☆☆National Flu Week☆☆

December 1 – 7, 2019 is National Influenza Vaccination Week, an excellent opportunity to encourage all WIC participants 6 months and older, and staff, to get their flu vaccine. The flu can cause mild to severe illness, but can also cause complications, some of which can be life-threatening

Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches, and fatigue.
People may experience:
Pain areas: in the muscles
Cough: can be dry or with phlegm
Whole body: body ache, chills, dehydration, fatigue, fever, flushing, loss of appetite, or sweating
Nasal: congestion, runny nose, or sneezing
Also common: chest pressure, head congestion, headache, nausea, shortness of breath, sore throat, or swollen lymph nodes

HOW IT SPREADS
By airborne respiratory droplets (coughs or sneezes).
By touching a contaminated surface (blanket or doorknob).
By saliva (kissing or shared drinks).

By skin-to-skin contact (handshakes or hugs).

While researching, I found out some interesting things about the influenza virus. Below they are listed:
1. The word influenza is the Italian word for "influence."
And it refers to the cause of the disease — people believed that the planets, stars, and moon influenced the flu. The word "influenza" was used for the first time in English in 1703.

2. Each year, an average of 5% to 20% of the U.S. population contract the virus.
Even worse: More than 200,000 people will be hospitalized from flu-related complications.

3. Hippocrates first reported a flu-like disease in the year 412 B.C.
Some historians believe the flu might have contributed to the demise of Athens in 404 B.C. But the first documented flu pandemic was in 1580, which afflicted over 90% of the population.

4. You should get vaccinated by October.
Although most activity peaks in January, some seasonal flu outbreaks happen as early as October. And since it takes about two weeks for the antibodies from the vaccine to develop in the body, doctors recommend you get vaccinated early. Since February 2010, the CDC has recommended that everyone six months and older get the vaccine.

5. It's hard to pinpoint the exact number of flu-related deaths each year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 6,309 Americans will die from underlying flu and pneumonia causes annually, but only 8.5% of these deaths are associated with influenza. Sometimes it's a relatively low number — only 961 deaths in 1986 — or sometimes it's scarily high — over 14,500 

6. There have been four major flu epidemics in the last century.
The Spanish Flu, Asian Flu, Hong-Kong Flu, and most recently Swine Flu, which caused over 12,000 deaths worldwide. The Spanish Flu caused the highest known mortality rates from influenza-related deaths ever: approximately 20 million worldwide in 1918. (The Russian Flu in 1889 caused one million deaths.)

7. The flu virus can survive on surfaces between two and eight hours.
They live the longest on hard surfaces. Pass the hand sanitizer, please!

8. There are three different flu viruses — Influenza A, B, and C.
Influenza A is the most severe of the three, causing outbreaks in birds and humans. It was the cause of the pandemics of H1N1 (Spanish and Swine Flu), and more. Influenza B is exclusively found in humans, but mutates at a much slower rate. Influenza C infects humans, dogs, and pigs, but is less common than the other two.

9. However, there are an unknown number of strains.
The flu itself is constantly mutating. Each year, three or four strains are identified before vaccine development begins.

10. During the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, doctors either prescribed shots of whiskey, or no alcohol at all.
Others recommended half a bottle of wine a day, or a glass of Port wine after a very hot bath. Many people also relied on folk remedies, like eating and bathing in onions. To prevent the flu, the Colgate Company recommended avoiding tight clothes and shoes and chewing food carefully.

11. You can get your flu diagnosis in just 15 minutes.

Many hospitals and doctors' offices are already using Alere i, a medical device that can diagnose the flu with a simple nasal swab. This means you can get your antiviral treatment when you need it most: in the first 24 to 48 hours after infection.

Being in the health field, I encourage you to get a flu shot. If not for yourself, so it for the people who are around you.


Until next time take care of yourself and each other

Christy Sparrowhawk