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Title
It's FLU SEASON
By Dr. Bhumi Upadhyay
What really is the flu? Is it the common cold? Is it the stomach bug? Flu is a
highly contagious respiratory virus caused by the influenza virus. It can cause
mild to severe symptoms. As much as 20% of the population gets the flu every
year. There are more than 200,000 hospitalizations and even 30,000 deaths from
complications of the flu yearly.
How can you tell the difference from a common cold? The flu is usually a rapid
and violent onset of runny nose, cough and fever. The worst of the symptoms will
last 5-7 days but you can feel mild symptoms even up to 3 weeks. Other symptoms
include headache, tiredness, sore throat, muscle or body aches, and stomach
symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. There can also be complications
of the flu. These include ear infections, sinus infections, pneumonia,
dehydration, asthma exacerbation, or worsening of any underlying chronic disease
such as diabetes. Those at highest risk for complications are the young
children, the elderly, and anyone with an underlying chronic illness.
How does the flu spread? The flu virus spreads from person to person through
respiratory droplets, which mean coughing or sneezing. This occurs when an
infected person coughs or sneezes and the infected droplet jets through the air
and deposits on the mouth or nose of another person. Spread can also occur when
a person touches droplets of an infected person and then touches his mouth or
nose before washing hands. The flu is highly contagious! An infected person can
actually spread the virus one day prior to symptoms, so you can infect someone
even before you get sick! A person remains infective until 5 days into the
illness.
The flu is a seasonal virus and mainly affects us during the winter months. Flu
virus mainly spreads from November through April with peak in December/January.
Certain flu seasons will be more severe if the major circulating strain is not
in the vaccine formulation selected by the World Health organization. This is
called a mismatch strain.
The best protection is prevention. Here are a few steps: get your flu vaccine,
wash hands, stay home if you are not feeling well, and use the elbow to cough.
As mentioned earlier, children are at greater risk for the flu and its
complications. More than 30% of school aged children get the flu. Approximately
20,000 children are hospitalized annually from flu complications and about 100
deaths result in children annually. Due to these statistics, the CDC has changed
the annual vaccination recommendation. Previous recommendation was all children
between the ages of 6 months to 59 months should receive the annual vaccine, and
all children above 5 years old with any underlying medical conditions should
also receive the vaccine. This year, the new recommendation is all children ages
6 months to 18 years old regardless of medical condition should get an annual
vaccine. Even though the vaccine only contains the most popular strains of the
flu, it will still give some protection against the mismatched strains mentioned
earlier. There are a few reasons why a person cannot get the vaccine, such as
severe egg allergy, previous allergic reaction to the vaccine, or having history
of Guillain Barre Syndrome. Individuals with fever should just delay the vaccine
until symptoms resolve.
If you think you may have flu symptoms, you should see your doctor as soon as
possible. The flu can be diagnosed in the office with a rapid flu test, and
antiviral medication may be an option if diagnosed in the first 48-72 hours. In
addition, supportive care is the best option-plenty of fluids, rest, vitamin C,
probiotics, and acetaminophen or ibuprofen as needed. Remember no aspirin and no
cold medications for the children!!
Dr. Bhumi Upadhyay, a board-certified pediatrician and active member of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, graduated from the University of Miami six-year
Honors Program in Medicine. If you have questions about this article or your
child, email Dr. Bhumi at
drbhumi@northeastkids.com. She is accepting new patients; please call to get
to know the doctor at (727) 526-PEDS or visit
www.northeastkids.com
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