Flu Season : When You Need a Doctor

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 4 of 4)

Jerry Rogers, M.D., a family physician in Moorhead, Minn., says some patients have asked him about taking an antibiotic early on, before their cold or flu symptoms get bad. But antibiotics don't help viral illnesses. Using antibiotics inappropriately only spreads antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making fewer drugs effective for treating disease.

Most of the time, colds and flu simply have to run their course. "We don't typically treat colds and flu unless they become complicated," Rogers says. You usually don't need to call the doctor at the first signs of cold and flu, but there are times when you should.

Doctors will look for and treat cold and flu complications such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections, and pneumonia — bacterial infections that may require antibiotics. For some people, colds and flu can aggravate underlying medical conditions like heart disease and asthma.

If you aren't getting any better after about a week or your symptoms worsen, you should see a doctor. Your viral infection may have caused enough mucus buildup to allow for a bacterial infection to occur. Signs of trouble might be a cough that gets so bad it disrupts sleep, a fever that won't go down, increased shortness of breath, and pain in the face because of a sinus infection (sinusitis).

Another warning signal is if after feeling better for a short time you start to feel worse and experience a high fever, chest pain, or notice a difference in the mucus you're producing, such as a change from clear to thick, yellow-green mucus.

With children, be alert for high fevers and abnormal behavior — acting unusually drowsy, refusing to eat, crying a lot, holding the ears or stomach, and wheezing.

Unproven Remedies

Some people rely on vitamin C supplements, zinc lozenges, and echinacea to prevent and treat cold and flu symptoms. These remedies may make some people feel better. However, their health effects are unknown, says Linda Lambert, a program officer with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

No conclusive data has shown that large doses of vitamin C prevent colds; they may reduce the severity or duration of symptoms, but there is no definitive evidence. And the jury is still out on zinc. "There are about an equal number of studies that say zinc helps as there are studies that say it doesn't," Lambert says.

As for echinacea, "studies have been done of echinacea for preventing or treating colds and flu, but these studies were not rigorous or definitive and the products tested were diverse," according to a written statement from Stephen Straus, M.D., director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health. "These studies at best suggest that echinacea may be beneficial in the early treatment of colds and flu, but does not help prevent them."

Always tell your doctor about any supplements or herbal remedies you use, and don't overdo it. For example, taking too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea.

Primary Target Groups for Flu Vaccination

The best time to get a flu vaccination is from October through November, and people who have a high risk of complications from flu should be vaccinated starting in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC strongly recommends annual flu vaccination for these primary target groups:

Unvaccinated high-risk persons, health-care workers, those living with high-risk people, and all people ages 50 and older should try to be vaccinated by November, and should continue to seek influenza vaccine in December or later if necessary.

Here are the primary target groups for annual flu vaccination:

People at increased risk for complications from the flu, including

• people 65 and older
• residents of nursing homes and other facilities that house people who have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease
• adults and children who have chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular disorders, including asthma
• adults and children who have required regular medical follow-up or hospitalization during the preceding year because of chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes), kidney dysfunction, disorders caused by hemoglobin abnormalities, or a weakened immune system, including immunosuppression caused by medications or the virus that causes AIDS
• children and teen-agers (ages 6 months to 18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy, and therefore might be at risk for developing Reye syndrome
• women who will be in the second or third trimester of pregnancy during the flu season.

People who can transmit influenza to those at high risk

• physicians, nurses, and other personnel in hospital and outpatient care settings, including emergency response workers
• employees of nursing homes and chronic-care facilities who have contact with patients or residents
• employees of assisted living and other residences for persons in high-risk groups
• persons who provide home care to persons in groups at high risk
• household members (including children) of people in groups at high risk.

People ages 50-64 because this group has increased prevalence of high-risk conditions.

About the Author

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