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Beat the Winter Bugs:
How to Hold Your Own Against Colds and Flus
By: Michelle Meadows
Cold and Flu Symptoms
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People who get the flu usually
know the exact day that it hit, whereas a cold tends to come
on gradually. Both colds and flu cause inflammation of the mucous
membranes (found in the nose, throat and mouth). Symptoms for
colds and flu can be similar; both can cause a stuffy nose, sore
throat, cough, and fever. Symptoms generally last about a week
or two.
Colds are usually distinguished
by a runny nose and sneezing. Along with coming on suddenly,
the flu is more serious than a cold, lasts longer, and often
leaves you with a wiped-out feeling, a headache, chills, dry
cough, and body aches.
Young children may also experience
nausea and vomiting with flu, but what many people call "stomach
flu" is something different--probably gastroenteritis, which
is usually caused by other viruses, bacteria, and toxins.
--M.M. |
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When You Need a Doctor
Jerry Rogers, M.D., a family
physician in Moorhead, Minn., says some patients have asked him
about taking an antibiotic early on, before their cold or flu
symptoms get bad. But antibiotics don't help viral illnesses.
Using antibiotics inappropriately only spreads antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, making fewer drugs effective for treating disease.
Most of the time, colds and flu
simply have to run their course. "We don't typically treat
colds and flu unless they become complicated," Rogers says.
You usually don't need to call the doctor at the first signs
of cold and flu, but there are times when you should.
Doctors will look for and treat
cold and flu complications such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear
infections, and pneumonia--bacterial infections that may require
antibiotics. For some people, colds and flu can aggravate underlying
medical conditions like heart disease and asthma.
If you aren't getting any better
after about a week or your symptoms worsen, you should see a
doctor. Your viral infection may have caused enough mucus build-up
to allow for a bacterial infection to occur. Signs of trouble
might be a cough that gets so bad it disrupts sleep, a fever
that won't go down, increased shortness of breath, and pain in
the face because of a sinus infection (sinusitis). Another warning
signal is if after feeling better for a short time, you start
to feel worse and experience a high fever, chest pain, or notice
a difference in the mucus you're producing, such as a change
from clear to thick, yellow-green mucus.
With children, be alert for high
fevers and abnormal behavior--acting unusually drowsy, refusing
to eat, crying a lot, holding the ears or stomach, and wheezing.
--M.M.
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Unproven Remedies
Some people rely on vitamin C
supplements, zinc lozenges, and echinacea to prevent and treat
cold and flu symptoms. These remedies may make some people feel
better. However, their health effects are unknown, says Linda
Lambert, a program officer with the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
No conclusive data has shown
that large doses of vitamin C prevent colds; they may reduce
the severity or duration of symptoms, but there is no definitive
evidence. And the jury is still out on zinc. "There are
about an equal number of studies that say zinc helps as there
are studies that say it doesn't," Lambert says.
As for echinacea, "studies
have been done of echinacea for preventing or treating colds
and flu, but these studies were not rigorous or definitive and
the products tested were diverse," according to a written
statement from Stephen Straus, M.D., director of the National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the
National Institutes of Health. "These studies at best suggest
that echinacea may be beneficial in the early treatment of colds
and flu, but does not help prevent them."
Always tell your doctor about
any supplements or herbal remedies you use, and don't overdo
it. For example, taking too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea.
--M.M.
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Keeping Up With Flu Shots
In preparation for possible delays
with the 2001 flu vaccine supply, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) encouraged health-care providers to target
doses of flu vaccine to high-risk groups and health-care workers
in September and October.
People age 6 months and up who
are not considered at high risk should seek the vaccine as it
is available, in November or later. Children under 9 need two
doses of vaccine separated by at least one month if they haven't
previously had a flu shot.
A recent CDC study shows that
while flu vaccination rates increased during the past decade,
rates may be leveling off, and racial gaps persist. In 1999,
69 percent of whites age 65 and over reported getting a flu shot,
compared with 59 percent of Hispanics, and 48 percent of African
Americans. Differences in access to care and socioeconomic status
don't appear to explain the gap, says James Singleton with the
CDC's National Immunization Program. The CDC is planning a series
of interviews, surveys, and other research over the next year
to uncover the key factors, Singleton says.
Visit the CDC's influenza web
site at www.cdc.gov/nip/flu/.
Unvaccinated high-risk persons,
health-care workers, those living with high-risk people, and
all people ages 50 and older should try to be vaccinated by November,
and should continue to seek influenza vaccine in December or
later if necessary.
Here are the primary target groups
for annual flu vaccination:
People at increased risk for
complications from the flu, including
people 65 and older
residents of nursing homes and
other facilities that house people who have chronic medical conditions
such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease
adults and children who have chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular
disorders, including asthma adults and children who have required
regular medical follow-up or hospitalization during the preceding
year because of chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes),
kidney dysfunction, disorders caused by hemoglobin abnormalities,
or a weakened immune system, including immunosuppression caused
by medications or the virus that causes AIDS children and teen-agers
(ages 6 months to 18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin
therapy, and therefore might be at risk for developing Reye's
syndrome women who will be in the second or third trimester of
pregnancy during the flu season People who can transmit influenza
to those at high risk
physicians, nurses, and other
personnel in hospital and outpatient care settings, including
emergency response workers employees of nursing homes and chronic-care
facilities who have contact with patients or residents employees
of assisted living and other residences for persons in high-risk
groups persons who provide home care to persons in groups at
high risk household members (including children) of people in
groups at high risk People ages 50-64 because this group has
increased prevalence of high-risk conditions.
Source: Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices
--M.M. |
