Keystone
Sore throat, fever, headache – the reports that people are sick in bed at home are piling up. Has the first flu wave of the season already started?
Every year, more and more people lie in bed during the autumn and winter months. The flu or a strong flu-like infection has caught them. Reports from people who are sick at home are also increasing these days.
Has the flu wave already started in mid-September instead of October or November as in previous years? Rakel Kaiser from the Humanum health center in Uster ZH confirms the observation. “We suspect that after two years of the pandemic, the immune system is no longer used to the usual viruses,” says the family doctor. The immune system works like a muscle that needs to be trained. The training was canceled due to the pandemic measures, which is why the immune system is probably reacting to the influenza viruses a little earlier than usual.
The fact that more people are currently ill has nothing to do with the change in the weather. “Our body can handle it quite well,” says Kaiser. The different viruses exist all year round. Only in winter would there be more contact points where they are more easily transmitted because people are less outside.
The flu and the common cold are often confused
Typical signs of flu are the sudden onset of headache, sore throat and hiccups, fever over 38 °C, chills, dizziness, runny nose, cough, and pain in the chest, joints and muscles. Atypical symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting are also possible. An illness lasts between seven and 14 days.
A flu-like infection, also known as a common cold, usually occurs gradually and is characterized by a sore throat, runny nose and coughing.
The intensity of the flu season varies from year to year. Experts are excited to see how influenza fares this year after fewer people have been infected over the past two years due to the pandemic.
This is how you protect yourself from getting the flu
The bad news first: the flu can affect anyone. But the good news is that with patience and bed rest, the disease usually goes away on its own.
As a preventive measure, family doctor Kaiser advises strengthening the immune system by regularly exercising outside in the fresh air, airing the air several times a day, trying to avoid stress, getting enough sleep and taking in enough vitamins and nutrients. She also recommends maintaining measures from the pandemic, such as washing your hands regularly and coughing in the crook of your arm. Because the flu viruses are also most commonly spread via droplets.
The Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) and the cantonal health services recommend annual flu vaccinations for people at risk. These include people over the age of 65 as well as pregnant women, adults and children with chronic diseases.
Protection only lasts for one season at a time and should ideally be done between mid-October and mid-November.