Respiratory health care has come under the spotlight more than ever since the onset of COVID-19 and its unprecedented effects globally. Across the world, authorities have alerted people about the increased severity of the flu season this year. In fact, the World Health Organisation terms it ‘a year-round disease burden’, because it is so infectious.
Why is it important?
Flu is often disregarded as something insignificant, usually confused with the common cold and nothing more than a runny nose or a mild temperature. It can appear to be an unimportant illness because most people recover without medical attention within a week from any fever or other symptoms. However, it can escalate to a life-threatening situation for a small number of people – up to 650,000 people pass away from the flu each year globally.
Who is at risk?
Even healthy people are vulnerable, while those with weakened immune systems may experience severe effects. Recovery can take a few weeks and sometimes in rare cases, problems like pneumonia, inflammation of the heart or brain, or a sinus infection can occur.
What are the symptoms?
“The first thing to note in the difference between a cold and the flu, are the symptoms. With flu, the symptoms can include fever or feverish chills, a cough, a sore throat, a runny nose, muscle and body aches, headaches and a general feeling of fatigue. With a cold, symptoms are milder and people are more likely to have a stuffy nose, with no fever or aching muscles”, says Dr. Claude Afif, Staff Physician of Infectious Diseases at Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi.
When are you contagious?
Like a cold, the flu is a virus that spreads easily through a cough or a sneeze. In fact, it can travel at least two metres! This means you can definitely infect others around you. While it can be up to four days before you notice any symptoms of the flu, you are actually contagious before this stage, and you can easily pass it on to others without knowing.
How to treat the flu
While you can generally cure a cold with a good dose of vitamin C, treating the flu takes a little more. You need to rest and sleep, keep warm, take the right medication to lower your temperature, and treat aches and pains. Make sure to also drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration!
The flu vaccine
An alternative to treating symptoms is to vaccinate against the flu – and the best time to get your vaccine is early winter, just as the season changes.
“Flu vaccinations are shown to offer approximately 70-90% protection in healthy adults and can reduce the number of hospitalisations in the elderly by 25-39%”, continues Dr. Afif.
How it works
Influenza vaccines are injected into the upper arm muscle for little ones aged one year and up, and into the upper thigh for babies who are between six months and a year, while live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) are administered intranasally. The vaccine contains inactivated parts of influenza viruses that help the body develop immunity about two weeks after vaccination. The body produces antibodies that give protection against the viruses that are in the vaccine. The flu vaccine is updated on a yearly basis to protect against the main viruses causing flu each year.
Who should get the vaccine?
“The flu vaccine is recommended for everyone over the age of three and is a single shot, but children under the age of nine who haven’t had a flu vaccine are recommended to get two doses. People most at risk from flu are adults over 50 years of age and children under five years of age as well as pregnant women, healthcare workers and schoolchildren aged between five and 18. Smokers, immunocompromised people and those with preexisting health conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases etc. would fall into this risk group too. Therefore, everyone above the age group of three is recommended to get the vaccine”, says Dr. Afif.
A yearly dose
Because the flu strains tend to change frequently, it’s important to get a vaccine every year. Immunity from infection by one influenza virus does not protect fully against variants of the same subtype or type. Essentially, this means that last year’s vaccine protects you against last year’s flu, but not necessarily this year’s flu. This also explains why there are flu outbreaks every year.
A flu shot boosts your immunity against these strains and it also helps you to avoid a serious long-lasting illness if you do happen to catch the virus, as well as preventing complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis and ear or sinus infections.
Myths about the vaccine
There are various misconceptions that influence people to not get vaccinated. For one, there is no foundation in the belief that if you have had the COVID-19 vaccine, you do not need the flu vaccine. They are different respiratory viruses and being immunised for one will not protect you against the other.
Another common myth is that the flu vaccine is contagious. “The flu vaccine is not contagious and won’t make you sick with the flu, because it contains an inactive virus. Following the shot, some patients may develop a moderate reaction, with symptoms like a low-grade fever, headache, and sore muscles. Around the injection site, you can also experience some discomfort, tightness, or redness”, concludes Dr. Afif.
How to book
Call 800 8 2223 to book a flu vaccination appointment for you or your family at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
As always, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the best first defence to maintaining wellness and good health, and that includes getting your flu shot.
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