Time to prepare for ’flu season

Peggy Revell

FORT FRANCES—While some people may be celebrating the countdown to the holiday season, another less-popular season also is just getting started: ’flu season.
But protecting yourself against the ’flu is not complex, said Donna Stanley, manager of controls of infectious disease for the Northwestern Health Unit.
“Really, the best defence is combination of getting the ’flu shot and hand-washing,” she said. “It’s pretty simple.
“Our hands are basically how the virus spreads,” Stanley explained.
Coughing and sneezing only affects people who are in close proximity, but these actions spread the ’flu virus onto surfaces, which then are touched by hands and, in turn, put towards people’s faces.
“So when we’re washing our hands frequently, we’re really reducing the risk that we’re going to infect ourselves with the virus,” she remarked.
Practising good lifestyle habits is another thing people can do to reduce the risk of catching the ’flu, said Jodi Jewell, occupational health co-ordinator for Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. This means eating well, maintaining a good exercise regime, and getting enough sleep.
But getting the ’flu shot each year is one of the best bets out there to be ’flu-free, both Jewell and Stanley stressed.
“By getting the ’flu shot, individuals protect themselves,” noted Stanley. “When a lot of people in a community get the ’flu shot, the ’flu can’t really take a hold in the community.
“Try to think of it as ‘Yes, you’re doing something for yourself,’ but also how you’re protecting others, as well,” she added.
“Almost everybody has really young babies, or elderly people or ill people in their life,” Stanley explained. “Even if a person doesn’t think that they themselves need it or want it, if most, if not all, of a community gets the ’flu shot, then you effectively block it and you protect your susceptible citizens.”
If worse comes to worse and you do get the ’flu, there are things that can be done to prevent it from being passed along. “Cough etiquette” is one thing both Stanley and Jewell highlighted.
“That’s when you cough in your sleeve as opposed to your hands because your hands always touch surfaces,” said Jewell.
The ’flu virus will tend to die on fabric, explained Stanley, and sleeves are less likely to come into contact with other surfaces.
Cough etiquette also includes using a tissue, and again, more hand-washing.
While you can feel rotten with a cold, Stanley noted there’s a difference between it and the ’flu.
“The cold affects your upper respiratory, so your nose and your throat, your ears, and stuff like that,” she said. “The ’flu affects your whole body. Your whole body will feel tired and achy, and you’ll get a fever because it’s a more serious illness and your body’s trying to fight it off.
“You’re usually contagious for about five days from when you start to feel ill, so try to stay home if you can,” Stanley urged.
If people are sick with the ’flu or other contagious sicknesses, Jewell also warned against doing things like visiting the hospital.
“We’re dealing with patients who are compromised, and they are more ill,” she explained. “So they’re less likely to be able to defend themselves and have a good immune defence against influenza or any type of illness.”
While staying home is recommended, checking in with a doctor is important for those with chronic disease, the elderly, or young children with high fevers, said Stanley.
“You should always go to the doctor if you have more susceptible people who are feeling that badly,” she stressed.
“There are anti-viral medications, they aren’t for everyone and they don’t work 100 percent, but for those who are really at risk for getting, say, pneumonia . . . that is potentially an option for them, as well,” Stanley continued.
“Normally, though, we don’t strongly encourage healthy people to go to the doctor for these things because there’s likely not a lot that can be done, and then you’re bringing the virus with you.”
Starting in November, the Northwestern Health Unit again will be holding ’flu immunization clinics across the district. These clinics are publicly-funded, and anyone over the age of six months is eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge.
Depending on the date, clinics are walk-in or by appointment. To make an appointment in Emo, call 482-2211. For an appointment in Fort Frances, call 274-9827.
For more information about the ’flu shot program, the health unit can be reached toll-free at 1-800-468-2240 or by visiting www.nwhu.on.ca