We all got that “Emergency Preparedness” talk four or five times on the first day of class — the speech about what we’re going to do if we all get the swine flu. It’s a hot-button issue in the news right now. Some people think it’s all hype; others are scared to shake hands for fear of getting germs.
Here are the facts: The Centers for Disease Control estimate that, on average, 36,000 people die from some sort of flu each year. Most of these are elderly people with preexisting medical problems or other immuno-suppressed folks. And while they haven’t found H1N1 to be any more dangerous than other seasonal influenzas, they have found that it’s popping up in much younger age groups. That means us. Regardless of the number of H1N1 cases reported at AU (approximately 30), we shouldn’t freak out — we should be smart.
When you come down with the flu — or any other cold — the most important thing to do is listen to your body. You’re feeling tired. Your body wants you to sleep. In fact, you probably became susceptible to sickness because you were a big ball of stress, camping out on the third floor of Bender Library (which is apparently a lot more common than I ever realized). This explains why there is always a line flowing out the door of the Student Health Center around midterms and finals time. Your body needs to fight a virus, and it can’t do that if you keep adding further stress onto it, mental or physical. Seriously: put away your computer and textbooks and sleep. If you aren’t sleeping, it better be because you’re drinking water or Vitamin C-loaded orange juice.
It doesn’t make any sense to go to class feeling like crap. You won’t be able to concentrate or learn anything anyway, and in the meantime, you’ll spread your germs. E-mail your professors and tell them you’re sick. If you don’t really know anyone in your class, check the roster on Blackboard and e-mail someone for your missed work. They should thank you for not coming to class and coughing on them. With all the attention that the flu has been getting lately, professors are much more understanding of students missing class to take care of themselves.
Now, if you experience difficulty in breathing, chest pains, dizziness, confusion, severe vomiting or flu-like symptoms that subside then get worse, you should go to the emergency room. They may prescribe you Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that slows the virus by limiting its ability to run amuck and infect all your cells. According to Edythe Cook, Patient Service Manager at the SHC, doctors probably will not give you the rapid test for H1N1, because if you have a fever over 100 degrees accompanied by a sore throat or cough, there is a good chance you already have H1N1 at this time of year. This is because the only other possibility would be some other seasonal flu and since it isn’t flu season just yet, it’s probably not that. Plus, whether its H1N1 or some other flu, treatment would be the same.
Now let’s work backwards to dissect how you can avoid coming down with the flu in the first place. Prevention is always better than treatment. Eat lots of bright, fresh vegetables and fruits. The brighter the fruit or veggie, the more vitamins and minerals it has and the better for your immune system it is. Next, get enough sleep every night. I can’t stress this enough. And finally, the number one thing doctors say over and over again: wash your hands with soap and water. I don’t care if you have to hum “Happy Birthday” seven times as the weak faucets of the Mary Graydon Center drip-drip onto them. Scrub ‘em good. And while there’s no reason to become obsessive, keep a little bottle of anti-bacterial hand gel in your bag and use it if you’ve been touching handrails and door knobs.
Now, onto the flu shot topic. Basically, the flu shot is a cocktail of killed antigens from different influenza strains. It can’t make you sick because these antigens aren’t alive and kicking, but your body wants to fight them anyway and then it remembers them for next time if you’re exposed to the viruses for real. A vaccine for H1N1 is yet to be released, but there is talk from the CDC it may be in October.
Two weeks ago, I opted to get the free seasonal flu shot that was offered on campus for one week. This shot did not cover H1N1. I have recently found myself debating with my peers about the flu shot. The way I see it, if medical science finds a way for us to get a leg up on a virus, I will take it. Some say the vaccine weakens our bodies’ ability to fight infection all by itself. My argument is that it is still your body that is attacking the weakened viruses the nurse injects into your arm — she’s just speeding up the process of acquiring immunity and doing it in a way that guarantees you won’t feel the effect.
Bottom line: if you take care of your health and don’t have any medical conditions that compromise your immune system, you may not need the flu shot — but why not get one anyway? If you decide you would like to, it’s not too late to get it free from the SHC. There are still about 1,000 vaccines available. Go to the SHC anytime between 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and they will hook you up.
Cheers to our being flu free.
You can reach this columnist at kbarrett@theeagleonline.com.
