Healthy Living Newsletter
Flu Season: Prepare Yourself
If you’ve had the flu before, you may have no trouble imagining how it will feel to be lying flat on your back, your body aching from head to toe. Once you reach that point, it will be too late to prepare yourself for the flu.
Flu season in the northern hemisphere runs from November to April. Flu shots are generally available beginning in early October, and it’s a good idea to get yours as early as possible so you have time to build immunity before the virus arrives in our area.
When you’re healthy, you may tend to dismiss the flu as merely a bad cold. The misery of a cold usually comes on somewhat gradually, but if you have the flu, you usually know on the very first day that you’re dealing with something more serious. In addition to coughing, stuffy nose and sore throat that comes with either illness, the flu tends to wipe you out with fever, chills, headache and generalized aches and pains.
Both are viral infections that cannot be treated with antibiotics and will usually get better on their own with rest, extra fluids and over-the-counter pain medications.
Flu patients, however, have a longer battle and may end up with serious complications. About 36,000 Americans die each year and another 125,000 are hospitalized as a result of the flu and its complications. To arm yourself for the flu battle this year, talk to your doctor today about receiving your annual flu shot.
HEALTH TIP
Nearly everyone benefits from having a seasonal flu shot, and the Centers for Disease Control highly recommends a yearly shot for persons at higher than average risk. These include adults age 50 and over, children aged 6 - 59 months, pregnant women, persons with chronic medical conditions and individuals who live or work with such persons. These higher risk individuals total about 200 million or 60 percent of the population. |
