This year, take precautions and avoid illness.
Flu season is upon us, and the more informed people are, the more likely they are to avoid contracting the disease and passing it along to others. Flu season is also an opportunity for sales reps to remind their physician customers to educate their staff and patients about prevention protocols.
There are three types of flu viruses: Type A and B, which are responsible for seasonal epidemics, and type C, which is a less severe form of the disease. Flu viruses spread via droplets when infected people cough, sneeze or talk. Sometimes it is transmitted when a person touches an infected surface and then touches his or her mouth, eyes or nose. Most adults with flu can infect others a day before they develop symptoms, and then up to seven days after becoming sick, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With that in mind, the CDC recommends annual flu vaccination for all Americans over the age of six months. In addition, people should wash their hands, scrubbing vigorously for at least 15 seconds. They should also cover their mouth when they sneeze or cough, and avoid crowded areas whenever possible at the height of flu season.
How bad can it be?
The illness is unpredictable, and the severity can vary from one season to the next. Other factors affecting the seriousness of flu include:
- What flu viruses are spreading.
- How much flu vaccine is available.
- When the vaccine is available. (Delays in vaccine production can lead to the spread of illness.)
- How many people get vaccinated. (When more people get vaccinated, the risk of infection spreading is minimized.)
- How well the flu vaccine is matched to the current year’s flu viruses causing illness.
Often, healthy adults infect others before their symptoms even develop, and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. Symptoms include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Vomiting or diarrhea (more common in children than adults)
Although people afflicted with flu may feel miserable, the illness usually passes with no lasting side effects, according to Mayo Clinic. Generally, drinking liquids, getting extra rest and taking over-the-counter pain relievers if needed is sufficient to ease one’s symptoms. High-risk groups, however, may develop complications such as pneumonia, bronchitis, or sinus or ear infections. People at increased risk of developing flu include:
- Young children and adults over 65
- Pregnant women
- American Indians and Alaskan natives
- People who have:
- Asthma
- Neurological conditions
- Chronic lung disease
- Heart disease
- Blood disorders
- Endocrine, kidney or liver disorders
- Metabolic disorders
- Morbid obesity
- Long-term aspirin therapy
Nursing home residents and healthcare workers also are at high risk of developing the flu.
For the 2014-2015 flu season, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommend using the nasal spray vaccine (e.g., LAIV) rather than the flu shot for healthy children between two and eight year of age when it is immediately available, according to the CDC.
Although physicians and pharmacists continue to depend on a steady supply of vaccine for their patients, as more hospitals acquire physician practices and patients take advantage of pharmacy and retail clinics, experts have pointed to shift in the customer base. Still, it appears that physician practices – for now – continue to account for the bulk of vaccine sales for distributor sales reps.
For more information on flu vaccine and prevention protocols, see the related article in the long-term-care department of this issue, and visit www.cdc.gov.