By Dr. Kevin Wang
Flu time in the flux
I had a few questions in the last few weeks regarding the flu and the flu vaccine – i.e. Who should get it? How do I know if I have the flu and not a cold? How does Tamiflu work? Hopefully I can answer most of these questions to your satisfaction and if you have any questions, either contact us here or contact your health care provider.
First and foremost, it's important to know how the flu usually presents itself. As most people already know, the flu usually begins with the sudden onset of fever, headache, muscle aches and a general feeling of being ill. In some cases, one may have some symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection – cough, runny nose and sore throat. In children, some GI problems might show up – i.e. nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In most cases, the symptoms come on so suddenly that most people can tell what time of the day the symptoms started.
In uncomplicated cases of the flu, people usually get better, slowly of course, in two to five days. Unfortunately, symptoms of the illness may last for one week or more. Weakness or easy fatigability may even last for several weeks.
That said, let's move on to prevention and what to do if you think you might have the flu.
First off, the ever-so-important flu vaccine, unfortunately, is in short supply. Who should get it? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, children ages 6-23 months, people older than 65, people older than 2 with an underlying long-term illness/weakened immune system, women who will be pregnant this season, people in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, health care professionals and people who care for children younger than 6 months should be vaccinated.
HIV patients SHOULD get vaccinated unless otherwise stated by your health care provider! The injection does not contain any live virus so it should be safe for you to get vaccinated. As for pregnant women out there, studies haven't been too conclusive about the safety of the vaccine so it might be best to skip it this season. However, women who wish to become pregnant should definitely get the vaccine.
For those who wish to get vaccinated regardless of the list shown above, there is another form available as a nasal spray known as FluMist. Although it has FDA approval for people between the ages of 2 and 49, some studies have shown to worsen some respiratory problems in children less than 5. Another caution with FluMist is that it contains the LIVE VIRUS. One must avoid contact with severely immunocompromised people for at least 7 days following the vaccination. So please be careful!
Who should not get vaccinated? People who have allergies to chicken eggs, a severe reaction to the flu vaccine in the past, who have developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome 6 weeks after getting a previous vaccine, who are sick with a fever and children under 6 months of age should NOT get the vaccine.
Some easy ways to help with prevention include washing your hands, covering your nose and mouth when coughing/sneezing, avoiding sick contacts and to avoid rubbing your eyes as germs are easily introduced that way. If you feel that you might have the flu, please be warned that you are contagious one day PRIOR to the onset of symptoms and 7 days after getting sick.
If you're one of the unlucky souls who should feel like they have the flu, TamiFlu is available as an oral medication taken twice a day for 5 days. However, it will only work if you present yourself to your doctor within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. Another important thing to do is to keep yourself as properly hydrated and healthy if you should fall ill with the flu. Although the flu itself usually is pretty uncomplicated, your immune system is weakened by the virus and may make you susceptible to other illnesses including pneumonia. If you begin to feel worse after getting better with the flu (fever gradually rising, a productive cough), please contact your health care provider.
