Flu Season & Vaccination

Summer is now gone and as the days start to turn a bit cooler, it's time to remember that flu season is just round the corner.

Many people complain of catching 'the flu', but often what they are referring to is just the common cold. Colds tend to cause a mild fever, start with a runny nose and often only last a few days. By contrast, the symptoms of influenza are a high fever, muscle aches and general tiredness, sore throat, headache, chills and sweating. These symptoms can last a week or even longer.

In Australia, influenza on average causes 3,500 deaths, about 18,000 hospitalisations and 300,000 visits to the GP each year. It is thought that 10% of all sick days in workplaces are due to influenza.

The flu is caused by a highly contagious virus, usually spread by sneezes and coughs. The majority of people will recover from the flu relatively quickly, but for those people with an underlying medical condition or an impaired immune system, the flu can be very dangerous, and even fatal. These at-risk people are recommended to have the influenza vaccine every year and include:

• adults aged 65 years and older
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged 15 years and older
• people with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease (including severe asthmatics who require frequent visits to hospital), diabetes and some bleeding disorders
• pregnant women
• children on long-term aspirin therapy.

People who live with, work with or care for anyone in the above at-risk groups are also recommended to be vaccinated against influenza every year. These include people who work in health care or with children, or look after an elderly or chronically unwell person.

If you suspect you have the flu, there are antiviral medications which can be prescribed by your doctor, but these generally need to be started early in the illness (often within 48 hours). Other options for treatment are bed rest, paracetamol for fever, fluids and other medications to target your symptoms. Our pharmacists at Berwick Pharmacy can help advise you on which medications are best for you.

The best way to protect against the flu is an annual vaccine. The virus itself is constantly changing to try and avoid recognition by the body's immune system. The actual vaccine changes every year, depending on the most common strains found on the opposite side of the world in the previous season as these are the ones most likely to migrate to us this season. Immunisation should occur between March and May and protection develops within about two weeks and lasts a year.

I've heard many people say that the flu vaccine gave them the flu, but this is not the case. The vaccine itself does not contain the live virus. Like any medication though, some people may have some side effects to the vaccine. The most common ones are a mild fever, soreness at the injection site, a low-grade fever or muscle aches, so sometimes these are mistaken for the flu itself. Placing a cold, wet cloth over the injection site or taking a dose of paracetamol will often help reduce these side effects. It's important to keep in mind that the vaccine only protects against the most common strains of the flu, so you may still catch a different strain.

Before receiving the vaccine, make sure that you tell your doctor or nurse if you or your child:

• is unwell (temperature over 38.5˚C)
• has had a serious reaction to any vaccine
• has had a severe allergy to anything
• has had an anaphylactic allergy to eggs – this is because the virus used in the vaccine is grown in eggs
• is under six months of age
• has had Guillain-Barre syndrome.

As it is now so well recognised that getting the flu vaccine is the best way to protect people, it is freely available. People 65 years and older and/or in the at-risk groups are entitled to free vaccines (check with your doctor or pharmacist), and many doctors' clinics will only charge for the vaccine itself, without any additional appointment fee.

So everyone should definitely consider getting the flu vaccine this year and every year. It's even available for children from the age of six months old. It's a small inconvenience to ensure that you are protected, but also to protect other people you may come in contact with.

The flu vaccine is now available at Berwick Pharmacy and we have made sure that we have heaps in stock to try and avoid people missing out.

Don't forget:

• influenza is a potentially serious disease and may even be fatal
• flu vaccine can save you time and money by preventing you from having to take days off work
• the flu vaccine does NOT cause the flu
• you may get side effects from the flu vaccine but these are generally minor.

If you have any concerns or questions or just need to fill your prescription for the flu vaccine or anything else, come and see us at Berwick Pharmacy where giving advice and friendly service is what we do best.

References and further reading

• Colds & Flu Self Care Card, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, published February 2011
• Flu (influenza) Fact Sheet, Better Health Channel, published July 2011 (accessed 10 March 2012)
• Flu (influenza) - immunisation Fact Sheet, Better Health Channel, published April 2011 (accessed 10 March 2012)
• Immunise Australia Program website
• Influenza Specialist Group website
• Key Facts about Influenza and Flu Vaccine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published October 4, 2011 (accessed 10 March 2012)