Your Health: Fly-in vaccinations? Not for swine flu

Fly-in flu shots

People will go almost anywhere to get H1N1 vaccines, but they shouldn't go to the airport.

Rumors that the swine flu shot is being given out at O'Hare International and Midway airports are false, spokeswoman Karen E. Pride said.

Seasonal flu shots are available at both locations, as they have been in years past. But since the shots are given on the secure side of the airport, they're only available to ticketed passengers or airline employees.

If you still think the vaccine is worth cashing in some frequent flier miles, head for the University of Illinois Medical Clinic in O'Hare's Terminal 2 or to kiosks in the other domestic terminals.

Internet junkies

Children with certain mental health conditions are at greater risk of developing a debilitating addiction to the Internet, warn psychologists in Taiwan.

A team led by Chih-Hung KO of Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital tracked the medical histories and Internet use of 2,300 11 year olds over two years. Some 11 percent developed some form of Internet addiction, says the report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Depression, ADHD, and social phobia strongly pointed to the children who would develop an Internet addiction. And there was a marked gender difference: depression and social phobia were stronger predictors among girls.

- New Scientist

"Loser" delusions

Fans love "The Biggest Loser," but some fitness pros say it gives rise to unrealistic expectations.

The NBC reality show takes obese, out-of-shape people away from their regular lives and puts them on a full-time fitness and diet regimen that strips off as much as 15 pounds a week.

Normal, sustainable weight loss is one or two pounds a week, says an article in IDEA Fitness Journal, a publication for fitness and wellness professionals.

The show's co-creator responds that the more substantial weight loss is more compelling and that it's hard for contestants to stay motivated without it. But in the real world, dietitians recommend adopting a food and exercise regimen you can live with for the rest of your life, and slow, steady weight loss powered by nonextreme dieting and exercise is the way to do that.

- U.S. News and World Report

Flu without fever

Parents have no way to tell whether their child's stuffy nose and cough are symptoms of flu or just a typical cold, said Richard Wenzel.

The swine flu expert and former president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America criticizes the flu definition set out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes fever.

"At the beginning of the (swine flu) outbreak in Mexico, only 30 percent of patients hospitalized with the infection had fever initially," he says, "and 15 percent of patients never developed a fever at all."

"You really have no way of knowing if it's the flu or just a cold," Wenzel says.