The Quick Guide to the Flu

If you are a teacher, parent, daycare provider, healthcare provider, or anyone who finds themselves around children or anyone else with weak or compromised immune systems, then the F word for you is quite different than it is for other people. The F word for you means runny noses, coughs, stomach pains, and unfortunate bouts of vomit. The F word for you is, in fact, three meager but terrifying letters: the flu. As a teacher, “Flu season is coming” is just as bad as Game of Thrones’ “Winter is coming.” It does not help that whether or not flu vaccines are appropriate and if flu vaccine distributors are trustworthy. Here are some interesting things about the flu that you may not know.

Firstly, it is important to know what exactly the flu is. Formally known as influenza, the flu is a respiratory illness that is caused by viruses in the throat, nose, and occasionally the lungs. Since the flu is contagious and can be debilitating to people with weak immune systems such as the elderly and the already sick, it is important to get an annual flu vaccine from reputable flu vaccine distributors. This is the best defense you can have against the flu, besides avoid people who might already be infected. Some of the more reputable flu vaccine brands include the Fluad flu shot, Seqirus flu vaccine, and the Fluzone vaccine.

Many people confuse the flu with other ailments such as the common cold and food poisoning. While the symptoms of a cold get progressively worse over the course of one to two weeks, the symptoms of the flu come on quite quickly and suddenly. The spectrum of the severity of flu symptoms is quite wide, and you can be anything from mildly inconvenienced by your flu symptoms or put into hospitalization from their severity.

The flu virus is most commonly spread from person to person from tiny droplets left in the air and on surfaces from people with the flu that cough, sneeze, or talk in open air. Children can get the flu from one another by sharing toys that are put into mouths or improperly covering their sneezes and coughs. Preschool, daycare, and kindergarten institutions are particularly vulnerable to flu because of this. Your child can spread the flu before you even know they are sick, because people are most contagious in their first three to four days after their illness starts. Even if your child isn’t actively showing symptoms, they could have infected their classmates. Since young immune systems are not quite developed, they can spread the flu quickly and easily.

Again, the best way to prevent the flu from invading your family is by getting a flu vaccine from reputable flu vaccine distributors. This can be your health care provider, a pharmacist, a nurse, or a pediatrician. One shot for each family member can prevent your home by being stricken by this inconvenient illness.