If You Have the Flu Influenza, Here are the Treatments

Influenza is an illness that affects a portion of the population each year. Both type A and type B affect people, with symptoms typically more severe for type a influenza.

Meanwhile, both strains change quickly, which is why the choice to get a flu vaccination may be helpful and may not be, dependent on the year and the strains included in the vaccination that year.

Different strains become prevalent, which means they tend to affect more of the population. Those strains may or may not have been in the vaccine.

Type A influenza has more severe symptoms, typically lasts longer and occurs in the winter months. Meanwhile, type B tends to have milder symptoms but can affect a person anytime throughout the year.

Also, type B is passed from human to human only. Type A tends to be the one that leads to epidemics, rather than type B.

When it comes to the treatment of influenza, it is important to understand that the illness changes so often that there is no way to be immune for the long-term.

Instead, it is better to keep your immune system healthy and try to maintain proper hygiene during the flu season so as to decrease your chances of getting the flu.

In fact, the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 was largely due to close proximity of troops. The spread of the illness was not broadcast as the concern was morale for the war, and censors prevented accurate reporting on Germany, Britain, France and the US while allowing reporting on Spain.

This gave an inaccurate impression that Spain was the worst hit, which was far from the truth. Troop encampments were hard hit by the pandemic, causing the death of healthy individuals, compared to typical deaths attributed to the illness that involved the very young, old or those with weakened immune systems prior to the onset of the illness.

The severity of this pandemic was of concern due to that change in the death toll and those affected by the illness.

For those who get the flu, typically bed rest and lots of fluids can be enough to help deal with the illness and get back to regular activity. It can take up to a week to feel better and overcome the fever, chills, fatigue and muscle aches. However, that can still be managed at home in most cases.

For those who get dehydrated or happen to have an issue with their immune system already, more serious intervention from medical personnel may be required. This can be a prescription for an antibiotic or even a stay in the hospital to make sure you are properly hydrated. Also, the respiratory issues related to influenza can lead to more serious issues and require hospitalization.

Diagnosis

There are several methods for how to test for influenza. These include the Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests, or RIDT. This group is a variety of tests that are used to determine if an individual has the virus, typically testing nasal secretions.

The tests can be done in the doctor’s office, and individuals receive results in less than 20 minutes.

The accuracy of this group of tests is considered to be around 62-percent effective. Because of this, it is possible to have influenza and have a negative result in these tests. Meanwhile, diagnosis based on cough, fever and sore throat, is around 64-percent effective.

As far as the influenza vaccination goes, it can be a helpful way to avoid the illness and can also be completely useless, depending on how things go. The strains that become prevalent may not even be included in the flu vaccine, which means the vaccine is not effective in helping prevent the onset of influenza.

Treatment of Influenza

For proper treatment of influenza A and B, the first step is to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. This allows the body to create antibodies and focus on fighting off the infection. Initially, it may be wise to allow the fever to continue.

However, it can be a good idea to take acetaminophen or another medicine that helps bring a fever down.

There are other medications that can be received via prescription that can help people recover from the flu more quickly. These medications include oseltamivir and zanamivir, both of which treat both type a and type b influenza.

If taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms, these drugs can help to alleviate symptoms more quickly for the influenza sufferer.

Anti-viral drugs come in pill, liquid or inhaled powder form that can help in the treatment of influenza. They are not available over the counter. They differ from antibiotics since they do not fight bacterial infections. These drugs do have the possibility of side effects like runny nose, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, cough and possibly even a change in behavior.

Amantadine or Rimantadine are also used to prevent or treat influenza type a.

Another way to ensure you do not get the flu is by wearing a facemask. While you cannot wear a facemask all year, you can protect yourself with this mask during the usual weeks in the year when the flu virus is rampant. These antibacterial facemasks help protect you from contracting the disease through other people, and they also ensure you do not spread any bacteria to those around you.

Statistics

In 2014, roughly half the population age six months to age 17 received the flu vaccination.

Meanwhile, 31-percent of adults age 18-49 received the vaccination and 45-percent of those ages 50 to 64 received the same vaccination.

This means there was an increase of roughly 2-percent in vaccination coverage for children ages 6 months to 17 years of age, while there was a less than one-percent increase in vaccination coverage for all adults. This is based on a comparison of the 2013-14 data and previous data up to that point.

This preventative measure is advised, particularly for those who are under 18 and older than age 50.

Also, it is advised for those who work with these populations regularly or in the medical field. For those in the medical field, approximately 64-percent of employees received the flu vaccination in 2014-15, which was a 12-percent increase over the previous year.

The group with the most vaccinations was doctors, while aides and clinical staff had the lowest percentage of vaccinations received. Health care professionals working in long-term care facilities were also less likely to get vaccinations, with a percentage of around 54-percent of employees receiving an influenza vaccination.

Further Reading:

• Influenza (flu) Treatments and drugs

• Flu Treatments for Influenza Symptoms