Influenza

It’s about that time again–flu season.

Did you know that every year (on average), 5%-20% of the United State’s population gets the flu while more than 200,000 people are hospitalized, and 36,000 people die from the flu.

What is the flu? The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. It can cause mild to severe illness, and it can cause death. In order to protect yourself from this serious disease, you need to take certain precautions.

One of the most effective ways to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination. You should get your yearly flu vaccination around September or whenever your hospital first offers it. There are two types of vaccination. One is called the flu shot. This is an inactivated vaccine that is given with a needle. The other is the nasal-spray flu vaccine which is made with live, weakened flu viruses that can be given to people 2-49 years old who are healthy and not pregnant.

You should not be vaccinated if you are allergic to chicken eggs, if you have had reactions to influenza vaccinations before, if you have the Guillain-Barre syndrome, if you are less than six months old, or if you are sick.

Being vaccinated is important because it is fairly easy to catch this disease. It is spread person to person via coughing and sneezing. People can infect others even one day before the symptoms develop and even 5 days after you become sick–so you must be careful. For instance, maintain healthy habits, such as washing your hands frequently.

Some of the symptoms of the flu include: fever, headaches, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, muscle aches, or various stomach symptoms. Should you be experiencing any of these symptoms, you should contact your doctor as soon as possible.