ALABAMA A&M and AUBURN UNIVERSITIES

FLU AND PNEUMONIA SHOTS CAN BE LIFESAVERS FOR PEOPLE WITH DIABETES

AUBURN, SEPT. 17---If you have diabetes, getting the flu or pneumonia can mean more than aches and pains. It can mean being sick longer, going to the hospital and even dying. With diabetes, you are about three times more likely to die with flu and pneumonia than are people without diabetes.

During flu epidemics, diabetics are six times more likely to go to the hospital. This risk is even higher if diabetics have other illnesses, such as heart disease or kidney disease, in addition to their diabetes.

There is a way for diabetics to protect themselves from flu and pneumoccal pneumonia, the cause of the most common form of pneumonia, says Dr. Evelyn Crayton, Extension foods and nutrition specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. In addition to watching their diet, exercising and making regular visits to their doctor, diabetics can also get a pneumococcal shot and an annual flu shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging people, especially diabetics, to get a flu shot before flu season and to talk to their doctors about getting a pneumonia shot.

For most people the pneumonia shot provides lasting protection. If you're under 65, however, you should ask your doctor about getting another shot five to10 years after your first one. The pneumonia shot is safe, and will also protect you against blood infection and meningitis. It doesn't contain any live bacteria, which means there's no way to get pneumonia from the shot. Pneumonia shots can be given any time during the year and even at the same time as the flu shot.

The flu shot is also safe, says Crayton. "You cannot get the flu from the shot because it doesn't contain any live virus. Some people catch a cold after getting the shot, but it's not from the shot. "

Because there are so many flu viruses, there is a chance you might get the flu even though you had a flu shot. However, the shot will still help prevent complications, and will lower your risk of hospitalization and death. Flu viruses change from year to year, so it's important to get a shot every year before the flu season begins.

SOURCE: DR. EVELYN CRAYTON, Extension foods and nutrition specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System (334) 844-2224.