Flu: 10 tips to feel better
The flu every year affects 10-20% of the population, but in certain closed groups such as schools and nursery schools, or asylums it is higher than 50%, reaching the highest prevalence peaks during the winter since the flu virus it resists low temperatures well.
In addition, interpersonal contact is narrower in this station due to a longer time of coexistence inside homes and buildings, which facilitates the transmission from person to person. The flu viruses They can be transmitted from one day before the onset of symptoms until seven days after their onset.
Some tips to avoid getting the flu
It is very important to take hygienic measures such as covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing, preferably with disposable handkerchiefs, washing hands, especially after coughing, and try not to reuse the tissues used when cleaning nasal secretions.
It is recommended to wash the objects of the flu patient, ventilate the house, especially the patient's room, several times a day and place him in a room separated from the rest of the family, advising him not to leave the home during the process to avoid the extension of the contagion of the flu.
10 tips to relieve flu symptoms
There is no effective treatment against influenza, but we can relieve symptoms to feel better. The general advice for an affected person is:
1. Rest, sleep and rest enough. Your body is fighting against flu to try to expel it, which in turn makes your body feel more tired.
2. Abundant intake of fluids. Avoid dehydration. Hot drinks especially can help relieve your congestion and soothe your swollen throat. Drink hot water with lemon and water or a soothing mint tea. Avoid drinking milk and other dairy products as they contribute to the production of mucus and make you feel worse. You should also avoid sugary and caffeinated beverages.
3. Blow your nose properly. Sniffing mucus instead of blowing can hurt your eardrums, which will add ear pain to your discomforts. There is also a right way to blow your nose. If you do it differently, you will hurt your eardrums. The proper way is to press a finger on one nostril and sound gently to clear the other. Do not forget to wash your hands after doing it.
4. Use a drug that relieves symptoms, like paracetamol, which acts as an analgesic and antipyretic acting simultaneously on pain and fever. Aspirin is not indicated in children and adolescents to avoid the appearance of Reye Syndrome, an infrequent but serious complication of the liver and brain. In adults, it is prescribed with caution due to the gastric problems it can cause.
5. Do not self-medicate with antibiotics, unless they are prescribed by the doctor for secondary bacterial infection.
6. Make steam baths. Helps to moisten and decongest the nasal passages.
7. Put a minty ointment under your nose. Besides moisturizing the breasts and external part of the nose, surely irritated by so much nasal discharge, it helps to breathe better and relieves congestion.
8. Keep your head elevated. Especially during the night because it helps to drain accumulated mucus and to get to sleep. Place extra pillows on your bed to sleep with your head up.
9. Use a saline nasal spray. Salt water breaks down the mucus that congests your nose and removes virus and bacteria particles from your nostrils.
10. Eat healthy, especially many fruits and vegetables. Vitamin supplements have been shown to be useless, both those of vitamin C (innocuous since the excess is usually eliminated in the urine), as well as those of vitamin A and D with which it is necessary to be more careful because being fat-soluble and not water-soluble it can accumulate and cause intoxication in high doses.
The best way to prevent influenza is vaccination
In addition to increasing defenses and avoiding viral infection as much as possible, the best way to prevent the flu it is highly effective vaccination, which provides protection from the eighth to ninth day and persists after one year. It is convenient to do it between the months of October-November. The flu vaccine is especially indicated in high-risk groups:
- Over 60 years old.
- Children under 5 years old.
- Immunosuppressed (diabetes, AIDS, transplant, etc.).
- With severe previous illness especially respiratory (emphysema, bronchitis,
etc.) or cardiac (myocardial infarction, valvular heart disease, etc.).
It is also recommended the flu vaccine for health personnel and those who live with people with chronic health problems.
The flu vaccine is contraindicated in women in the first trimester of pregnancy, in people allergic to eggs or in those who have acute illness with high fever until this situation subsides. Likewise, children under six months of age should not be vaccinated.
Due to the high rate of mutation of influenza virus, a specific vaccine formulation confers immunity for a short time so it is necessary to develop new vaccines every year according to the prevalent strains every year.
Some curiosities about the flu
The Flu is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory tract, caused by a virus (influenza or influenza virus) that is transmitted from person to person through coughing, sneezing or directly contaminated shared objects (glasses, plates, napkins, etc.). This transmission is made through spray droplets loaded with viruses, coming from the saliva and the nasal and / or bronchial secretion.
The influenza viruses resist more in dry and cold environment. They can keep their infective capacity for a week at the temperature of the human body, during 30 days at 0ª C and for much longer at lower temperatures. It can be easily inactivated by detergents or disinfectants. This virus mutates easily which forces to make a specific vaccine every year.
The initial symptoms may be similar to a cold but it is usual to start of sudden form with high fever, between 38 and 40º C and chills. It is accompanied by sore throat, weakness, muscular pains (myalgias) and joints, cough usually dry and without mucus and malaise. Although it can be confused with the cold common, the flu is a more serious disease and is caused by a different type of virus. It can also cause, more often in children, nausea and vomiting, as well as gastroenteritis, being called stomach or abdominal flu.
Dr. Román Rodríguez Barriguete. General practitioner and Physician of the Work of FCC.
