Traveling for the holidays? You’re sure to have plenty of company, and not just from your fellow passengers.
Cold and flu viruses are also frequent travelers this time of year, especially on planes. Researchers have estimated the risk for catching a cold or the flu is as high as 20 percent on a plane with other sick passengers.
The biggest risk comes from travelers sitting within two seats of you, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But on a crowded plane with poor circulation, that risk increases dramatically. A 1979 study found nearly three-quarters of passengers on a flight with just one person who had the flu came down with influenza within days of sitting on the aircraft for three hours with the engines shut down and no air circulating. Federal regulators have since recommended passengers be removed from planes within 30 minutes if there's no air circulation, but there’s no legal requirement.
So what can you do to reduce your risk of catching a cold or flu this holiday season? We turned to Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos — a board-certified family practitioner in Melbourne, Fla., and vice president of the Brevard County Medical Society — for some answers and advice.
Why are the winter holidays a common time for the spread of cold and flu viruses?
We’ve seen an increase in influenza in December, January, and February in the past few years and holiday travel is probably a reason. With travel you’re more vulnerable to colds and flu, whether you’re on an airplane or in a car. Plus you’re colder and you’re more likely to get influenza or a cold.
October through May is the height of the flu season.
Is it too late to get a flu shot?
No, it’s not. I’m still giving the shot in my office. It takes a couple weeks for your immune system to build the antibodies to (flu). There are three strains in this year’s vaccine — H1N1, H3N2, and influenza B.
What are the best ways to limit your risks of catching the flu while traveling?
If you’re traveling, what I would recommend is to carry sanitizer wipes and use them to wipe down tray tables and bathroom surface. Never touch your eyes, nose or mouth, without washing your hands or using the sanitizer first. I would even go so far as to say if someone has an immune deficiency or chronic condition, bring a mask with you and, if someone is coughing around you, put that mask on. You can also ask to be moved to another seat if someone’s coughing around you on a plane.
You should also open the air vents near your head, which may improve circulation and maybe deflect any (airborne viruses or bacteria) coming your way. Especially when the plane is idling and the circulation is not on — that’s when viruses, bacteria, and other things can be spread.
Anything else you can do?
You should try to stay hydrated because your mucus membranes can dry out in a plane, which increases your risk of getting sick. And keep those pillows and blankets away from your face.
If you are sneezing, do it into an elbow or into a tissue — not into your own hands. And for crying out loud if you’re really sick, don’t fly. Stay home and get better.
I think the airlines should waive the fee if someone decides not to fly because they’re sick.
Regardless of whether you’re traveling, what can people do to stay healthy during the holidays?
Everyone wants a hug and kiss around the holidays. I’m Italian and that’s what we do. But if you’re sick you shouldn’t do that. If you’re not feeling well, give folks the heads up that you’re not feeling well. And no double-dipping in the food!
It’s also important to wash your hands before you eat and before touching your eyes and nose. With kids, it’s especially important. We use antibacterial soup, and my kids say the alphabet when they wash their hands because that’s technically the amount of time you should spend washing your hands to do it right.
What are the signs and symptoms of cold and flu?
Fever, body aches, chills, fatigue, sneezing, sinus congestion, sore throat, coughing, headache, and sometimes overlapping nausea or diarrhea. It’s not easy to distinguish between cold and flu, but with a common cold you’re not going to feel as sick or as lethargic or have such a high fever. When you feel like you can’t even move or get out of bed in the morning, that’s when you know it’s more than the common cold. Also, with the flu the symptoms are abrupt, where with a cold it’s more gradual.
Keep in mind, the incubation period is one to five days for influenza Keep in mind, the incubation period is one to f days for influenza from when you’re exposed to when you get it — and it spreads from person to person. But it can be infectious from the first seven days of the onset of symptoms but in children it can even be longer -- up to 21 days.
Can you do anything to limit the misery if you get a cold or the flu?
With the flu, Tamiflu is helpful within the first two to three days of having the flu. It lessens the symptoms, shortens the duration, and prevents serious complications, like respiratory distress. If you have influenza, you can also have bacterial infections on top of that, so sometimes I’ll prescribe Tamiflu and antibiotics.
Based on your practice, what are the most common myths or misconceptions about cold and flu viruses?
I hear all the time that people think they’re going to get the flu from the vaccine. But it’s not possible from the vaccine because it’s not a live virus; it’s inactivated.
The Louisiana Department of Health recently linked the use of neti pots to two patients’ deaths from a brain infection caused by the amoeba Naegleria fowleri. In both cases, the victims used tap water to fill the pots. Are there special concerns about neti pots?
When you’re sick, the mucus in your sinuses is so thick, you may want to thin it by using a neti pot. That reduces the risk and helps people with chronic allergies by flushing out all the allergens and viruses in your nasal passages. But it has to be done in the right way.
If your neti pot isn’t clean because it has mold or bacteria in it, or you used tap water, it can cause more problems in your sinuses and go into your brain and cause a major infection that can kill you — like the cases in Louisiana.
I recommend my patients use sterile water that you can buy from a drug store or supermarket. You can also buy something called “saline,” or you can boil the water yourself before putting it into the neti pot.
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