Influenza spreads widely in the world, and in Egypt due to the winter season, and it may cause many complications when symptoms are neglected, especially in the elderly, children and people with weak immunity, and to know methods of prevention, complications, symptoms and treatment, Dr. Wagdy Amin, Director of the General Department of Chest Diseases at the Ministry of Health, provides everything you need That you know about the flu.
Dr. Wajdi Amin said that influenza is a virus that causes severe respiratory symptoms, and there are many types of them, which are 4 types A,B,C,D indicating that the most common is the type “A”There are many types of it, and they depend on the protein that covers the surface of the virus, which is abbreviated by the letter “the.”HThere are 18 types of this protein, indicating that there is another protein abbreviated with the letter A Nwhich is 11 types, adding that influenza viruses consist of these two proteins, including many types, the most famous of which are “H1N1”which caused the 2009 pandemic, explaining that there is avian influenza 1H5N And many other types, explaining that swine flu is the seasonal flu, which is called H1N1.
He said that influenza has many symptoms, ranging from mild to moderate to severe, and the symptoms are sore throat, dry cough, body pain, runny nose, and high fever.
He added that the most vulnerable to complications flu They are children under 5 years old, the elderly, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, patients with liver and kidney disorders, immune system disorders, or those who take cortisone and are affected by complications from influenza, explaining that the vaccination can be given to anyone, but it is recommended that these groups receive the vaccination because complications may occur to them. And pneumonia and may lead to respiratory failure and cause very many deaths.
There are 5 steps that must be taken into account when catching the flu, which are:
1. Isolate at home to prevent transmission of infection.
2. Do not touch the eyes, mouth, and nose, which are the places from which the infection occurs, because the secretions are the ones that transmit the infection.
3. Take plenty of rest.
4. Receive medication when necessary, especially antivirals, fever reducers, drink warm fluids, and take vitamin C.
5. Not receiving antibiotics except when necessary when developing complications or secondary bacteria. Therefore, it is preferable not to take antibiotics except when associated bacterial complications occur.
He added that to prevent infection, social distancing, hand washing, and surface disinfection must be adhered to, because the surfaces may have been touched by the patient and transmit the infection, in addition to following other precautionary measures such as receiving vaccinations and wearing masks, explaining that the death rates among children are very high, especially since the virus is transmitted quickly when sneezing and coughing, and it is possible to avoid infection. The virus can be transmitted from a distance of one meter.
He said that the symptoms of influenza begin one to 4 days after infection, while corona is from one to 14 days, and the symptoms of influenza appear in the form of a runny nose, body aches, high temperature, and throat pain.