Watch out for the FLU

I started this column last week.  Talking about the flu and all.  Then I woke up in the middle of the night with all this chest congestion.  The next day wasn’t too bad but that night it hit me.  Hard.

I didn’t waste any time, seeing my Dr. Kevin Turner early that next morning.  The verdict?  The flu.  He actually had me diagnosed when he walked in the door.  Temperature 101.2.   Blood pressure…well, let’s not talk about it.

This thing kicked me in the butt.   I’m in pretty good health.  Exercise daily.  I can’t imagine what it would do to someone not so healthy.   That’s why it is so dangerous.

The hospital is pretty full of folks with the flu.  Not to be taken lightly, I see a lot of folks taking extra precautions to avoid getting sick.

I see masks on a lot of people, both in the hospital and around town.  Of course, hand sanitizer can be found all over the place.  There have been a number of deaths, usually among the oldest and youngest among us.  The most vulnerable.

How do you know if you have the flu?  You usually have a fever (but not always).  Cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, chills, and fatigue are all signs that you might have the flu.

Does everybody with the flu need to head to the emergency room?  Probably not.  Emergency rooms are great places for serious medical issues but flu and virus can often best be handled by your primary care physician.

What should you watch for?  In children, you may see fast breathing or trouble breathing, signs of dehydration, lethargy, fever, persistent cough.  If your child exhibits those, seek medical care immediately. 

This stuff has a weird tendency to get better then return with a vengeance.  If that happens, that’s might really be the reason to head for the emergency room.

This flu stuff is anything but ordinary.   In adults, if you have difficulty breathing, pressure in your chest, dizziness or confusion, you need to get it checked.  Immediately. 

As for me, there was no way I was going to work.  I had legitimate concerns about exposing my patients to it but the bottom line is that I felt like crap.  In 40 years of clinical practice, I had missed 2 days due to illness.  Because of this episode of the flu, I missed days 3, 4, 5, and 6. 

I had to argue with my wife about returning on that next day.   But I felt fine and was no longer contagious.  And I’d like to think that my patients needed me.

So.  What do you do?   If you have to be around folks that have flu-like symptoms, wear a mask.  Yeah, it looks silly but you don’t want to mess around with this stuff.

Use hand sanitizer all the time.  And keep your hands out of your mouth.  Always. 

Don’t drink after others.  Don’t share food, plates, or utensils.  As much as it pains me to say it, be careful who you kiss.

Trust me on this one.  I don’t want to go through this again.  Ever.