Health and Fitness

February 15, 2007

Arm Yourself to Fight the Flu

Spring may be just around the corner, but don't expect the flu season to come to a close just yet.

In fact, with cases of the flu on the rise in Northern California, Kaiser Permanente infectious diseases experts say it is not too late to get your vaccination.

Data collected by the region shows a steep increase in reported cases of the two primary influenza strains and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV); an ailment resulting in a nasty cough for adults and sometimes extreme danger in infants.

The data was collected as part of a disease-surveillance system run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state, and KP.

Who Should Get a Flu Shot?

• Seniors 65 years of age and over
• People with chronic heart and lung diseases, such as asthma, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease
• People with diabetes, HIV/AIDS, kidney disease or blood disease (for example, sickle-cell anemia)
• Children or teenagers receiving long-term aspirin therapy
• Women who are three or more months pregnant
• Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities

If you fall into one of these groups, get a flu shot, says Roger Baxter, MD, KP's infectious diseases consultant. And if you don't, get a flu shot anyway if you can. There's no truth to the popular misconception, he added, that flu shots can cause the flu – the vaccine uses dead virus, which cannot induce disease. A flu shot increases your odds of avoiding the disease and complications.

So, adds Dr. Baxter, can getting plenty of sleep, regular exercise, washing your hands regularly, and coping effectively with stress. 

Flu is a particularly tricky virus because the variety known as influenza A can outsmart the human immune system. With many other viruses, the immune system "remembers" the virus after first exposure, and quickly attacks it with antibodies the next time it appears, often suppressing the infection before it starts. Flu, though, changes in ways that prevent fast recognition and antibody attack. The result: another bout of the flu even if you've had the virus before.

The most distinguishing symptom of influenza is fever and severe muscle aches that appear suddenly. One minute you feel fine; a few minutes later you're burning up and aching everywhere.

If the flu does strike, stay home. The disease is very infectious, spread both by hand-to-face contact and inhaling respiratory secretions. If you go to work when you have flu, you'll simply pass the disease around.

Instead, get bed rest, drink plenty of fluids (water, juice, chicken soup), use over-the-counter medications for symptoms (antihistamines and decongestants for the stuffy head; acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin for muscle aches in adults; avoid aspirin in children under 18).  Prescription antibiotics specific to flu may help shorten the length of time you're sick, but that's about all.

The major risk flu poses is pneumonia, which can prove fatal. The influenza virus damages the airways, making it easy for bacteria to move in and infect the lungs.  Pneumonia usually hits as you're recovering from the flu. You've been getting better, and then you start feeling worse, running a fever (102°F for two days, 100°F for three or four days) and coughing. Then it's time to phone your doctor. That call could save your life.