Tuesday 9 August 2022

Influenza: A cause of concern for both children and adults

“Health is not valued until sickness comes.” This beautiful quote by Thomas Fuller is a gentle reminder to all of us. As parents, we are always vigilant toward our kids’ health, telling them to be careful and follow hygiene protocols so they don’t fall sick. But have we ever pondered, do only children need to be careful? Shouldn’t adults be careful too? 

Because when we fall sick, the chances of our child getting that infection from us is higher. Not only do children need to #FightAgainstFlu, but adults also need to.

Before we get to how you can protect yourself from the flu, let us understand what is flu or influenza and how it can affect our health.


What is Influenza or flu?

Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus that if not treated properly, can lead to serious complications.1


What do experts say about influenza?

To understand Influenza we attended the FB live session where Dr. Mangesh Tiwaskar and Dr. Sadanand S. Shetye discussed various aspects of the flu and flu shots. They explained how adults are at the same risk as kids for the infection of the flu and how adults' health and other medical conditions affect it.


Who is at risk from influenza?

As we mentioned above, influenza (flu) is a potentially serious disease that can affect not only kids but also adults. According to reports on average a child falls sick four times a year and adults twice a year and the timing coincidences with the seasonal change.2 


Who is at risk?

Pregnant women,3

Children below 5 years of age,3

Elderly above 60 years of age,3

Patients with preexisting health conditions like heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes3 


The seasonal flu affects your body and sometimes also hampers other health conditions in adults and affects the growth in kids.


Thus, we need a way to #FightAgainstFlu. 


Precautions to keep in mind


Here are some precautions to keep in mind to protect yourself and your children from the flu:4


Maintain hygiene: Don’t forget the good habits that we became used to in the past 2 years. Wash your hands with soap and water or sanitize them. 


Don’t touch your face: Germs enter our body through the nose, eyes and mouth. While washing hands is helpful, we also cannot avoid touching surfaces. So, the best way to avoid transferring germs from your hands is to avoid touching your face.


Get vaccinated: Annual vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from the flu, especially for people who fall under the at-risk category.


Stay at home and stay away from sick people: Do your social responsibility – stay at home if you feel you’re coming down with something. Keep away from the vulnerable age groups so you don’t give them your infection.    


Final Thought

We have to stay safe and care for the family at the same time. Joyce Meyer's quote sets the right motive to lead a healthy happy life with family, “I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.” One should not take cough and running nose lightly in the period of season change. Vaccinating ourselves with flu shots not only reduces the severity of flu illness but also certainly decreases the associated risks.1

Proper awareness about the disease and adopting preventive measures ensure a safety cover around us. And if you were under impression that flu shots are only for kids, then check the facts and the stats that say adults are also at risk for influenza and require yearly flu shots to stop the spread of Influenza and win the #FightAgainstFlu to lead a happy healthy life.


References

1. https://www.healthshots.com/preventive-care/self-care/side-effects-of-season-change-on-health-and-tips-to-handle-it/

2. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/keyfacts.htm#flu-vaccination

3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/flu/in-depth/flu-shots/art-20048000

4. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/five-simple-steps-to-protect-against-flu 


15 comments:

  1. Influebza can have really bad effects, and both adults and kids are at risk. Proper hygiene and precautions against infection are really neccessary.

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  2. Flu is definitely to be taken seriously which is not in India. Pediatricians highly recommend giving flu shots evry year and I've continued to do so for both my kids.

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  3. This is very informative & helpful post. People around me are suffering from flu. So taking flu shots will be the best for everyone.

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  4. Influenza is definitely a dangerous condition but with right awareness and precaution this can be prevented. The post highlights the important points pertaining to influenza and also the timely vaccine shot

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  5. Your points of precaution are exactly the ones I suggest everyone to follow. The flu can cause severe breathing problems. A child with severe symptoms may need to stay in the hospital. The flu can lead to a lung infection called pneumonia.

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  6. This is really of utmost concern during this season. You have elaborated this beautifully. We all need to be careful and take care of our immunity.

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  7. Influenza is one such health issue which is so rare bur can have an severe impact. The worst part is the symptoms like common cold. You have come up with the topi so beautifully

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  8. True. We have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of anyone else.

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  9. Of late a lot of awareness has been created against Influenza. I myself learned a lot from you. It is important not to ignore cold even

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  10. Being a doctor myself, I could not have written this article any better! You have explained all that is needed to knwo about Influenza and the Flu vaccination.

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  11. yes flu vaccine offer a great level of protection against flu. we as a family taking flu shot since last years. thanks for reminding for this year.

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  12. It's important that we understand the difference between Influenza and common cold and take appropriate precautions, the major one being annual Flu shots

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  13. It's really important for everyone to understand the symptoms and the precautions need to be taken. Thanks for sharing this informative post.

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  14. Flu we have heard but currently there are all kinds of fevers that are nameless these days. Covid has left a trail of new diseases to fight against. Wonder if this battle will ever stop.

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  15. Flu is dangerous and contagious. If we take the right precautions we can manage it well. But getting vaccinated is the first step

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