By VIRGINIA DRYE
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — With the weather cooling down and kids returning to school, we tend to spend more time inside and in close proximity to others. This is the perfect recipe for spreading germs and viruses, including the flu. We spoke with Anthony “Tony” Guidone, a board-certified family nurse practitioner from Valley Regional Urgent Care.
The flu season usually occurs in the fall and winter, but the peak months for the flu according to the CDC are December through March with February being the highest.
A driver gives a thumbs-up after going through the drive-up flu clinic for adults at Valley Regional Hospital.
“We typically follow what happens in Australia. Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so their seasons are opposite of ours, (December to February is their summer). The vaccine is based on the virus that circulates in Australia.” said Guidone.
What is the flu and how is it different from a cold?
Flu is a virus, and it will run its course anywhere from seven to 14 days. “When you smoke or vape, you run a higher risk of developing complications and a more severe outcome,” said Guidone.
Typically, the flu is going to hit you all at once and it is common to have systemic multi symptoms; spiking a fever, body aches, GI issues, diarrhea, to name a few. The virus typically is a rapid onset within minutes to an hour, and that typically will tell you it’s more likely a virus of some sort.
Who is at risk?
There are specific higher risk factors for flu complications, particularly certain age groups. The groups that are really high risk are children less than 5 (especially less than two years old) adults over 65 years of age (especially residents and nursing homes and long-term care facilities) and pregnant women (up to two weeks postpartum). “A lot of people get the flu, and our goal is to try and manage their symptoms while keeping them out of the emergency department as well as preventing the need for hospitalization,” continued Guidone. “Keep in mind chemotherapy drugs and some medical conditions weaken your immune system and can’t put you at higher risk of hospitalization”
What is the best way to mitigate the flu? And what type of vaccines are there?
Guidone explained that the CDC has said every year for decades that vaccinations are the best way to mitigate the flu.
“The influenza vaccination every year, absolutely the best thing we can do because it is up to date with the current virus.”
There are a few different kinds of vaccines: the live vaccine, the inactivated vaccine, and the recumbent vaccine. “The most used is the inactivated, and that is the one we typically give, and there’s two kinds: One that is a non-high dose and one that is a high dose.”
The standard dose is given to pretty much everybody that is less than 65 years of age, or if the health care provider decides they qualify for it.
“So just because you’re under 65, that doesn’t mean you automatically are disqualified from the high dose,” continued Guidone.
But that’s a discussion that has to happen with a provider as the provider should know the whole history of the patient to make those decisions and weigh the risk versus benefit.
“The vaccine does not prevent you from getting the flu. It decreases the severity of the symptoms to prevent you from having to become an inpatient in a hospital due to breathing problems,” explained Guidone.
In addition, it takes two weeks after getting the flu vaccination for your body to provide antibodies to provide protection against the flu.
Good hygiene also helps such as hand washing.
According to the CDC, “hand washing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia.”
Guidone suggested “If you know somebody’s coughing or sneezing, be at least 6 feet away. The CDC has done lots of research since COVID that these measures do help prevent severe illness.”
When should one go to the Emergency Room?
One of the few things you’re going to see is lung issues like trouble breathing. But any kind of breathing problem you want to seek care immediately. Whether it’s calling your primary care provider, urgent care, or visiting the emergency department. If the breathing issues are severe, then you go to the emergency department or call 911.”
If breathing is affected, Guidone explained that once you arrive at the urgent care or at your scheduled primary care appointment, you can be tested, and once testing is done medication can be given in order to address the symptoms. But it’s about timing.
“Being seen right away, not only is it one good for patient care because we’re going to identify this, but we can also do a rapid flu, we can do a PCR flu test, (influenza screening) and get those results usually within an hour or two. If the person is 48 hours or less from onset of symptoms and they test positive, we can offer Tamiflu (OSELTAMIVIR) which will help reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness.”
The bottom line is that the more is done to prevent the flu, the better it is for our community with people not taking a step to get a vaccine or using preventative measures like hand washing, it can lead to higher patient visits in the emergency room which can increase wait times.
So while you are enjoying fall, take a moment and talk to your provider about the flu vaccine. If you do not have a primary care provider, you can reach out to our primary care office to establish one. In addition, you can get a flu vaccine at most local pharmacies.
Valley Regional is holding a public drive-up flu clinic for adults on Oct. 26 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit vrh.org/influenza/ for more information.
