which i looked up one of our anchors asked about it not shown to decrease flu symptoms but may increase your immune system. >> we have more even. what do you have, what do you do if you already have the flu? er reick specifically requested if you are home agaright now an you are sick he wants to tell you what to do. he will tell you next. [ male announcer ] this is sheldo whose long day setting up the news

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>> jamie: well, it's me, but this is eric's request. he wants to know, if we didn't say it -- what do do you if you are home sick? >> i would say fluids, fluids, fluids. dehydration is the first thing

that will really get you to the doctor. make sure you take a lot of fluids. what helped me was the humidifier with vicks. i covered my chest with that. the air was really dry. hand wash, which i know mark will talk about. but if you are immuno-compromised, diabetic, over 65, you need to wear a mask to protect yourself, there is nothing wrong with it. >> ther. >> jamie: the reason they wear them in the operating room. >> absolutely. >> you know, there is a flu attack rate. one out of four people around a flu patient will get the flu. you can cut down with hand wipes, stay home for a week afterwards because you are shedding virus. if you take tamiflu, which i recommend if you have someone vulnerable, get it within the first 48 hours. consult your physician. if your child and behavior is changing, get in to be seen