Above: Baptist Health System internal medicine specialist and Be Well Mobile program founder Dr. Anne-Laura Cook talks with a patient who is experiencing flu symptoms.  

Aches, chills and fever are visitors no one wants. As the year progresses into the holiday season – with lots of shopping, parties and festivities – many folks come into contact with flu germs.

No need to despair: There are steps you can take to protect yourself, family and friends from the flu, said Dr. Anne-Laura Cook of the Baptist Health System.

“The most important thing to do is to get vaccinated,” said Cook, a graduate of the University of Alabama Medical School. “We have the availability of vaccines to help prevent, or lessen, the impact of what can be a very deadly illness.”

Dr. Cook recommends getting plenty of rest and staying well-hydrated to recover quickly from the flu.

Cook said that some people hesitate to get a flu shot.

“The flu shot is a killed virus — it cannot give you the flu,” said Cook, an internal medicine specialist. “But it takes two weeks to take effect, and sometimes people can get a viral illness in that interim period. Vaccination is very important in helping – if not completely preventing the flu – at least lessening the impact.”

The vaccine contains at least three strains of the influenza virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks at flu strains from the previous year, and determines which strains are most likely to be present in the coming season. The CDC prepares vaccines well ahead of time. Even if it is not the exact same strain, it offers protection and can prevent the flu from being severe.

Cook said that people who have cancer and are on immuno-suppressive drugs; people with rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune disease; and people with diabetes, whose immune systems are weakened from chronic illnesses, are susceptible to the flu. Children are susceptible because they have not built sufficient immunity that adults have over the years. Parents should discuss children’s care with a pediatrician, Cook said.

“It’s important to remember that vaccination isn’t just to protect you as an individual – it’s also to protect everybody that you are around,” Cook said. “If you take one person with the illness and think about how many times they touch a surface or shake hands with people over the course of a day or week, that can be a tremendous impact in a community for people who don’t get vaccinated.”

Protect yourself and others

Cook recommends these tips to prevent getting and/or spreading the flu:

• Wash your hands several times throughout the day, particularly when you have been in public places and especially before eating.
• Always cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Fluid expelled from a cough or sneeze turns into an aerosolized mist that can spread throughout a room or an enclosed area.
• If you get the flu, call a physician’s office to get treated early in the course of the disease.

“If you feel that you are coming down with a fever, are feeling achy – and it comes on pretty quickly – and we know that flu is present in the community, we will call in a prescription for Tamiflu very quickly, especially if you are at risk of complications from the flu or if you live with someone who is at high risk for complications,” Cook said.

Though the treatment does not necessarily prevent a patient from having symptoms once he or she begins the medicine, it can lessen the flu’s severity and duration. The flu often lasts for four to seven days. Cook said that Tamiflu will shorten that period up to a full day.

To get well quickly, Cook recommends getting plenty of rest, staying well-hydrated and “eating what you feel like eating.”

“Drink plenty of water, and if you have gastrointestinal upsets and are losing fluids that way, replace electrolytes with Pedialyte, Gatorade, Powerade or other drinks,” Cook said. “If you have a fever, you’re burning off a lot of fluid even if you don’t realize it.”

Dr. Cook’s orders: Play it safe with the flu

To treat flu in adults and help shorten the illness, Dr. Cook recommends the following:

• Call your doctor’s office at the early onset of illness for a Tamiflu prescription.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Drink lots of fluids to stay well-hydrated and replace electrolytes.
• Don’t spread disease: Cover the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.
• Stay away from people at risk: infants, toddlers, the elderly and anyone with an immune system illness.
• Avoid others until you’ve been symptom-free at least 24 hours.