The recent influenza outbreak has caused a sharp increase in the number of adults and children infected, causing beds in major hospitals to be full. What should we pay attention to during the flu season? Medical journalist Wang Ruiling and otolaryngologists Zhang Yihao and Chen Liangyu wrote in “The most important little things, otolaryngology symptoms that cannot be ignored!” “The book shares difficult and miscellaneous diseases such as influenza and otolaryngology to help readers build health knowledge and fight against the flu season. The following is an excerpt from the original book:
Influenza, referred to as influenza, is a severe upper respiratory tract infection caused by influenza viruses. There is a certain possibility of serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, myocarditis, and even death. Every year during the influenza season Here, there are 3 million to 5 million cases of serious illness worldwide, and among these serious cases, another 250,000 to 500,000 patients will die.
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In fact, influenza is a disease that occurs all year round. The epidemic season in Taiwan starts around November every year, and the peak period for influenza is around the Lunar New Year of the next year. According to statistics from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from October 1, 2019 to October 27, 2020, there have been 771 severe cases, resulting in 65 deaths, and 99% are patients who have not received the influenza vaccine. In fact, it is life-threatening. The extent is even worse than that of the new coronavirus!
Influenza is an acute respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. Many people often confuse it with the common cold. The incubation period of influenza virus is about half a day to 4 days. Common symptoms include fever, headache, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, fatigue, and cough. Usually the first symptom is chills, which may be combined with a high fever of 38 to 39 degrees. Some people have particularly obvious pain in their back and limbs.
Complications of influenza include viral pneumonia, secondary bacterial pneumonia, and sinus infection. It can also worsen the condition of patients with existing asthma or heart failure. Therefore, most fatal cases occur in children, the elderly, patients with chronic diseases, and those with immune diseases. People with less strength.
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Influenza infection route
Influenza viruses are usually spread through droplets produced when coughing, sneezing, spitting, or talking to others. Influenza viruses are more likely to be transmitted through close contact. In addition, the virus can also be transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces. When your hands touch items with viruses, and then touch your eyes, mouth, nose and other mucous membranes, you will be infected and suffer from influenza.
Therefore, we will encourage people to minimize touching their eyes, nose and mouth with their hands. People will also be encouraged to wash their hands frequently to reduce the number of bacteria and viruses on their hands.
Know the types of influenza
Influenza viruses belong to the Orthomyxoviridae family and can be further subdivided into three types: A, B, and C.
- Influenza A: The main difference between influenza A and B viruses is antigenic variability. Influenza A viruses are highly variable and take animals such as humans, pigs, and birds as hosts. The scale of transmission is relatively large, and it is easier to produce new virus strains due to mutation, triggering community or global pandemics, mainly H1N1.
- Influenza B: The antigenic variability of influenza B viruses is relatively stable and only humans are the host, so the scale of transmission is relatively small.
- Influenza C: Influenza C viruses can infect humans or pigs, but cause the mildest and rarest symptoms.Rapid influenza screening shows results, but is not the only detection method
Infected patients may be contagious both before and after the onset of illness. Virus tests on specimens such as throat, sputum or nasal mucosa can be used as a basis for diagnosis. That is why there is a familiar influenza rapid screen on the market. At present, Medical institutions only conduct rapid screening tests for influenza A and B viruses. Use a cotton swab to take the secretions of the nasopharyngeal mucosa. It will take about 10 to 20 minutes to know whether you have A or B influenza.
However, we must give the public a very important idea here. The accuracy of rapid influenza screening is not 100%. The results of rapid screening may still be false negative, that is, you are actually infected, but the test result still shows that you are not. Negative for infection.
Why do false negatives occur?
There are defects, or the amount of virus in the nasopharyngeal secretions is insufficient, but rapid screening cannot be performed too early to detect it. Or the doctor did not collect enough nasopharyngeal secretions during sampling, the quick-screening cotton swab did not go deep enough into the nasopharynx and no sample was collected, the sample was taken well but there were flaws in the steps when performing the test, etc., etc., etc., all of which may occur. of false negatives.
Therefore, rapid influenza screening has not always been the only tool for diagnosing influenza. The judgment mainly depends on the clinical experience of doctors and current physical examination. Rapid influenza screening is only an auxiliary tool.
Moreover, during the annual influenza season, among the conditions for providing publicly funded influenza antiviral drugs, there is no requirement for a positive influenza rapid test. It is not difficult to see that medical personnel do not rely on rapid influenza screening as the only tool for judgment.
If you are in the hospital today and the rapid influenza test is negative, but the doctor still highly suspects influenza, the hospital has other options besides directly giving anti-influenza virus drugs. Viral RNA can be detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is a more accurate testing method.
Don’t ignore the complications of influenza
The reasons why you need to pay attention to influenza are its explosive nature, rapid epidemic, wide spread, and serious complications, especially bacterial and viral pneumonia. During an epidemic, severe illness and death are more common in the elderly, as well as those with heart, lung, kidney, metabolic diseases, anemia, or immunodeficiency. These groups are high-risk groups. If you have such patients at home, you should pay more attention to their condition. If there are any changes, you should seek medical attention immediately.
As for prevention, in addition to eating a balanced diet, having a normal schedule, and exercising regularly to maintain normal immune function and pay attention to personal hygiene, regular vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent influenza complications. In particular, the high-risk groups mentioned above should receive influenza vaccines to reduce the occurrence of serious complications.
(This article is excerpted from/The most important little things, ear, nose and throat symptoms that should not be ignored! : Don’t let the virus laugh at you, follow the doctor to improve your health protection shield／Chengshi Culture)
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2023-12-13 02:17:03
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