Seasonal Flu and How to Protect Yourself
Seasonal flu is an infection that affects your respiratory tract. The symptoms of seasonal flu generally improve in a week, with a few people recovering entirely without any complications. However, in older adults living in India whose, immune systems may be weaker, seasonal flu could be dangerous. Statistically, the risk of suffering from flu-related health complications such as pneumonia is higher in older people. Around 85 per cent of deaths related to seasonal flu occur in people that are seniors 65 or older. Hence it is crucial to keep yourself and your family safe against seasonal flu. Let us look at useful tips to stay safe in this flu season.
Avoid being in large crowds
Avoiding being in large crowds could usually be difficult, but it’s essential during this COVID-19 pandemic. Generally speaking, if you can successfully avoid contact with large crowds in the seasonal flu season, you can effectively reduce your risk of suffering from an infection. The seasonal flu could spread fast in confined spaces such as assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, workplaces, and schools.
Wash your hands frequently
Since the seasonal flu virus can survive on hard surfaces, you should get into a routine of washing your hands regularly. This is particularly important before you eat and prepare your food. Also, you need to always clean your hands after you use the bathroom. You can also sanitize your hands with a hand sanitizing gel throughout your day if water and soap are unavailable.
You need to clean your hands after you come into touch with typically touched surfaces, such as:
- counters
- light switches
- doorknobs
Boost your immune system
Boosting your immune system is a long-lasting way to safeguard yourself against the seasonal flu. A robust immune system allows your body to fight off infections. Even if you do get sick, a robust immune system can decrease the severity of your symptoms. Make sure that you sleep a minimum of 7 hours every night and maintain a physical activity schedule for a minimum of 30 minutes. You should also focus on following a healthy eating plan that is rich in nutrients.
Get a yearly flu vaccination
Ensure that you and everyone in your family get a flu vaccination every year. The prevailing circulating flu virus varies yearly, so you have to keep updating your vaccination every year.
Remember that it can take up to 2 weeks for this vaccine to give effective results. If you contact the seasonal flu after your vaccination, this shot might reduce the duration and severity of your illness.
Disinfect and clean surfaces
The COVID-19 pandemic might have made you used to good hygiene and cleaning practices. If anyone in your neighbourhood or your home is suffering from the flu, you could reduce your risk by keeping all surfaces in your home disinfected and clean to kill flu germs.
If you notice the symptoms of seasonal flu, visit the doctor
Since seasonal flu could potentially be dangerous, visit your doctor when you acquire any symptoms.
The symptoms you should keep an eye on are:
- stuffed-up nose
- runny nose
- tiredness
- headache
- body ache
- sore throat
- cough
- fever
Some of the above symptoms may overlap with various respiratory infections such as COVID-19. It’s essential to practice good hygiene, wear a mask, and self-isolate while you wait for your diagnosis and test results. Visit Helix Pathlabs Mohali to get blood tests and a complete and reliable diagnosis.
Conclusion
Seasonal flu is a common disease that affects thousands of people every year. Anyone who gets in contact with the virus that causes seasonal flu withstands severe to mild symptoms. If anyone in your family is suffering from the symptoms of seasonal flu, visit Helix Pathlabs Mohali and get diagnosed and treated.
Meet Our MD, Dr. Charandeep Singh Sahni
We take pride in the fact that we are led and driven by the innovative and humanitarian approach of our honourable managing director, Dr Charandeep Singh Sahni. Carrying several years of experience in medical services under his belt, Dr Sahni has been actively involved in organizing and conducting national and state-level conferences at TMH. He specializes in lymph node pathology, GI pathology, head and neck pathology, and breast pathology.
Medical Academic Background and Career at a Glance
- MBBS from the prestigious Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, Mumbai with distinction in Biochemistry and Pharmacology in 2000.
- MD in pathology from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai from 2003-06.
- Worked as Senior Resident in Department of Histopathology at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Research and Papers Presented by Dr Sahni
Dr Sahni also demonstrated his professional achievements by presenting his research works at several eminent conferences. Some of his research work was published and referred by eminent medical journals.
- He presented a poster on “Aorto-Left Atrial Fistula” in APCON 2003 at Bhubaneswar.
- His paper on “Analysis of Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Study of 173 cases” in APCON 2005 at Pune was lauded by the healthcare community.
- In 2006, he demonstrated an important piece of research titled “Distribution, clinicopathological characteristics and immunophenotyping of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A study of 313 cases using WHO classification (2000)” at APCON 2006 in Bangalore.
Key Published Works:
Dr Sahni has also been involved with many articles published by leading science and medical journals.
- Bothra R, Pai PS, Chaturvedi P, Majeed TA, Singh C, Gujral S, Kane SV. Follicular dendritic cell tumour of tonsil – is it an underdiagnosed entity? Indian J Cancer 2005; 42 (4): 211-4.
- Charandeep S Sahni, Sangeeta B. Desai. Distribution and Clinicopathological characteristics of non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma in India: A study of 935 cases using the WHO classification of lymphoid neoplasms (2000). Leukaemia and Lymphoma 2007; 48 (1): 122-133.
- Charandeep Sahni, Sangeeta Desai. Primary testicular precursor B-lymphoblastic lymphoma: A rare entity. Leukaemia and Lymphoma 2007