When you’re healthy, you may tend to dismiss the flu as merely a bad cold. The misery of a cold usually comes on somewhat gradually, but if you have the flu, you usually know on the very first day that you’re dealing with something more serious. In addition to the coughing, stuffy nose and sore throat that come with either illness, the flu tends to wipe you out with fever, chills, headache and generalized aches and pains.
Both are viral infections that cannot be treated with antibiotics and will usually get better on their own with rest, extra fluids and over-the-counter pain medications.
Flu patients, however, have a longer battle and may end up with a serious complication such as pneumonia that is difficult to fight off. About 36,000 Americans die each year while another 200,000 are hospitalized as a result of the flu and its complications.
Those most at risk of suffering severe complications are the very young, the very old and those with chronic medical conditions. That’s why these groups are always listed among those who should get priority when supplies of the vaccine are short.
This year, however, supplies are expected to be ample, and there’s no reason for anyone not to get immunized.
Yearly Shots Needed
Anyone can get the flu, and vaccination is the best way to avoid the spread of the disease. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices highly recommends a flu shot for:
-Children aged 6 months up to their 19 birthday
-adults and children with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, chronic lung problems, AIDS or cancer,
-pregnant women,
-persons who live with or care for persons with chronic medical conditions
-healthcare workers
-household contacts of persons at high risk for complication from the flu
-caregivers for children <6months of age
-Persons age 50 of age and older
-Persons living in nursing homes or long term care facilities
-Anyone who wishes to reduce their risk of getting the flu
The predominant flu virus changes from year to year, and the vaccine is formulated to fight the most dominant strains. Last year’s flu shot won’t protect you this year, but it may shorten the time you need to develop antibodies.
Children younger than nine who have never had a flu shot may need a second dose, about a month after the first, to develop full immunity. Older persons and those with chronic illnesses may get the flu even though they are vaccinated, but the disease is usually not as severe.
The injectable flu vaccine is made of killed virus, so you can’t get the flu from a shot–only a little soreness at the spot of injection and perhaps some other side effects. FluMist, delivered as a nasal spray, is a weakened live virus and should not be given to anyone with AIDS, cancer or other conditions that might suppress immunity.
Whether you get immunized or not, there are many other things you should do to protect yourself and others.
STAY AT HOME WHEN YOU’RE SICK: You’re contagious even before you start to cough and sneeze, but there’s not much you can do about that. Once you do begin to have symptoms, stay away from situations where you might infect others. Turn your head and cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. If you’re a workaholic, avoid the temptation to go to work when you’re fighting off a respiratory infection.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM OTHERS WHO ARE INFECTED: If your boss is coughing and sneezing, try to keep your distance. And if you have an infant or are caring for a frail parent, keep that person away from crowds during the flu season.
Parents of school- or day-care-age children have little choice. Their kids go off to mingle with crowds every single day to return loaded with all of the latest microbes in the community.
WASH YOUR HANDS: The secret is to wash your hands frequently and encourage your children to do the same. Let’s say your child has been handed a pencil by a classmate who is infected, then comes home and spreads that virus over every surface of your house. Touch the door knob, then your nose, eyes or mouth and voila!
To interrupt that cycle, wash your hands. The CDC recommends scrubbing them multiple times a day for at least 15 seconds with warm, soapy water. One survey found that while Americans are likely to wash their hands after changing a baby’s diaper or before handling food, they frequently neglect to do so after coughing or sneezing.
EAT RIGHT, SLEEP WELL, EXERCISE: Having healthy habits year-round is the best way to keep your immune system strong when it’s being most challenged. Smokers and persons exposed to second-hand smoke are more vulnerable to respiratory infections and to the severe complications. And there’s good evidence that persons with chronic stress also have an increased risk.
Once you come down with a bug, take care of yourself. Drink plenty of fluids, get rest, use over-the-counter medications to relieve symptoms and take the time to get better. For a previously healthy person, a doctor’s care is usually not necessary even for the flu unless complications such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections or pneumonia set in.
Antibiotics won’t help against the flu unless a secondary bacterial infection develops, but antiviral drugs such as Relenza and Tamiflu may ease symptoms and shorten recovery time by a few days if started early when flu symptoms first present.
Antiviral drugs are no substitute for a flu shot, and they’re meant to be taken within the first two days after symptoms develop. As with every other measure you can take against the flu, the sooner you act the better.
Tana N Kaefer, PharmD
