Flu Facts

You know that feeling: the little tickle in your throat, muscle aches, the headache, the chills, the feeling that you'd like to sleep for a week. It's that pesky virus, influenza or the flu. The flu can be very mild, or it can even lead to death in the very young or in the elderly. Highly contagious, the flu is responsible for the majority of illness-related absences from work and school during the fall and winter.

The Centers for Disease Control estimate the flu strikes only about 200,000 people in the United States each year, and of those, only about 36,000 people a year die from it. That doesn't mean that you should just ignore it, however. The flu can be a very serious illness and, as noted above, can kill, especially in those over the age of 65 and under the age of 2.

Complications from the flu can lead to ear and sinus infections, bacterial pneumonia, severe dehydration and added complications prepre-existing medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and congestive heart failure. In general, you can infect someone a full day before you know you are sick, and up to five days after becomisick.

The flu shares symptoms with a variety of other illnesses, including the common cold, strep throat and pneumonia. It is best to visit a doctor in order to get the best care, although a prescription isn't always the best ways to fight tflu.

One of the best ways to prevent the flu is to get the flu shot every fall, usually in October or November. The shot is safe for everyone over 6 months of age and will not cause the flu in anyone. If you have an allergy to chicken eggs or have had a poor reaction to the vaccine, you should not get another shot. Another type of flu vaccine is the nasal-spray. This kind is not safe for people younger than 5 years or over 50 years or those who are pregnant. Sometimes the vaccines available are not a good match for the strain of the virus circulating, but, in general, the vaccines have a 70 - 90% prevention rate. Even if the wrong strain is predicted and you get sick, you will not get as sick if you had skipped tvaccine.

There are also antiviral drugs that your doctor may prescribe that are approved for preventing and treating the amantadineadrimantadineadzanamivirmiviroseltamivirmivir. In order for any of these to work you must take them within 48 hours of coming down with the flu or during the time of a flu epidemic in your community. You should not take these unless prescribed as taking them when you do not have the flu can actually cause the flu virus to become immune to these antivdrugs.Ifgs.

If the vaccines or antivirals are not options for you, you can still protect yourself. First, make sure you wash your hands as often as possible, or use a hand sanitizing gel and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as these are the main entrance points for viruses getting into your body. When you are sick, stay home and avoid close contact with others when they are sick.

If you do become sick with the flu, make sure you get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids, especially water, and try to stay as comfortable as possible. It is fine to take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin (as long as you are over the age of 18), and other over-the-coumediationstions to treat other symptoms like runny or stuffy nose, diarrhea, coughing, fever and headache.