Blake Faulkner 
F is for Flu
Everyone has been asking me if I have received the flu vaccine. Now I know this is partially a question born in ignorance. I am, after all, a Chinese herbologist so therefore I know so many herbal medicinals out there that combat the flu, and so many out there that prevent it (and so many of its strains and variations). As a matter of fact, I have them stocked in my office. I also know myself well enough to intervene timely with the right herbs at the right time. For example, I was wearing my summer scooter helmet Thursday evening during my commute, and I habitually mouth breath on the scooter much. But it was cold and by the time I got home I was coughing and wheezing a bit (the latter symptom a quite rare one for me). I got out my favorite chinese herbal formula syrup just for the occasion and after four doses (4 teaspoons) it was completely resolved. And after my Saturday night special occasion of staying up later than I typically would--and also commuting in the cold on my scooter and being around many good folks in close quarters--I woke up with a swollen throat and took my favorite other Chinese medicinal formula in tablet form in the middle of the night--one tablet. Went back to sleep. The swollen tonsils were gone by the morning.
Early intervention is effect and simple.
So naturally with such wonderful botanicals at hand, and a rich 2,000 year old tradition of natural therapies (recall Asia has dealt with many pandemics and epidemics successfully in its long history), I don't even give the flu vaccine and pharmaceutical intervention a second thought. BUT IF I DID, I would pause to reflect, and ultimately see with skepticism--as I think every human should-- about the fallacies being marketed to us as "good medicine" in the guise of the vaccine and antiinfluenza pharamceuticals. THERE IS NO SOUND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE SHOWING NEITHER THE VACCINE NOR THE TAMAFLU WORK.
Consider the flawed research and poor logic applied to the flu vaccine and drugs detailed here in The Atlantic: Does the Vaccine Matter?
Turns out keeping yourself healthy is what is most important, more so than an inoculation. Oh, and I would add Oriental medicine is also superb at keeping people healthy.
Now I am not a practitioner who is interested overly much in reactionary thought, and pretty much let everyone be drawn to whatever form of medicine and clinician they feel they should seek as long as it is a system with a history of serving humanity's health. But I do see the poor investigative reasoning applied here BY THE SAME SYSTEM THAT DECRIES AND DISMISSES NATURAL, TRADITIONAL, MIND-BODY THERAPIES THAT DO NOT CONFORM TO THE GOLD STANDARD OF DOUBLE BLIND STUDY AND LINEAR THOUGHT.
Let it be known that botanical medicinals are more effective against viruses and even mutative bacteria, and just as effective if not more against fungi. And for the record Oriental medicine has an effective means for combating influenza today just as it did yesterday and will tomorrow, whether it's h1n1, chicken, swine, avian, and many more to be discovered.
Call my office if you have any questions regarding this.
In Health and Well Being,
Michele Salinas L.Ac, DIPL. CH, RN-BSN, MSOM