If You Don't Respect the Flu, You Should

By Susan Hill, MD, family practitioner with Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group

At the top of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms, there’s a disclaimer that colds and flu are not considered “serious” health conditions … and I would fight them about the flu. About 30,000 people die each year from the flu, and that’s pretty serious in my book.

So, what is the flu?  

The flu is NOT the pukes and the runs (vomiting and diarrhea). People make that mistake all the time, probably because we commonly call that the “stomach flu."  Really, that’s a whole different animal. The flu is influenza: a family of viruses that hit hard and fast.

Flu symptoms 

• People go from well to sick in a matter of hours and they will often say it feels like they got hit by a truck, because of the speed and everything hurts.
• Most people get fever and headache
• but the profound exhaustion is what really gets them. Very few people can tough it out to work, almost every one spends at least 3 days in bed. For most people, it’s 5-7 days in bed and sometime even longer. People will tell you that even taking a shower is too much effort.
• Then they get respiratory symptoms like congestion, runny eyes, sore throat and cough, but these can be variable depending on the strain.
• Lesser fatigue can continue up to a month after the acute symptoms resolve.

How does the flu kill?

During the exhaustion phase, a person’s heart rate is high and breathing can be labored. If they already have any existing heart or lung problems, these conditions can rapidly get worse. But the flu also hits our immune systems, making people more vulnerable to secondary infections like pneumonia or sinus infections. Again this is worse if the person’s immune system is already weakened from disease (like diabetes) or medications, like chemo or steroids.   

I once got the flu in medical school and learned my lesson. I’ve been getting the flu shot every year for 20 years. I’m young and healthy enough to survive the flu should  I get it again, but I never want to be responsible for giving it to someone else. I RESPECT THE FLU TOO MUCH.

Preventing the flu

This year, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends EVERYONE over 6 months of age get the flu shot. While those babies younger than 6 months are most vulnerable, they can’t have the shot. So, how do we protect them? By vaccinating everybody around them:  mom, dad, grandparents, siblings, babysitters, daycare workers, etc.  This creates a circle of protection about them. Do you want to be the one to send that baby to the ICU, because you didn’t want to get a shot?

Here are some important facts about the flu:

• People are contagious a day or two before the symptoms, before they even know they’re sick. Tricky little virus, isn’t it?
• The vaccine doesn’t provide 100% protection (More like 85%).
• The vaccine takes 2 weeks to kick in, so plan ahead.
• You CANNOT get the flu from the vaccine. (The shot does not have the whole virus in it, only bits and pieces.) The problem is that we give the shot during the cold and flu season, so people are getting sick anyway, and often blame the shot. You’re much more likely to get sick standing in line, handling money, or shaking hands. 
• Antibiotics don’t help with the flu. The few medications we have (like Tamiflu), only help a little.

We do not need to see you in the office if you have the flu. There’s nothing we can do to help, and we don’t want you spreading it to the cancer/diabetic/heart patient in the waiting room (of course, if you’re not sure what you have, or may have pneumonia, we will need to see you. So call if you’re not sure.)

They have to guess, every year, which influenza strains are most likely to hit our country months in advance to start making the vaccine. And like any prediction, they don’t always get it right. That’s why some years you may hear about a vaccine that’s not working as well.

For more information about the flu, check out the CDC website or Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare's Influenza Resource Center.

For more helpful health, prevention and wellness information, visit the Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group blog.