Flu Season and virus: it’s real and serious, but do we need to worry about it?

Just exactly when is the flu season? As the CDC stated, in the United States, flu season occurs in the fall and winter. While influenza viruses circulate year-round, most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February, but activity can last as late as May (1).

Why is that? The WebMD believes many things play a role in making the flu more common in the winter, which includes (2) :

The virus lives longer indoors in winter because the air is less humid than outside.
While it is alive and, in the air, it’s easy for people to inhale it, or for it to land on the eyes, nose, or mouth.
We spend more time indoors and have closer contact with each other, which makes it easier for the virus to spread.

Since we have a better idea about the “flu season”, it’s time for us to read in between the lines to understand more. As stated, the viruses circulate “year-round” but are just more active during winter. In other words, day in and day out doesn’t matter what seasons or months, viruses are always out there and ready to latch onto us. What’s, even more, is this not only applies to the virus but it also applies to bacteria, parasites, and yeasts. So, what does that translate to? Does that mean we must take medication, antibiotics, antifungal, antiviral substances every day to combat them? I sincerely doubt it.

Here is another fun fact. Even with all the medical interventions and advancements, we will never outduel the evolution of these microorganisms because of their intelligence and fast adaptability. If that’s the case, why not take a step back and examine our precious immune system, which has been working for us since human existence.

If you investigate the most recent data of the Corona Viruses incident, the last I read (2/25/2020 6:00 pm) was 80,598 people got infected, 2712 death and 28110 recovered globally. Studying closely into the death number you will find the majority of the number lies on ages 55 years or above with pre-existing conditions top with cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes (3). The fatality rate for non-pre-existing patients is ONLY 0.9%. In another word, the best defense against any microorganism out there, in my opinion, is non-other than enhancing and boosting our own immune system. It is obvious that we need to take care of our body daily so we can be ready for any opportunistic attack from these micro-organisms, which includes eating healthy, resting plenty, exercising regularly, and taking supplements daily. And now research has also shown compelling evidence of how chiropractic can potentially enhance the immune system as well. One of the studies showed a single adjustment can increase immune system signal interlukin-2 significantly which translates to a stronger immune system (4). In a different study, it showed spinal adjustment can increase the count of neutrophil which is part of the white blood cells. The last study worth mentioned here is by Selano et al, “The effect of the specific upper cervical adjustment on the CD4 counts of HIV positive patients.” The conclusion of this study was after 6 months of chiropractic adjustments, the HIV positive patients’ CD4 (part of the immune system) has raised tremendously.

In summary, we are not alone on this planet. The living microorganism is around us all the time. It is in our best interest not to outduel them but work with them synergistically. The best practice is to keep one’s immunity at the optimum at all times, so we can worry less about the flu season and enjoy life more. I hope this article finds you well and ease any worry you might have about the current virus situation.

Yours in health,
Dr. Alan Wu DC

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