Should you be afraid of colds and flus?

Separating facts from fearmongering

Before I dive into what I do personally to avoid colds and flus (and what I recommend to patients), let's talk about what colds and flus ARE and ARE NOT.

The microbiologists will tell you that colds and flus are illnesses that are "caused" by viruses and bacteria.

This statement is true in the same sense that the statement, "guns kill people," is true. It is inarguable that viruses and bacteria are found in the bodies of people suffering from acute illnesses.

But the real question is not, "is this the case," but rather, "what should we do about it?"

It would seem to be a very short logical jump from "there are bacteria and/or viruses on/in this patient's secretions, blood, or vital organs" to "we must therefore use antibiotics and antivirals to prevent these microbes from taking over the host's body." Sort of like, "there is fire here, let's dowse it with water." But dowsing the patient with water to save them from fire is no good if you end up drowning them in the process.

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I am not going to get into a long discussion on how society should deal with things like quarantine laws, because I don't presume to be an expert in these topics. Masking and lockdowns were the biggest failure in the history of public health, although the public health establishment has made plenty of mistakes aside from these that I outline in my book, Dying to Be Free.

I also think it is critical to acknowledge the power and efficacy of antibiotics and antivirals in the acute setting. I have resuscitated many, many, many patients in the hospital with antibiotics and fluids. The best account of the advent of antibiotics, and therefore what I would call "modern" medicine, is in Robert O. Becker's (MD), "The Body Electric." He was a young medical student at the time penicillin became widely available.

The years before IV fluids and antibiotics were dark ones, when everyone lived in fear of suddenly dying of infections that we now readily treat with a sprinkle of antibiotics.

But I do not like having to use medicine, and the world would be a better place if people focused on staying as healthy and well as possible, rather than "reacting" at the last minute to their cold or flu.

The bottom line here is that I believe that robust, healthy young people have nothing to fear from colds and flus. I think they should live their lives unencumbered by anxieties around these illnesses.

What about the frail and elderly? The question we should ask is, "should the frail and elderly avoid those with symptoms of colds or flus, out of concern for contagion?"

This question would best be answered by taking two groups of similar patients (perhaps two wings of a nursing home), and comparing different containment strategies through various seasons.

To my knowledge, no one has done such studies. They have jumped to the conclusion that because sick people look and feel sick, and because we can isolate bacteria and viruses from them (nevermind the whole debate about what viruses really are or are not - see Stefan Lanke) that might jump to and afflict those around them, they should be variously masked, gloved, locked-down, reverse-quarantined, etc. etc. etc.

While I don’t agree with everything with Dr. Tom Cowan, I do think that he’s written one of the best books questioning theories of contagious diseases. That book is “The Truth About Contagion: Exploring Theories of How Disease Spreads.” He is by no means the only person who has questioned, quite rightly, how sure we should be about our theories of contagious diseases. “The Invisible Rainbow” is another great one.

Why don't academics study things like this?

They will make excuses like, "it's too hard," or, "we don't have enough funding."

Nonsense. Follow the money. The fearmongering about viruses and bacteria, that a few generations ago were considered simple facts of life, is the best marketing that the medical-industrial complex can buy. They don't want definitive studies done that might disprove their precious marketing narratives. Thus, the myth of the dangers of microbes and contagious diseases grow and grow, while the real causes of disease - diet and lifestyle - remain an afterthought.

What we need is to take a cold, hard, sober look at the realities of infectious diseases and how to deal with them. Otherwise the world will keep spending more and more money on healthcare, while getting worse and worse outcomes, as I discuss in my book.

There are many reasons NOT to be afraid of colds and flus.

First, remember that what you believe to be dangerous, becomes dangerous. This is called the nocebo effect. The more afraid you are of something, the more dangerous it becomes. If we tell people to expect to die from a disease, we are, quite literally, increasing the likelihood of this outcome. A friend of mine, Dr. Brad Weeks, likes to say, "a doctor delivering a prognosis based on clear periods of time should be considered assault with a deadly weapon." As in, if you tell a patient they have six months to live, you've just dramatically reduced their chances of living 7 months! I am not, of course, suggesting that doctors lie to patients. I am just pointing out that we have to be careful of what we call "dangerous," because our words have a power all their own.

Second, the mortality of colds and flus is extremely low, no matter how you look at it. There is also the question of causation even in cases where a cold or a flu is clearly part of the clinical picture. The first case that made me think deeply about this was an elderly gentleman with a history of heart failure, admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. He had tested positive for influenza as well. I fought very, very hard to save his life, but he ultimately passed away. I recall looking at his chest x-ray and thinking, "this looks like pneumonia, and it also looks like heart failure - which one is actually killing him?" The fact is that the vast, vast majority of people who die of infectious diseases have many, many co-morbidities, are of an advanced age, or did not receive timely treatment. Can we really justify ourselves in saying that they died "of" influenza, COVID, etc? The simple fact is that 100% of people die, and saying that you can "prevent" death from infectious diseases is a bit like saying you can prevent sleep with stimulants. Sure, you can, but for how long? And, moreover, at what cost?

"One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicines."

- William Osler

Third, what if colds and flus, as a natural part of life, serve some higher purpose than we might think? What if suppressing their symptoms actually INCREASES the risks of other diseases? For example, the more fevers you get, the less likely you are to develop melanoma. You don't find that fact on the side of a box of tylenol! Perhaps the surgeon general should issue a warning on all anti-pyretics (anti-fever medications) - WARNING: This product may increase your risk of melanoma. Maybe the trial lawyers will pick up on this and give us our next big class-action lawsuit against the pharmaceutical industry? The truth is that as much as we can demonstrate that antibiotics and fluids save lives in patients who come to the hospital or urgent care with colds and flus, to my knowledge no one has actually demonstrated that jumping on every little cold and flu with tylenol, aspirin, antibiotics, antivirals, and more, actually translates into a longer, better life. If anything, doctors are undoubtedly over-treating today and creating as many problems with this as they may be solving.

"To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy."

- Hippocrates

I am wary that over-treating mild illnesses may make matters worse in the long-run, but I don't have proof one way or another. That is, except when it comes to antibiotics.

Fourth, we know that over-treating with antibiotics is DEFINITELY bad. People must achieve a state of health and create a healthy enough environment that they don't need repeated rounds of antibiotics. That's why sick building syndrome is such a big money-maker for the medical industrial complex. If people are being made ill by their buildings, they can't hope to be healthy, and they will just end up on an endless rotation of drugs, wondering why they keep falling apart despite what they spend on their healthcare.

Fifth, we have to talk about vaccines. There are serious methodological problems with modern vaccine "science." But vaccines are the sacred cow of modern medicine. You are not allowed to question them. Yet those who most vigorously advance them as the answer to infectious diseases refuse to study them in such as way as will satisfy their critics.

Those who fear to be questioned have something to hide. This is at this point an open secret. And while I am not and do not pretend to be an expert on vaccines, you have only to read books like, Side Effects: Death, The Truth About the Drug Companies, or The Trouble with Medical Journals to get an idea, from industry insiders, of how bad the corruption of modern medicine by Big Pharma has become. For books on vaccines in particular, Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness, Neil Miller's book on Critical Vaccine Studies, and Dissolving Illusions, among others, will make you question everything you think you know about vaccination.

Infectious diseases are the bread and butter of modern medicine. They are the engine at the heart of the medical-industrial complex.

And you know what? They aren't a problem in my practice. Because I teach my patients to be healthy, they might call me once or twice a year for a cold or flu, and most of the time they don't even need treatment.

"We are the sum of our actions, and therefore our habits make all the difference."

- Aristotle

The best insurance against death is to make healthy habits a part of your daily routine. Which habits? The ones I cover in this post:

Dr. Stillman's Guide to Biohacking

These habits are fundamental to good health. However, I cannot recommend do-it-yourself medicine, so I recommend you either discuss these things with a good practitioner, such as one of my staff. Naturally, dialing in your daily routine, supplements, and medications is what I do with patients in my practice. You can apply for consultation here.

What are the key factors that predispose to, as our dearly demented president called it last year, "a winter of death?"

- Elevated high sensitivity CRP

- Elevated ferritin

- Low magnesium

- Elevated hemoglobin A1C or fasting blood glucose

- Anemia or low white blood cell count

- Poor body composition (more on this later)

- Low vitamin D

- Poor kidney function

- Low cortisol, DHEA-S, or sex steroid hormones

- Invasive devices

These labs have proven to me time and time again to be the key metrics to look at with regards to health and wellness through all seasons of life.

This cuts to the chase of questions about infectious diseases. How healthy your body is matters FAR more than what pathogens you carry or are exposed to.

The lab parameters above are my "barometer" of health in patients, particularly as a doctor who currently practices 100% virtually.

What does "optimal" look like for these labs?

That's a topic for my next post.

Until then, be well,

Dr. Stillman