A Handle on your Health: Influenza time again

As it does every year, the flu has arrived in Texas. Sometimes it hits us hard and sometimes it’s just a mild nuisance. Every year I get asked the same questions by patients about it, so I thought I would write a little summary to all the folks here in Hays County.

Do I need an antibiotic for the flu? No, no one needs an antibiotic to treat the flu.  Influenza is a virus. Most infections can be divided into viruses or bacteria. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. There is no medicine to kill the influenza virus. We do have some medicines that can help fight a virus, though.  

For viruses, Tamiflu is taken orally and Relenza is inhaled. Both are effective in reducing the duration of flu symptoms and in preventing it altogether. They are most effective if taken within the first day or two of symptoms.  Tamiflu is safe in babies and pregnant women. Relenza is approved for patients 5 years old and older, but might not be appropriate for patients with lung disease like asthma. The good news is, these medicines are found to be most beneficial for people with chronic illnesses, the elderly and the very young.  While the flu usually lasts 5-7 days, these meds will shorten the course of symptoms to 3-5 days.   

Tamiflu and Relenza help you get better faster, but what about treating all the awful symptoms with the flu? Are there other medicines that can make me feel better now? Yes there is. Nausea medicines are available to help with vomiting. Zofran and Phenergan are often prescribed to control nausea. Phenergan often makes people sleepy, which might be good if you need help with rest. Zofran comes in a convenient dissolvable tablet that you can just place under your tongue. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen will help with the muscle aches and headaches that often occur.  Cough medicines can help with cough and congestion, but there are way too many of them to discuss here in detail. Just pick a cough medicine and see if it works for you. Sometimes you have to try several to find the right one.

Are there any medicines for my baby when they get the Flu? Yes and no. As mentioned before Tamiflu can be used in babies 2-weeks-old and older and Tylenol is safe to use in babies for fever control. Other than that, there really aren’t many medicines safe to use for babies and you probably won’t be seeing any new medicines for babies either – most moms aren’t going to offer their babies up for testing. 

How do I know if I have a "Cold" or the flu? Symptoms can be vague making it difficult sometimes to know the difference. A common cold usually presents with cough, congestion, runny nose and maybe a low-grade fever and lasts for about 10 days. The flu presents with a fever (101-104 degrees usually), headache, muscle aches and often nausea and vomiting that lasts less than a week.  We have nasal swab testing available to identify the flu too. Today’s influenza testing has much better sensitivity than in years past. This means I can report results to my patients with much more confidence. Sometimes initial testing is negative which means you don’t have the flu on that day, but it doesn’t mean you can’t catch the flu in the next few days. The point here is that sometimes people start out with a common cold infection but then get infected with influenza shortly after.  

Is the flu vaccine worth getting every year? Yes. The CDC gathers information on the influenza virus every year and based on that information makes a determination on what strains to focus on for the vaccine. Some years the vaccine works really well and some years it’s not very effective. I would always recommend getting an influenza vaccine every year.  Some patients complain that the vaccine makes them feel just as bad as getting the flu.  The vaccine can make you feel a little achy and fatigued for a day or two, but overall our Hays County community is healthier if we all get vaccinated. Most of us don’t think about the flu as being a deadly disease but it can be.  Getting the influenza vaccine saves lives.

Lastly here are some easy measures you can take at home to help stop the spread of the flu in Hays County:  • When you cough, cough into your arm or hand. This stops air droplets from carrying the virus into other people’s airways which is the predominate form of transmission. 

• Wash your hands with soap and water. Wash your hands often throughout the day. The virus can live for 6-8 hours on surfaces like door handles or counter tops, so washing your hands helps reduce the spread to these places.

• Don’t let anyone eat or drink after you if you’re sick.  These are such simple measures they may not seem like much but they have a great effect on reducing the spread of the virus.

The flu season has not yet hit hard. If you do get sick, cover your mouth when you cough, wash your hands, stay hydrated and until next time, feel better.

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Dr. John Turner is a family medicine and emergency medicine doctor with 25 years of experience. He is also the owner of My Primary Care Clinic and My Emergency Room 24/7 here in Hays County. Dr. Turner may be reached at 512-667-6087.