Flu season is right around the corner and it’s time to consider just how serious this infection may be. Annually, worldwide influenza causes about 3-5 million people to have severe illness and causes between 290,000 and 650,000 deaths each year. Those at risk for severe disease are young children, adults over the age of 65, pregnant patients and those with underlying chronic diseases particularly lung disease. Most patients have an acute illness that will last about 5-7 days, but the symptoms of cough and fatigue may linger for weeks.
There is no specific treatment or cure for an influenza infection. Certain medications called antivirals may shorten the length of illness if taken with 48 hours of symptoms. These shorten the duration of illness by about 1 day. The best approach each year is to take the advice that a referee gives to boxers just before the start of the fight. He will tell them to “protect yourself at all times”. The protection in this case is the influenza vaccine which is recommended for patients greater than 6 months of age without contraindication. It has been shown to reduce illness, hospitalizations and death.
While you are at it give some consideration to the RSV and Covid vaccines as well. These infections often parallel the seasonal rise in influenza because of the increase in indoor activities during the winter months. Most of these vaccines are offered free at pharmacies particularly if you are a senior citizen.
Protect yourself at all times.
