masthead2.jpg
Health Tips from Nurse Sue
“Good health isn’t cheap, but compared to poor health, it’s a bargain.”
~Sue

Especially for Flu Season

This informatio is stuff I learned in my three years as an infection control nurse and might make your winter a healthier one.   The information can be verified at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention web site, www.cdc.gov.



"Flu" What is it?

     The "flu" that many people get every winter is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.   It is NOT vomiting and diarrhea.   That illness is caused by a several different viruses or bacteria and is called gastroenteritis.   Even doctors and nurses can be heard calling the gastroenteritis illness "the flu" or "stomach flu" so it is no wonder people get confused.
     Flu is a much more serious illness than gastroenteritis because it can lead to complications of pneumonia and can be deadly for the elderly and small children.   Each year approximately 36,000 people die of influenza or "the flu".   Last year some 20 children had died of the flu by Christmas here in the United States; you may have read about it in the newspapers.


What is the flu season?

     The flu season usually covers the months when the weather is damp, chilly, and environmental temperatures are widely variable.   It starts in October and runs through April.   Of course that may vary some, depending on your location, but is true for most of the Midwest.


What are the symptoms?

     The flu starts suddenly with headache, fever, dry harsh cough, extreme tiredness, and generalized achiness.   It may include a sore throat and runny nose, but not always.   Occasionally, it is associated with stomach symptoms as well, especially in children, but that is usually eclipsed by the headache, cough, and achiness.   Fevers can run as high as 102 for adults and can be even higher for small children.   It lasts 7 to 14 days.   It can turn into pneumonia, easily, and that should be suspected if it drags on for longer then two weeks.


Is there a pill I can take to get better faster?

     The answer to that is, "maybe".   In the last few years a couple of medications have been marketed that may help if you start them in the first day or two of the illness.  Even then they only shorten the illness by a few days.   They are not the miracle pill that antibiotics are for bacterial infections and antibiotics won't help because the flu is a virus.   If, on the other hand, you have developed a bacterial pneumonia as a complication of the flu, than antibiotics will be helpful.   Your doctor and a chest x-ray, should be helpful in making that diagnosis.   Mostly, you can only "ride out" the illness by getting plenty of sleep, drinking plenty of water (6-8 glasses a day), and eating nourishing food.


Prevention?

     If you have the flu, do your family and friends a favor and stay home!   Avoid close contact with someone who has the flu and wash your hands often, both if you have it and if you want to avoid it.   Good hand washing is the single most important factor in preventing any infectious disease.   By close contact, I mean three feet or more so that any droplets expelled by coughing or sneezing are less likely to make contact with you and avoid objects that have been sneezed or coughed on such as telephones, drinking glasses, etc.   Wash your hands after caring for someone who has the flu.   Avoid hugs and kisses; show your love some other way.   Your best defense against the flu is to maintain a healthy immune system by eating nourishing food and getting sufficient sleep and, of course, drinking plenty of fluids.
     A flu vaccine will help and is highly recommended for anyone over 65, anyone with decreased immunity such as diabetics, anyone with chronic respiratory disease such as asthma, and for small children.   Since the flu is caused by several viruses, the Center for Disease Control tries to get the right combinations of viruses in their vaccine by the flu types that are experienced in other parts of the world that get the flu before we do here in the United States.   That is a less than perfect system and sometimes a different strain of flu breaks out after the vaccine has been developed, so some years there may still be a significant outbreak.   Some people, who have a compromised immune system, may still get the flu after being vaccinated, but it is usually a milder case and they are less likely to develop the serious complications that can accompany the flu.
     The vaccine offers immunity for only a few months, usually about one flu season.   That is why it is necessary to get a vaccine every year.   The vaccine is updated each year for the strain of flu that is going around that year.


Can I get the flu from the vaccine?

     The vaccine is a killed virus which allows your own immune system to build up immunity to it.   You will not get the flu from the vaccine.   Some people do have adverse reactions to the vaccine because of an allergy to some of the components of the vaccine, so if you've ever become ill right after getting the flu vaccine, you may want to talk to your doctor about the advisability of getting the vaccine.


What about this "Bird Flu"?

     The bird flu, or avian flu, is not the same thing as seasonal flu.   The incidence of avian flu in humans is very low compared to seasonal flu.   There has been about 100 cases of avian flu in humans in the last 8 years, whereas, there are 200,000 people hospitalized every year with seasonal flu and about 36,000 of those people will die.   Much of what you hear about 'bird flu' is really media hype.   Seasonal flu is a serious problem that is with us every year and is 'old news' as far as the news media is concerned.   The bird flu is a serious problem for poultry farmers, mostly in other countries, but is seldom passed on to humans and there are no known cases where it has been passed from person to person.

That is the end of my report, but just for a moment, I'd like to have a heart-to-heart with ya'll.   Christmas is coming and it is a time of great fun and a time for families to get together.   No one wants to miss it because of illness.   It is however, the time when many infectious diseases are spread and especially the flu because, "I just have a bad cold."   What seem like a bad cold to you who are young and generally healthy could be devastating to the elderly and the very young and the immunocompromised such as the diabetic or cancer patient.   It would be better to miss one family gathering than to lose a loved one forever.

Thanks for “listening” and I hope I didn't lose you in the middle of this somewhere.

God bless,
Sue
Who We Are
What We Do
Why We Do It
Health Tips
Soap Shop
talk_up.gif