Feb 20, 2016

What to do if you have the flu – ABC17News.com

(CNN) –

Flu activity is increasing in the United States, according to brand-new data from the Centers for Ailment Manage and Prevention, along with widespread activity reported in 12 states — Arizona, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, brand-new Mexico, brand-new York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Vermont — and Puerto Rico.

Thirteen kids have actually died as a result of the flu so far this flu season, the CDC reported on Friday. The CDC does not monitor adult flu deaths.

The proportion of people seeing their healthiness care providers for influenza-enjoy illnesses increased from 2.4% to 3.1%. So far, the most common strain this year is H1N1 — the same one that caused a pandemic in 2009. Seasonal flu vaccines have actually included the H1N1 virus due to the fact that 2010.

If you haven’t been vaccinated yet this season, the CDC says it’s still not too late to grab a flu shot. Here are others steps to take if you believe you may have actually the flu.

Rest and painkillers

You feel worse by the hour. Your joints ache; your head feels heavy; you can’t prevent coughing. You’re freezing, even as your temperature keeps climbing, and your stomach is upset. Even your eyes hurt.

Face it: You have actually the flu. Now just what do you do?

Most flu patients must not go to an emergency room, said Dr. David Zich, internal medicine and emergency medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. They will certainly most likely be sent home. A fever as higher as 103 degrees Fahrenheit is common for the flu, he said.

Patients along with normal flu symptoms must grab a great deal of rest and take painkillers to guidance along with muscle aches, Zich said.

And while you may not believe it today (or tomorrow, or the next day), “In 5 to seven days, you’re going to be feeling on your own again,” he promised.

But there are scenarios in which going to a hospital is necessary. If a patient is short of breath or can’t sustain fluids down as a result of nausea, these are signs of a problem that calls for immediate attention, Zich said. Excessive vomiting or sweating from fever can easily lead to dehydration, which is major and needs treatment.

The antiviral medications Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir) can easily reduce the severity of symptoms and the length of illness, However the drug has actually to be taken within 48 hours of the initial appearance of symptoms — you know, the “I will certainly not grab sick” phase — to be most effective.

Antiviral treatment is recommended mostly for people at a greater risk of flu complications. That would certainly contain people younger compared to 2 or older compared to 64; those along with chronic diseases; patients along with suppressed immune systems; and people of Native American or Alaskan Native heritage, according to the Centers for Ailment Manage and Prevention.

Tamiflu or Relenza are created to treat symptoms, and are not preventative, Zich said. All of they are most likely to do for a healthy and balanced person is create an upset stomach. Obtaining a flu shot while you’re healthy and balanced won’t offer you 100% protection, However it is your ideal bet.

5 signs to look for that could be serious

The common flu rarely kills the young and healthy, However it can. For children, generally, you simply should treat the symptoms and sustain them comfortable. However if your kid has actually the flu and you’re concerned that he or she might take a turn for the worse, here are 5 signs to watch out for.

1. Fast or troubled breathing

“Your child’s chest must be moving rather smoothly,” said Dr. Arthur Lavin, associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. “He shouldn’t have actually to tug to grab air in and out.”

2. Numb or blue fingers or toes

If your child’s fingers or toes are blue, it could mean her heart is not pumping enough oxygenated blood.

3. Can’t touch chin to chest

If your kid can’t touch her chin to her chest, it could be a authorize that she has actually a complication of the flu called meningitis.

4. Symptoms increase then return

If your kid gets much better However after that the fever returns and the cough comes spine much more severely compared to before, you must grab medical care right away, according to the CDC. This could be a authorize of a secondary infection.

5. Something simply doesn’t seem ‘right’

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