Resources of the Week: Cold or Flu?
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
It seems like whenever the seasons are in transition, more people get sick. In some cases, it may be allergy. The weather patterns change and new particles of whatever are floating around in the air where you live. If you've lived in one place for awhile and you do have allergies, you're well aware of those times of the year that are most troublesome for you.
But as we move on into the colder weather (here in the Northern Hemisphere), flu season also approaches. And we start seeing more information about who/what/where/when/why/how to get a flu shot. Should you get one? All the information you need is here in the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) document: Influenza Vaccination: A Summary for Clinicians. Though it's "for Clinicians," this summary is written largely in non-technical language and tells you pretty much everything most people need to know about flu shots. (Always check with your own health care provider, however. Remember that we are information professionals, not medical professionals.) This document is part of CDC's Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Resources for Health Professionals site, which falls under the more general resource, Seasonal Flu site, where you'll find a wealth of information for both health care providers and consumers.
Where can you get a flu shot -- that is, besides your own doctor's office, which may not be convenient. Check the American Lung Association's Flu Clinic Locator. Just plug in your zip code, provide a geographic distance range via the dropdown menu, and specify a range of dates. The Lung Association also provides a wealth of influenza information for consumers.
And then there's the National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus, if you really need A LOT of information. The Flu page informs us that
Flu is a respiratory infection caused by a number of viruses. The viruses pass through the air and enter your body through your nose or mouth. Between 5% and 20% of people in the U.S. get the flu each year. The flu can be serious or even deadly for elderly people, newborn babies and people with certain chronic illnesses.
It continues on from there to describe symptoms, and it provides a huge, nicely organized collection of links to more information -- from the basics to clinical trials, journal articles, multimedia resources, organizations, directories, alternative therapies and much more.
But let's face it. Even if you're vaccinated and extremely well-informed, you may well get sick anyhow. Most of us get up and go to work every day, go shopping, go to the movies, participate in community activities...there's no avoiding people and their germs. And if you're a parent, you know that every small child is a viral smörgåsbord. So here you are, feeling lousy. Is it a cold or the flu?
The flu and the common cold are both respiratory illnesses but they are caused by different viruses. Because these two types of illnesses have similar flu-like symptoms, it can be difficult to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone. In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense. Colds are usually milder than the flu. People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose. Colds generally do not result in serious health problems, such as pneumonia, bacterial infections, or hospitalizations.
Colds, of course, occur much more frequently. According to the American Lung Association, "Adults get an average of two to four colds per year, mostly between September and May." (Children get six to eight.)
This adds up. According to the CDC, "In the course of a year, people in the United States suffer 1 billion colds."
You can get a cold by touching your eyes or nose after you touch surfaces with cold germs on them. You can also inhale the germs. Symptoms usually begin 2 or 3 days after infection and last 2 to 14 days. Washing your hands and staying away from people with colds will help you avoid colds.
There is no cure for the common cold. For relief, try
Getting plenty of rest
Drinking fluids
Gargling with warm salt water
Using cough drops or throat sprays - but not cough medicine for children under four
Taking over-the-counter pain or cold medicines - but not aspirin for children
Earlier this year, if you remember, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended against giving over-the-counter cold and cough medicines to children under the age of two. In general, this stuff needs to be stored where curious little people can't get to it. Says the CDC:
An estimated 7,000 children ages 11 and younger are treated in hospital emergency departments each year because of cough and cold medications, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately two-thirds of those incidents were due to unsupervised ingestion (i.e., children taking the medication without a parent?s knowledge).
Read the complete study published earlier this year in the journal Pediatrics.
As we all know, there is no "cure" for the common cold. But there are things you can do and ingest to make yourself feel better. The Mayo Clinic offers a rundown of what works and what doesn't.
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