Before and during the flu season, it is important to learn about influenza and how to keep yourself and your family as healthy as possible.
What is influenza (the flu)?Influenza is an illness that is caused by a virus that can make you feel very sick.
Every year in the United States, influenza epidemics occur during the winter months. Influenza (the flu) is a viral infection that is very contagious.
It can spread from person-to-person in droplets created by coughing and sneezing. It can also be spread when people cough or sneeze onto their hands, and then touch things.
Anyone can get the flu. However, some people can get much sicker. The young, the elderly, and people with chronic heart or lung conditions can get very sick from the flu.
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What are the symptoms of the flu?
Symptoms include:
- body aches and headache
- fatique
- fever and chills
- increased cough
- sore throat
In people with CF, influenza can lead to severe pneumonia. If you have the flu, you will develop many of the symptoms listed above.
Most likely you will feel worse than you do with your usual pulmonary exacerbation. It is very important to let your CF care team know if you have flu-like symptoms, as soon as possible.
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What can we do to prevent influenza?
The CF community and immunization experts have developed the following guidelines to reduce the impact of influenza on the CF community:
Get vaccinated — Each year in October or November the influenza vaccination, or the "flu shot," is given to people with CF, their family members, and their healthcare providers. This helps to prevent the flu by increasing immunity to the current types of the virus.
If the close contacts of people with CF receive the vaccine, they most likely will not get the flu. This will help to protect people with CF from being exposed to the virus. October or November is the best time to get vaccinated, but getting vaccinated in December or January is still helpful as flu season can last until the spring.
Flu vaccine spray (FluMist®) — You may have heard about the “flu vaccine spray.” This vaccine is sprayed into the nose. It is only approved for healthy people 5 to 49 years of age. People with any kind of lung disease, like asthma or emphysema, cannot get this type of flu vaccine.
However, family members without CF or other lung disease can get the “flu vaccine spray.”
Practice good health habits — Infection control measures can reduce the spread of flu in healthcare settings such as the CF clinic and in community settings such as at school and work. These habits include:
- Clean your hands — Clean your hands often with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand gel (especially after coughing, sneezing or respiratory therapy). This will help protect you and others around you.
- Stop the spread — Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Discard the tissue into a waste basket or covered container. Make sure you wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand gels afterwards to prevent spreading germs to others.
- Don’t touch — Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that has germs and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Stay home — If you are sick, just stay home. You will help prevent others from becoming sick.
- Keep your distance — Avoid close contact with people who are sick (stay at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away). When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick.
- Practice other good health habits — Get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of fluids, eat nutritious food, be physically active and manage your stress.
- Medications — Anti-viral medications are available to treat people when they get the flu. They are most effective if taken within 24 hours of the start of symptoms, so it is important to contact your CF care center as soon as you feel flu-like symptoms. These drugs may help to lessen your symptoms or how long you are ill. They do not prevent you from getting the flu.
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Are there any side effects from the flu shot?
The flu shot does not give you the flu, because the viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated). The risk of the flu shot causing serious harm is extremely small. However, like any vaccine, you could have mild side effects such as soreness, redness or swelling where the shot was given, a low grade fever or some mild aches. If these problems happen, they will begin shortly after the shot and usually last 1-2 days. If you are allergic to eggs, talk with your doctor about other ways to get the flu vaccine.
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What is an influenza pandemic?
A pandemic is a disease outbreak that occurs around the world. A flu pandemic occurs if a new flu strain emerges for which people have little or no immunity and for which there is no available vaccine. Thus, a flu pandemic could spread easily person-to-person and cause serious illness in many people in many countries in a very short time.
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Additional Resources About Germs and Infection Control
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Additional Resources About the Flu
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updated 9/21/09
