Health

What Should You Do About Swine Flu?

While infectious disease, professionals are closely monitoring the track of the swine flu, most local experts say there's no need for panic.

by Jenna Anderson

IF YOU COME DOWN WITH SWINE FLU, or any kind of flu, the first thing you should do is STAY HOME. That’s the immediate advice from physicians. Those who do not have it do not wish to catch it from you in public places. Going to the doctor is not going to “cure” you; it will only expose others to the virus. The ER has real emergencies to deal with. Stay home. Forget Tamiflu. Take Tylenol, Advil, Motrin or any other over-the-counter fever and pain reducer. Go to bed. Drink plenty of fluids. Wait.
“In its typical course, you will be miserable the first two days, your fever will be gone between days four and six, and your cough will be gone between days five and seven,” says Dr. James Wilde, an emergency physician at MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center and a member of the Georgia Pandemic Flu Committee. “If you are sick for more than four to six days, or you are getting worse after three days, then it’s time to see a doctor. Until then, stay home.”
With school in session and flu season around the corner, swine flu is in the headlines again. The term most commonly used is “pandemic,” but what, exactly, does that mean? “‘Pandemic’ in no way implies the severity of infection, only the number of countries that this has been picked up in,” says Dr. Jack H. Austin Jr., M.D., an infectious disease specialist at University Hospital. “Level 6 is the highest level, but that does not mean that millions of people are dying, only that the virus is located worldwide. However, this is not a good thing because it sets up conditions for the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere to be ripe for rapid spread.”
That said, with various strains of flu outbreaks during flu season, without specific culture testing by the CDC, there is no way to determine which strain one might have contracted. “The symptoms of swine flu are identical to any other flu,” says Dr. Austin. “The one feature of swine flu that has been different so far,” adds Dr. Wilde, “is that regular flu only causes respiratory symptoms, while this causes a higher rate of vomiting and diarrhea.”
Flu comes on quickly, with fever, body aches, coughing, sore throat and extreme fatigue. It’s a far cry from the common cold, but the two are often confused. “What is very important to note is that a lot of people think they have the flu when they have fever, cough and a sore throat,” says Dr. Wilde, “but the CDC data indicates that at the height of flu season, only one-third of the time do patients have the flu. Two-thirds have some other virus that looks like the flu but isn’t.”
The flu claims 36,000 lives annually, mostly striking those over the age of 65. While the flu usually occurs during winter months, swine flu—for reasons still uncertain—lingered through the spring and summer. Both doctors agree that this is cause for concern, as it could mean another, much stronger wave of swine flu during the winter.
“The mortality rate from this strain has been very low so far in the U.S.,” says Dr. Wilde, “and it is affecting more young, healthy people. We don’t know why and my concern is that, when the regular flu season hits in winter, it will be much easier to spread with everyone together indoors, and the elderly will be at a higher risk for illness and death.”
“In terms of why flu is traditionally worse in winter, the reasons aren’t known,” says Dr. Austin. “It could be that some of these viruses are cold-adapted and grow better in those temperatures. Also people congregate indoors more, with dehumidified and badly treated air. We have dry or runny noses and that’s a conduit where the virus has a better chance of invading.”
There is a vaccine available for swine flu, but keep in mind that it’s not effective against other strains and is not a substitute for the regular flu shot. “Everyone should get a flu shot because there is no reason to think that those viruses won’t be circulating,” says Dr. Austin. “Also people need to remember that the swine flu shot requires two injections for proper antibody levels.” High-priority groups to receive the vaccines are the elderly, pregnant women, children under the age of 5, any young person under the age of 24 who has major health problems, healthcare workers and caretakers of the elderly.
While swine flu has remained a media hot topic for months, with terms like “pandemic” inciting fear in millions of people, and rumors of winter outbreaks, vaccine shortages and possible school closings causing either panic or cynicism, as of press time, Dr. Wilde saw no cause for hysteria. “We should not be afraid of this right now,” he says. “If it stays in its present form, we won’t have a real bad flu season. The flu virus mutates rapidly, and from May to June it’s often not the same strain as from December to January. The predicament is that, at the same time, I don’t want to understate the importance of a pandemic because if it comes back from the Southern Hemisphere in a mutated form, we may be in for trouble. That is why we are all making efforts to get ready for what could be a bad season, although I hope that’s not the case.”
This is not to discredit the possibility that some flu cases may, in fact, require emergency medical attention. “There are warning signs that say you do need care,” says Dr. Austin. “Difficulty breathing, vomiting liquids, blue lips, dizziness when standing, seizures, becoming less responsive or confused are all reasons to go to the emergency room. If you have a fever of 103 or 104, that’s a general clue to call your physician.”