Well, it's flu season again, or put another way, it's STILL flu season. First the H1N1, then the "routine" seasonal flu. Both. Neither. Another choice? Allergies?
Just don't panic. Remember to be vigilant, but don't over react. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Perform good hand hygiene, early and often. Don't join groups if you feel sick. Monitor your temperature. If you think you have the flu, with symptoms of aches, sore throat, fever, and even nausea and diarrhea, think about staying home. Treat yourself like you're sick. Treat the symptoms, but most of the time you don't need any antiviral antibiotics. By the way, obtaining an H1N1 nasal swab isn't much help. The swab is only positive a fraction of the time among patients who are positive for H1N1. As a result, a negative test doesn't rule out the H1N1 virus. By all means, if you're seriously ill, contact your physician. But the majority of us will suffer through a mild version of the flu, and need only to treat the symptoms -and stay away from crowds for a little while. ( I wonder how many people who felt sick still managed to show up at the first Cowboy's home game Sunday night? ) A dose of common sense will go a long way to helping us get through this novel flu season. Enjoy the chicken soup.
Just don't panic. Remember to be vigilant, but don't over react. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Perform good hand hygiene, early and often. Don't join groups if you feel sick. Monitor your temperature. If you think you have the flu, with symptoms of aches, sore throat, fever, and even nausea and diarrhea, think about staying home. Treat yourself like you're sick. Treat the symptoms, but most of the time you don't need any antiviral antibiotics. By the way, obtaining an H1N1 nasal swab isn't much help. The swab is only positive a fraction of the time among patients who are positive for H1N1. As a result, a negative test doesn't rule out the H1N1 virus. By all means, if you're seriously ill, contact your physician. But the majority of us will suffer through a mild version of the flu, and need only to treat the symptoms -and stay away from crowds for a little while. ( I wonder how many people who felt sick still managed to show up at the first Cowboy's home game Sunday night? ) A dose of common sense will go a long way to helping us get through this novel flu season. Enjoy the chicken soup.
- Dr. Joe Prosser
vice president and chief quality officer
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment