Flu Jab/High BP/Acupuncture
wasn't sure where to put this. i'm hoping some of you will be able to offer advice...
my aunt is in her early 80s, & has high blood pressure (180/80 yesterday for example). she has begun having acupuncture treatments in the past couple of weeks & intends to continue with them. her acupuncturist has advised against having the flu jab this year.
is there a link between BP & the flu jab? would the acupuncture tretament be incompatible with the jab, or what? any ideas greatly appreciated.
my auntie is a long term cancer survivor who went to the Bristol clinic rather than have chemo etc, & has followed the diet/meditation route for many years. she doesn't want to give up the acupuncture, doesn't like the nature of the flu jab, but is scared of getting pneumonia.
thanks,
mel
Answers:
I wish my husbands blood pressure was a good as your aunts!!! Is she on BP medication?
The flu jab is recommended, not compulsory. However, if her immune system is depleted, it may be useful to have done unless she has adverse side effects. Can anyone really defend against pneumonia - I had it when I was 21, at which time I thought I was in top form.
One of my elderly clients is allergic to eggs, so cannot have the jab - she is 88 and doses herself with echinacea and vitamin C on a daily basis and always has a medicinal whisky before she goes to bed! She had breast cancer (mastectomy) 5 years ago and developed lymphoedema shortly after surgery. She has angina and high BP - but will not take medication as she hates the side effects. She can do the Times crossword in 2 hours and makes herself walk 1 mile every morning to buy her paper. I wish I had half her energy and determination.
Answers:
Hi Mel
It's not that there is a link between high BP and the flu jab: Acupuncture is a holistic medicine, so everything about your aunt will be taken into account and included in the therapists approach to treating her. This will include her hypertension, but also just about everything else you can think of.
It is most likely she was advised not to have the flu jab, just because it came up in the consultation. The jab introduces a pathogen into the Blood level of the body rather than letting it fight its way through the normal route of the immune system. This weakens the immune system in the long run and will leave your aunt more susceptible to infection.
The acupuncturist was simply giving general advice to help your aunt become more healthy, in the same way that they may also have given her advice about diet, rest, exercise and so on. This is all a part of traditional acupuncture treatment.
The choice remains with your aunt, and if she chooses to have the flu jab, her acupuncturist will be able to help counter its effects and can do what they can to help prevent her getting the infection. It's just easier to do this if the flu pathogen isn't introduced to the system in the first place!
Every year I treat people in the winter who get flu a few days after their flu jab. I've no idea whether the evidence in support of the jab is genuinely compelling, amd I wish there wasn't a financial incentive for GPs to get as many people on their books jabbed as possible.
Aragorn
Answers:
thanks JtheH. yes i think she's on medication, not sure what though. could find out. i'm concerned about the grounds on which an acupuncturist would (according to my aunt, most emphatically) advise against the flu jab, & whether there is a connection to either acupuncture or BP.
Answers:
Sorry, thought I'd made that fairly clear, but I seem to be having memory failure today...
Assuming the acupuncturist is professionally trained (you can enter their name here to see if they are listed) then the grounds on which any recommendations are made are their 4 years training, clinical experience, and understanding of health, western and chinese medicine, as they apply to your aunt.
There is no connection between the flu jab, acupuncture and high BP in the way that you seem to be looking for. The acupuncturist is treating your aunt, not "high blood pressure".
One aspect of your aunt at this moment is her decision to have a flu jab or not, and the acupuncturist will be advising her based on their assessment and diagnosis of your aunt.
Just as a GP might advise a patient about smoking, medication or exercise, so might an acupuncturist advise about lifestyle factors, medication and rest etc etc. If you see their name on the register linked to above, they will be qualified to do this.
Best wishes
Aragorn
Answers:
I understand better now, thanks for that. I'm waiting for my aunt to call me back so I can check if the person she is seeing is listed. It's tricky when conflicts like this arise, & choices have to be made.
Answers:
quick update here to see if anyone has any views. i spoke to an acupuncturist last night, who felt that my aunt should have the jab. she made many interesting points, including the fact that my aunt has been with her GP for decades, but the acupuncturist she has seen onlytwice so far, that she has not had any adverse reaction to the jab in the past. is immunization quite an holistic thing in the sense of giving the body the chance to fight a threat & build up immunity, almost as in homeopathy?
i'm trying not to miss the point. any help welcome.
Answers:
i was able to check my aunt's acupuncturist but she wasn't on the register, but then neithehr was mine. not all are shown it seems.
i'm finding that i can't delete spelling mistakes anymore, & it's too late to get inventive & create new words around them!
Answers:
Hi Mel
Thanks for the update!
I believe there are some professional acupuncturists that aren't on that register for whatever reason. Strange that you found two of them though! If they have the letters MBAcC after their name, then it comes to the same thing.
I just wanted to make one thing clear: I am not an advocate of "blanket advice" that people should not have the flu jab. There will be many reasons why an acupuncturist might have this discussion with a patient, and it should always be individual to that person.
I was just trying to help answer your original question as to whether there was some link between the flu and acupuncture, and on what grounds an acupuncturist might give such advise.
It sounds like you are very worried about your aunt. I hope you both feel happy with whatever decision she makes, and that she has a flu-free winter!
Aragorn x
my aunt is in her early 80s, & has high blood pressure (180/80 yesterday for example). she has begun having acupuncture treatments in the past couple of weeks & intends to continue with them. her acupuncturist has advised against having the flu jab this year.
is there a link between BP & the flu jab? would the acupuncture tretament be incompatible with the jab, or what? any ideas greatly appreciated.
my auntie is a long term cancer survivor who went to the Bristol clinic rather than have chemo etc, & has followed the diet/meditation route for many years. she doesn't want to give up the acupuncture, doesn't like the nature of the flu jab, but is scared of getting pneumonia.
thanks,
mel
Answers:
I wish my husbands blood pressure was a good as your aunts!!! Is she on BP medication?
The flu jab is recommended, not compulsory. However, if her immune system is depleted, it may be useful to have done unless she has adverse side effects. Can anyone really defend against pneumonia - I had it when I was 21, at which time I thought I was in top form.
One of my elderly clients is allergic to eggs, so cannot have the jab - she is 88 and doses herself with echinacea and vitamin C on a daily basis and always has a medicinal whisky before she goes to bed! She had breast cancer (mastectomy) 5 years ago and developed lymphoedema shortly after surgery. She has angina and high BP - but will not take medication as she hates the side effects. She can do the Times crossword in 2 hours and makes herself walk 1 mile every morning to buy her paper. I wish I had half her energy and determination.
Answers:
Hi Mel
It's not that there is a link between high BP and the flu jab: Acupuncture is a holistic medicine, so everything about your aunt will be taken into account and included in the therapists approach to treating her. This will include her hypertension, but also just about everything else you can think of.
It is most likely she was advised not to have the flu jab, just because it came up in the consultation. The jab introduces a pathogen into the Blood level of the body rather than letting it fight its way through the normal route of the immune system. This weakens the immune system in the long run and will leave your aunt more susceptible to infection.
The acupuncturist was simply giving general advice to help your aunt become more healthy, in the same way that they may also have given her advice about diet, rest, exercise and so on. This is all a part of traditional acupuncture treatment.
The choice remains with your aunt, and if she chooses to have the flu jab, her acupuncturist will be able to help counter its effects and can do what they can to help prevent her getting the infection. It's just easier to do this if the flu pathogen isn't introduced to the system in the first place!
Every year I treat people in the winter who get flu a few days after their flu jab. I've no idea whether the evidence in support of the jab is genuinely compelling, amd I wish there wasn't a financial incentive for GPs to get as many people on their books jabbed as possible.
Aragorn
Answers:
thanks JtheH. yes i think she's on medication, not sure what though. could find out. i'm concerned about the grounds on which an acupuncturist would (according to my aunt, most emphatically) advise against the flu jab, & whether there is a connection to either acupuncture or BP.
Answers:
Sorry, thought I'd made that fairly clear, but I seem to be having memory failure today...
Assuming the acupuncturist is professionally trained (you can enter their name here to see if they are listed) then the grounds on which any recommendations are made are their 4 years training, clinical experience, and understanding of health, western and chinese medicine, as they apply to your aunt.
There is no connection between the flu jab, acupuncture and high BP in the way that you seem to be looking for. The acupuncturist is treating your aunt, not "high blood pressure".
One aspect of your aunt at this moment is her decision to have a flu jab or not, and the acupuncturist will be advising her based on their assessment and diagnosis of your aunt.
Just as a GP might advise a patient about smoking, medication or exercise, so might an acupuncturist advise about lifestyle factors, medication and rest etc etc. If you see their name on the register linked to above, they will be qualified to do this.
Best wishes
Aragorn
Answers:
I understand better now, thanks for that. I'm waiting for my aunt to call me back so I can check if the person she is seeing is listed. It's tricky when conflicts like this arise, & choices have to be made.
Answers:
quick update here to see if anyone has any views. i spoke to an acupuncturist last night, who felt that my aunt should have the jab. she made many interesting points, including the fact that my aunt has been with her GP for decades, but the acupuncturist she has seen onlytwice so far, that she has not had any adverse reaction to the jab in the past. is immunization quite an holistic thing in the sense of giving the body the chance to fight a threat & build up immunity, almost as in homeopathy?
i'm trying not to miss the point. any help welcome.
Answers:
i was able to check my aunt's acupuncturist but she wasn't on the register, but then neithehr was mine. not all are shown it seems.
i'm finding that i can't delete spelling mistakes anymore, & it's too late to get inventive & create new words around them!
Answers:
Hi Mel
Thanks for the update!
I believe there are some professional acupuncturists that aren't on that register for whatever reason. Strange that you found two of them though! If they have the letters MBAcC after their name, then it comes to the same thing.
I just wanted to make one thing clear: I am not an advocate of "blanket advice" that people should not have the flu jab. There will be many reasons why an acupuncturist might have this discussion with a patient, and it should always be individual to that person.
I was just trying to help answer your original question as to whether there was some link between the flu and acupuncture, and on what grounds an acupuncturist might give such advise.
It sounds like you are very worried about your aunt. I hope you both feel happy with whatever decision she makes, and that she has a flu-free winter!
Aragorn x