Throughout the year, the CDPH tracks respiratory diseases, including the flu. It helps people understand how prevalent the flu is and what other respiratory health conditions are around. In the first week of December, COVID-19, the flu, and RSV were all active in California. The flu was most prevalent with 9.1% of patients testing positive. COVID-19 and RSV were at 2.2% and 6.4%, respectively.
Seeking medical treatment for the flu isn’t always necessary. However, it can be important if your immune system is having a hard time fighting it. How do you know when you should seek treatment?
What Is the Flu?
Influenza or flu for short is a viral infection that impacts the respiratory system. It creates inflammation within the nose, throat, and lungs. It’s transmitted from one person to another through a sneeze, cough, etc. You can contract it by touching something someone else touched, like a doorknob or keypad and not washing your hands before touching your nose or mouth.
Suppose you’re out grocery shopping and the person ahead of you at the register is coughing continuously and coughing into their hands. They use the keypad to complete their order, leaving their germs behind. You touch that same keypad and go to your car without using hand sanitizer or washing them. While in your car, you have a snack and put your fingers into your mouth. That’s one way the flu is passed from one person to another.
As it’s a virus, there’s no cure but you can get the annual flu shot to help lower the risk of developing complications from more severe symptoms. The flu shot doesn’t ensure you won’t get the flu. There’s still a chance you can if you’re not using other precautions like washing your hands frequently or being around someone who doesn’t cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing.
That’s important. When you’re out in public, wear a mask if you have a chronic health condition that could make the flu especially dangerous. If you live or frequently spend time with someone with a chronic health condition, it’s also advised to wear a mask.
At a bare minimum, wash your hands after touching anything others have touched, such as a keypad, door knob, or shopping cart. If you hear someone coughing a lot or who looks sick, keep your distance.
Understand the Common Symptoms vs. the Concerning Ones
Most people make it through the flu without complications. It’s never fun, but after a week or two, you’ll be back to normal. For some, the flu can feel like a bad chest cold. Instead of progressing slowly, however, the flu hits fast and hard. It often develops within a couple of days of exposure to someone with the virus. The most common symptoms are:
- Chills
- Cough
- Exhaustion
- Fever
- Headache that may pair with eye pain or watery eyes
- Muscle pain
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Sweating
Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting are also not common. They’re more common with a stomach virus, which many people refer to as the stomach flu. Children may find symptoms of the flu and a stomach virus appear together.
One thing to consider is that you can get medications that help you recover from the flu faster. Antiviral medications are available, but you must talk to a doctor. Urgent care makes it easy to see a doctor through a telehealth appointment and determine if you should come in for an in-person examination.
What are the concerning symptoms? If your symptoms progress to any of these, it’s important to go right to urgent care.
- Chest pain
- Continued dizziness
- Dehydration
- Extreme sleepiness
- Pressure in your chest
- Seizures
- Severe muscle pain or weakness
- Shortness of breath
In addition, there are a few signs to watch for in children. They include lips or fingernails that are blue or gray, rapid breathing, symptoms that go away and return, or symptoms that worsen instead of improving over time.
If you have underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, HIV, asthma, or COPD, it’s important to see a doctor as soon as you know you have the flu. There are antiviral medications that can help keep symptoms from becoming severe.
What to Do if You Have the Flu?
If you have the flu, you need to decide if it’s important to see a doctor. A general rule is to follow the above guidelines in terms of symptoms to watch. If you have any chronic health condition, go to urgent care. Don’t wait. Your immune system may need help fighting the virus.
For people who aren’t experiencing severe symptoms and have a strong immune system, there are things you should do to avoid worsening. Start by making sure you drink plenty of fluids. As hard as it might seem to get up and drink a glass of water, it’s important. Water, broth, fruit juice, and herbal tea are all great choices as you battle the flu.
Sleep as much as your body seems to want. You’re going to feel drained, so take time to lounge around and sleep when you want. Take it easy the rest of the time. Watch movies and stay hydrated. After a couple of weeks, the flu should go away. IF you’re lucky, you’ll feel better in a week.
Stay home and don’t spread the virus to others. If you must go out, wear a mask to help limit the spread of the disease. Keep your distance from those around you.
Sometimes, even healthy people end up with additional illnesses while battling the flu. The congestion may cause an ear or sinus infection. It can progress to pneumonia in some people, and that’s a complication that you cannot ignore. Medical care is essential.
Get a Flu Shot if You Haven’t Already
As families gather indoors for the holidays or crowded events like New Year’s parties, company dinners, and school concerts and pageants, the flu spreads easily in crowded rooms. People may not realize they are contagious until they’ve spread it.
If you’ve been putting off your flu shot this year, it’s time. It takes a couple of weeks for your body to build immunity after getting the shot, so the sooner you get it, the better. Premium Urgent Care takes walk-in appointments for your annual flu or COVID-19 shot. We also help you get caught up on other important immunizations like shingles, Hep B, pneumococcal, and more. Book an appointment today!