Flu Season and
You
Contents:
·
Influenza
·
What To Do If You
Get the Flu
·
Tips From Here and There
--ReRoute, Evansville, IN
The flu is caused by a virus that spreads from infected people to the
nose or throat of others. Symptoms usually appear within two to four days after
being infected. A person is considered
contagious for another three to four days after symptoms appear. The flu season in the U.S. generally runs
from November to April every year.
Flu symptoms are fever, chills, dry cough, nasal congestion, sore
throat, headache and muscle aches. Complications can lead to hospitalization
and death. Twice as many Americans die from the flu every year as die from
AIDS, breast cancer, or prostate cancer. Why do you need a flu shot every
year? Because the flu virus changes, at
least one of the vaccine’s viruses must be replaced with a newer one
every year, so the shot only lasts about a year.
When does a shot start working?
Protection develops one or two weeks after you get your flu shot. Who should get a flu shot? Anyone over six months old who wants or needs
to reduce their chance of getting the flu.
Those over age 65 (a must!), everyone with a chronic medical condition,
like heart disease or asthma (a must!), pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers,
healthcare givers, students and everyone with special holiday plans as the flu
season often hits the last week of December.
When is the best time to get a flu shot?
Between September and mid-November.
Can you get the flu from the flu shot?
Flu vaccines contain no live virus, so it’s impossible to get the
flu from a flu shot. How effective are
flu shots? The shot is almost 90%
effective in preventing type A and Type B influenza. If you do manage to get the flu, it will be a
milder case if you’ve gotten the shot.
What to do If
You Get the Flu
--ReRoute, Evansville, IN
The flu brings with it
headaches, upset stomach, diarrhea, muscle aches and pains. The advice to drink plenty of fluids and rest
in bed remains sound medical advice for your general attack of the virus. But if your case of the flu includes diarrhea,
the following may be helpful.
For those with a colostomy,
it is usually wise not to irrigate during this time. Your intestine is really washing itself out. After diarrhea, you have a sluggish colon for
a few days, so, leave it alone. Start
irrigation again after a few days when your colon has had a chance to return to
normal. In colostomy patients, drugs or
certain foods can cause constipation, prevented during a cold by drinking
plenty of liquids.
For those with an ileostomy,
diarrhea is a greater hazard. Along with
the excess water discharge, there is a loss of electrolytes and vitamins that
are necessary in maintaining good health. This loss is usually referred to as a loss of
fluid, which in turn, brings a state of dehydration. Therefore, you must restore electrolyte
balance.
First, eliminate all solid
food. Second, obtain potassium safely
and effectively from tea, bouillon and ginger-ale. Third, obtain sodium from saltine crackers or
salted pretzels. Fourth, drink a lot of
fluids, including water. Cranberry juice and orange juice also contain
potassium, while bouillon and tomato juice are good sources of sodium.
Increased water intake in
the ileostomy patient results in increased urine output rather than increased
water discharge through the appliance. Vomiting also brings the threat of
dehydration. If it is severe and
continuing, your doctor should be notified. You should know also that diarrhea may be
symptomatic of partial obstruction or acute gastroenteritis.
Since the treatment of these
two entities is entirely different, a proper diagnosis should be sought
immediately. It is very important to
determine whether the diarrhea is caused by obstruction or gastroenteritis. If you do not know, check it our with your
doctor. Do not guess—always call
your physician unless you are 100% certain what you are doing.
For those with a urostomy,
be sure to keep electrolytes in balance. Follow the general instruction for
colostomies and ileostomies. No ostomate
should take medicine for pain or a laxative without the physician’s
order. Do not use an antibiotic for
cough or flu unless ordered by the doctor. When returning to a normal diet, use
fiber-free foods at first, then gradually increase to a regular, normal diet. Prompt attention to symptoms of distress of
colds and flu could bring a happier, and hopefully, healthier winter.
Tips From Here and There
The New Outlook,
Chicago's North Suburban Chapter UOA
Once again winter is upon us, and you know
that means a risk of the Flu. It's best
to be prepared and know what to do.
For new ostomates, this could be a time of real concern and a new experience in coping, for flu not only brings on headaches, muscle aches and pains, and upset stomach. That "bogeyman" for the ostomate, diarrhea, often occurs. Whether induced by flu or other causes, diarrhea can present a serious challenge to ostomates. Vomiting must also be taken seriously because of the risk of dehydration.
The first advice for any person--ostomate or not--suffering flu is: always drink plenty of liquids and get proper rest! By all means, call your doctor if either vomiting or diarrhea symptoms are severe and continuing.
Ostomates must take special care not to take medicine for pain or a
laxative without a doctor's order. That
goes for antibiotics, too! Antibiotics
have no effect on a virus but do kill bacteria, both friendly and unfriendly,
and can change the proper balance of normal bacteria in the colon, if you still
have one. Disturbing this balance can
actually bring on or exacerbate diarrhea.
Your diet will change during flu, but during recovery, adopt a fiber- free diet at first, gradually moving to a regular, normal diet. Prompt attention to symptoms of colds and flu should bring to each of us a happy and hopefully healthy winter season. Now to the specific tips for each category of ostomate:
· The colostomate with diarrhea would be wise not to irrigate, for nature is actually doing the job. After the diarrhea stops, the colon will be sluggish for a few days, so leave it alone a little longer. Give the colon a chance to return to normal before resuming irrigation.
·
Carry
an extra supply of "security" pouches. Editors note: I customarily wear a closed appliance, but when diarrhea
strikes, I wear a drainable bag until the siege is over. My diet during stomach flu is hot tea,
ginger ale and pretzels.
·
Drugs
or certain foods can cause constipation in colostomates recovering from flu, or
at any other time, but this can be prevented by drinking plenty of fluids.
·
Diarrhea
can present an even greater problem to the ileostomate. Besides an excess of discharge, the
ileostomate will suffer loss of electrolytes and vitamins necessary to
maintaining good health. You may experience
thirst, slowly rising fever, weakness, mental fuzziness, and reduced urine
output.
· Drinking plenty of fluids will increase urine output and will not cause increased water discharge through the appliance during colds or flu. More serious results could be muscle contractions, abdominal distention, lack of alertness, and, in extreme cases, convulsions.
· The ileostomate must restore electrolyte balance as soon as possible. Eliminate solid foods. Regain lost potassium by drinking tea, Gatorade, bouillon, ginger ale, and plenty of water. Regain lost sodium by eating saltine crackers or salted pretzels.
· The urostomate should take special care to keep electrolytes in balance and follow the same general instructions as for persons without ostomies.