Every winter and spring is the season of influenza (influenza for short) epidemic. Influenza has a high incidence, spreads quickly, and all populations are susceptible, and can cause outbreaks, regional epidemics, and even pandemics once conditions are met. However, many people still have misconceptions about influenza, and thus fail to prevent and treat the disease properly. So, do you have the same misconceptions about influenza? Are you able to prevent and treat influenza properly and scientifically? Take the following test.
Are you right about the flu? Experts will help you to answer the questions about your perceptions, opinions and practices regarding influenza.
1. Influenza only occurs in winter and spring?
Expert opinion: Disagree.
Explanation: Influenza-like cases are reported throughout the year in China, but the peak incidence of influenza occurs in winter and spring (i.e., December to March) in northern provinces, and in southern provinces, unlike northern provinces, mainly in April to August, thus influenza is also often called seasonal influenza. Due to the cold climate in winter and spring, people go out and activities are reduced, the living room is relatively closed, air circulation is poor, and there is a big difference between indoor and outdoor cold and warmth, which makes people vulnerable to influenza.
At the same time, winter and spring is the traditional festival of Spring Festival and winter holidays in China, with the large-scale movement and gathering of people across regions, it is bound to increase the chance of influenza transmission, which leads to the rise of influenza epidemic.
2. Influenza is only spread through breathing, and sharing towels and handkerchiefs is not contagious.
Expert opinion: disagree.
Explanation: Influenza, or influenza for short, is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs. The main way of transmission is through the droplets with influenza virus through the respiratory tract into the body, but can also be infected by person-to-person contact, sharing handkerchiefs and towels and other contaminated objects indirect contact.
3. Influenza and the flu are the same thing.
Expert opinion: Disagree.
Explanation: In many people’s impression, influenza is a cold, but in fact, the two are completely different diseases and preventive measures are not the same. Generally speaking, there will be a relative increase in the number of people with the common cold during the cold season or when there is a big change in climate. In terms of symptoms, common cold symptoms are mild, mostly respiratory symptoms such as sore throat, cough and nasal congestion, while influenza is mainly characterized by high fever (above 38℃), muscle aches and pains, and slightly less respiratory symptoms.
In addition, influenza also tends to cause serious complications such as acute bronchitis and myocarditis. Influenza is also highly contagious and can easily lead to spread and cause a bigger epidemic. The common cold has hundreds of pathogens, and it is impossible to make a vaccine for specific prevention; influenza can be effectively prevented by vaccination.
4. The elderly, children and adults with chronic diseases should pay particular attention to the prevention of influenza.
Expert opinion: Agree.
Explanation: People of any age can be infected with influenza virus, and most people show mild or latent infection (i.e., no disease), showing a self-limiting process, which will generally heal after about 7 days (some cases can take up to 2 weeks). However, for sick adults, the elderly or children, influenza can have very serious consequences or even cause death. Therefore, it is recommended that the above three groups of people pay particular attention to the prevention of influenza, such as vaccination can be vaccinated, etc.
5. Washing hands regularly and opening windows for ventilation are very helpful to prevent influenza.
Expert opinion: Agree.
Explanatory note: In addition to vaccination against influenza, good hygiene habits are very helpful in preventing influenza. Specific measures are as follows.
① Wash your hands regularly, use soap or hand sanitizer, and wash your hands with running water;
②Do not wipe your hands with dirty towels and wash your hands immediately after touching respiratory secretions (e.g. after sneezing);
③When sneezing or coughing, cover your nose and mouth with a handkerchief or tissue to avoid contaminating others with droplets;
④When influenza patients are at home or go out, they should wear a mask to avoid infecting others;
⑤ Open the windows several times a day to keep the indoor air fresh;
⑥During the high season of influenza, try not to go to crowded places with dirty air.
6.If you suspect that you have the flu, you can take some antipyretic drugs and antibiotics to try.
Expert opinion: disagree.
Explanatory note: If you have fever (38℃ or above) and cough, sore throat and other flu symptoms, you should wear a mask and go to a regular hospital early. Do not fall into the two misconceptions of treatment, i.e. abuse of antipyretics and antibiotics. Fever is a normal response of the body’s immune system to fight against the influenza virus, and forcible suppression will only weaken the body’s resistance and help the virus to multiply in the body.
On the other hand, if there is no combined bacterial infection, taking antibiotics for influenza does not have any curative effect, but will lead to the normal flora in the human body is out of balance, so that the human body resistance to reduce, inducing other diseases, and even lead to germs to produce drug resistance.
7. When suffering from influenza, you should always take sick leave to rest.
Expert opinion: agree.
Explanation: When suffering from influenza, it is best to rest and active treatment, do not go to work or school. This is conducive to recovery on the one hand, and the prevention of influenza epidemics on the other. From the perspective of the unit, when an influenza epidemic occurs, morning checks and records of absenteeism and work absence should be done, and people found with fever should be immediately instructed to go to the hospital and report to the local disease prevention and control agency at the same time.
8.If you received the flu vaccine last year, you don’t need to receive it again this year.
Expert opinion: disagree.
Explanation: Influenza vaccination does not provide “lifelong immunity”. This is because influenza viruses mutate quickly and change almost every year, and the antibodies induced by different mutant strains have no cross-protection or weak cross-protection against different strains. After vaccination, it takes about 2 weeks to produce antibodies, and the immunity it produces decreases over time and may fall to a level of no protection after one year.
Therefore, a new influenza vaccine must be designed each year so that it matches the virus that is spreading and is expected to cause the next pandemic, so a new influenza vaccine is required each year. Influenza vaccination is generally recommended one to two months before the peak of the epidemic, so the recommended time for vaccination is September to November, with December also available. In addition, influenza vaccination even at the peak of the epidemic season can achieve a reduction in morbidity, alleviate illness and avoid complications.