News :Winter Cold and Flu Survival Guide

Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008

It arrives each year as inevitably as the falling of the leaves and chilling of the winds. The winter cold and flu season is upon us. Over the coming months, a symphony of sniffling noses, aching heads, sore throats and hacking coughs will sound everywhere. As a nurse, it’s especially important to be aware of and brush up on cold and flu prevention strategies.

Pass it on
More than a billion colds besiege Americans every year, with an estimated five to 20 percent of the U.S. population contracting the flu virus annually. While some years may be milder or more severe than others, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized with flu complications each year, 10 percent of which are children younger than five years of age. Additionally, nearly 36,000 people die annually from complications caused by the flu, with seniors constituting the majority of those cases.

Both the cold and flu virus are spread through droplets in the air, when someone who is infected coughs, sneezes, or talks. But it also spreads through hand-to-hand contact with someone who has the virus, or by coming into contact with shared objects such as towels, utensils, toys or telephones. Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth after such contact or exposure to an infected individual, and you’re likely to contract the virus. Colds and flu share similar symptoms, with some notable differences:

• Colds. The virus settles in the back of the nose in the adenoid area where it multiplies. Symptoms begin within 10 to 12 hours, with infected individuals at their most contagious two to three days after symptoms appear. The coughing, sneezing and copious quantities of mucous released signal the body’s efforts to defend itself. Wet, phlegmy coughs, dripping noses, and sore throats are typical. Most cold symptoms get worse over the first 48 hours, and then begin to subside. The average cold lasts a week to 10 days.

• Flu. Flu is more serious than a cold, with the danger lying in the virus’ invasion of the bronchial tubes and lungs. Flu can be spread one day before symptoms occur and up to five days after their onset. While flu usually lasts only four to five days, symptoms begin more suddenly and are more violent than a cold. Body aches, extreme fatigue, high fevers, severe headache, chills, and a dry, hacking cough are typical. Cough and fatigue may persist for a few weeks.

If your symptoms haven’t improved or have become worse after 10 to 14 days, contact your doctor. You may have developed a sinus infection or bacterial bronchitis that requires antibiotics. If your symptoms seem to disappear and then return, or if you experience shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, or a severe cough that produces blood or phlegm, contact your doctor. This may be a sign of bacterial pneumonia, which also requires antibiotics and can be dangerous, particularly to older adults, people with compromised immune systems, or those with chronic heart or lung conditions.

Fighting back
The best defense against a cold or flu is rest, fluids, and time. Over-the-counter medications, herbal teas, lozenges, and juice can be used to treat your symptoms and may make you feel better, but they won’t cure you sooner. You just have to wait it out. So stay home, make yourself comfortable, and listen to your body, advises Dr. Eric Westerman, an infectious-disease specialist at Houston’s Methodist Hospital. “If your body says you need to sleep, then that’s what you should do. Ignore it and it could take you longer to recover.”

It’s also important to stay hydrated. You need at least three to four extra glasses of fluid a day to replace moisture lost by coughing and sneezing. Fluids also help to thin mucous secretions and reduce coughing. Your grandmother’s favorite remedy, chicken noodle soup, helps reduce inflammation. Use anti-viral tissues to avoid spreading germs. Gargle with warm salt water or sip warm liquids to soothe a sore throat. For an irritated throat, skip the cough drops (they don’t work) and suck on sugar-free hard candy. Decongestants can ease a stuffy nose, but stay away from nasal decongestant sprays. Overuse can cause a rebound effect and serve to worsen congestion. Saline spray (each person should have his/her own), vaporizers and steamy showers help keep nasal passages moisten.

What you can do to protect yourself from colds and flu:
• Wash your hands to prevent the spread of infection, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds in warm soapy water.
• Get plenty of rest. Lack of sleep and prolonged stress weaken the body’s immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Exercise regularly.
• Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw it away.
• To prevent spreading germs, avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
• To prevent flu, get vaccinated.

Flu shots significantly reduce risk of death and hospitalization in adults 50 and older, according to a study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. An analysis of 10 years of medical data found that seniors who received flu shots were 27 percent less likely to be hospitalized with flu or pneumonia and 48 percent less likely to die from flu-related complications.

Seniors are among the highest risk groups for influenza, which also include adults and children with weakened immune systems, those with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart or lung disease, pregnant women, and young children.

Children are the prime carriers of flu virus, which led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue new guidelines this year recommending that all children from six months to 18 years of age be vaccinated. The CDC specifically targeted children six months to five years old as being at greatest risk of serious complications from flu viruses. “Our current thinking is that to control influenza, we really have to vaccinate all children,” said Dr. Robert Belshe, a vaccine specialist at St. Louis University.

Maxim Health Systems is a community-driven organization that is committed to educating the public about the benefits of flu and pneumonia immunization and ensuring that the vaccine is widely accessible to:
• Corporations and their employees
• Physicians and their patients
• Retail locations and their customers
• Senior Living Facilities and their residents
• Public Access Facilities and their community members
• Schools and Colleges/Universities
• General public

Each year, Maxim offers on-site flu clinics at easily accessible locations throughout the country. Flu clinics in your area can be located on our website.

Maxim Health Systems is always looking for motivated nurses and medical personnel to work in our flu clinics. Contact us to explore employment opportunities with Maxim.