Flu quarantine; egg allergies & flu; surgical menopause and memory

Many people are rushing to get the flu vaccine but those allergic to eggs are hesitating. That's because it contains a small amount of egg protein.

Mellissa Yingst's 7-year-old daughter Madi has an egg allergy. For years, she was advised not to give Madi the flu shot.

If Madi eats anything made with eggs, she vomits.

“She got the flu all the time,” Yingst says.” She was sick all the time. Like when it was going around at school, she'd come home with it and she would just be miserable. And then as soon as she'd get over it, she'd come back to school and come right back home with it."

Douglas Nelson, M.D., Allergist with the Mayo Clinic, says, "Part of the risk was a presumed risk because of the way the vaccine was manufactured. Vaccines 10 years ago had higher amount of egg content in the vaccine than it does now, because they've gotten ways to manufacture vaccine with less residual egg protein."

The CDC reports allergic reactions to the flu vaccine are very rare. But a severe reaction to any vaccine component - like eggs - may be reason enough to not get the vaccine.

Surgical menopause is the removal of both ovaries in women who have not yet had natural menopause.

It's done for a variety of medical reasons. But a new study finds women who undergo surgical menopause at an earlier age may develop memory and thinking problems too.

Judith Volker, M.D. with the Cleveland Clinic says, "A lot of women going through natural menopause complain of what's called "foggy thinking." They feel that they are not just as sharp as they used to be. That it's not so much that they have lost their memory, it's just that they don't feel quite as keen. And you take these women who are younger and you take out their ovaries and they feel that incredibly more acutely because it's not a natural progression to menopause."

Complete findings for this study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting.