Even though flu season is here, it's not too late to get vaccinated. According to Barbara Brandt, director of infection control at CU-Boulder聮s Wardenburg Health Center, it聮s still early enough in the flu season to get a shot and boost your immune system to help fight off the virus.
"Anybody who wants to avoid being knocked out and sick for an extended period of time, say five to seven days, should take steps to get a flu shot to protect themselves from the flu strains that are going around," said Brandt. "Anyone who hasn聮t gotten the flu shot during the recommended flu vaccination time frame can still get protection."
But you better get the shot sooner rather than later. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of reported flu cases is up considerably during the past month. Thirty-seven states are now reporting flu, including Colorado.
But if you get the flu you can fight the virus with something more powerful than chicken soup. According to Brandt, new methods are available to combat flu in its early stages to help lessen its duration and severity, but only as long as you take the medication within 48 hours of contracting the virus.
"There聮s a new one called Relenza," Brandt said. "It聮s an inhaled medication that covers both influenza A and influenza B." And the FDA recently approved a new pill called Tamiflu, which also reduces flu's effects.
The flu, or influenza, is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and extreme fatigue.
Most people who get the flu recover fully within one to two weeks. However, some people develop serious, life-threatening complications such as pneumonia. In an average season, flu is associated with 20,000 deaths nationwide. In the United States flu season typically starts in October and can last until April.
To talk with Barbara Brandt call (303) 492-2042 or contact Dirk Martin
In the Office of News Services at (303) 492-3140.