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Home / influenza

Tag: influenza

Asthma and the Flu Vaccine

Posted on September 24, 2020February 25, 2021 by Allied
Asthma and the Flu Vaccine

By Dr. Stephen Borchman

#1 asthma tip of the year- GET THE FLU VACCINE

Any parent with a child with significant asthma will naturally have an underlying fear that their child may have a catastrophic asthma episode. Their fears are well-founded, as every day in the United States between 3 to 5 individuals succumb to acute asthma. Approximately 1/3 of the victims are children. Acute asthma has a variety of triggers, and these triggers vary greatly from child to child. As I often tell parents, asthmatics are like snowflakes, no two are the same. They all have their own individual characteristics. One of the most common and potent triggers of acute asthma in children are respiratory tract infections. Fortunately, for the most dangerous of infections, we have vaccines. And of all dangerous infections, the one that is most common in our society is the influenza viruses. Influenza viruses change their characteristics every season, and there are at least a half a dozen strains that circulate the globe every year, with more evolving every year. The World Health Organization monitors the frequency and severity of influenza infections yearly and then will decide which strains to include in the annual vaccine. While not perfect, this is currently the best approach we have towards protecting people from the very potentially serious consequences of influenza infection.

Acute asthma occurs when the triggering agent, whether this is an infection, pollen, animal dander, or environmental pollutants causes a sudden inflammatory event in the child’s bronchial tubes. If this inflammation proceeds unchecked, it is often accompanied by airway spasms, resulting in respiratory distress. Any parent who has seen their child in respiratory distress knows exactly what this looks like. It is terrifying and any parent who’s been through a hospitalization with their child certainly never wants to experience that again. Influenza infection is a very potent trigger of airway inflammation. And although the vaccine may not stop every influenza strain from causing illness in your child, getting the vaccine will certainly improve your child’s chances of avoiding hospitalization. This was proven in a 2017 study. In that year, 171 children died of influenza infection in this country. Of those 171 children who died, only one had ever received an influenza vaccine, but not in the year that the fatal event occurred.

So please, on behalf of all the doctors at Allied Physicians group, please follow the recommendations of the American Lung Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and every other medical organization, make sure your child receives influenza vaccination every year. In fact, everyone in the home should be vaccinated for influenza as well to increase the probability of keeping it out of your home. Every year your child receives the vaccine, his or her immune system acquires more information about influenza viruses and is better equipped to defend itself against these infections. Please also follow your doctor‘s recommendations as specified in your asthma control plan. Make sure you contact your practitioner if you feel your child’s asthma is unstable in any way. Lastly, please always keep your follow up appointment so your doctor can monitor and change your child’s medications as needed.

Click here to learn more about our Asthma Control Education (ACE) program.

Posted in Asthma & Allergy, Blog, Parental Advice, Seasonal Health, Vaccine Information, Viruses, Diseases, & InfectionsTagged ace, asthma, asthma control education, asthma education, asthma trigger, asthmatic, asthmatics, dander, flu, flu season, flu shot, infection, infections, influenza, pollenLeave a Comment on Asthma and the Flu Vaccine

It’s Flu Season- AGAIN

Posted on September 26, 2018February 26, 2021 by Allied
It’s Flu Season- AGAIN

By: Fatema Meah, MD (Peconic Pediatrics, Riverhead & Southold, NY)

Back to school time is the right time to think about getting this year’s flu vaccine. In general, flu season runs from October until April, and most cases are seen in the winter months. The peak of influenza disease in the Northeast is typically in February but varies every season.  It is ideal to get your flu shot early in flu season.

Why should you get the flu vaccine? Influenza, or “the flu”, affects between 5 – 20% of our population. It is responsible for 200,000 hospital admissions and 36,000 deaths each year.  Last year was especially severe with over 180 pediatric deaths and over 700,000 hospitalizations for flu-related illnesses.  These are the highest numbers recorded since surveillance began. Influenza is the most common vaccine-preventable illness we see!

What is Influenza? Influenza is a respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. There are two main types of virus: influenza A and influenza B. Each type includes many different strains, which tend to change each year. This is why flu shots must be given every year.

Influenza is extremely contagious and is easily transmitted through contact with droplets from the nose and throat of an infected person during coughing and sneezing. These viruses may also be spread when a person touches these droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose) before washing their hands.

If you have ever had “the flu” you know it is no fun.  Symptoms may include high fever, body aches, headache, dry cough, sore throat, and extreme fatigue.  Stomach symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can occur and are much more common in children than in adults.

Although anyone can get the flu, there are some groups that are at high risk for complications.  The high-risk groups include:

  • Adults 50 and older, especially those 65 and older;
  • Children 6 months – 18 years;
  • People age 6 months and older with chronic medical conditions, including heart disease, pulmonary disorders (including asthma), diabetes, kidney disease, hemoglobinopathies, and compromised immune systems (HIV or immunosuppressive therapy);
  • People with certain conditions (such as neuromuscular disorders) that can cause breathing problems
  • Pregnant women
  • Residents of nursing homes and chronic-care facilities

Other individuals are at high risk of transmitting the flu.  These include:

  • Health care workers involved in direct patient care;
  • Out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children aged < 6 months.

There are 2 vaccines available to prevent influenza.  The first is the “flu shot”— an inactivated vaccine containing a killed virus. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women. The second is the nasal-spray flu vaccine— a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses.  It is approved for use in healthy people 2-49 years of age.

This year there is some controversy about which vaccine is best.  What is important is that you get one of them.  If your child absolutely hates needles and will cause chaos for you getting “the shot” then opt for the nasal spray.  What is most important overall is to be immunized and protected!

There are two common myths associated with the flu vaccine.  The first is that the vaccine will give you the flu. It is not possible to get the flu from the flu vaccine!  Side effects of the flu shot do include soreness, redness or swelling at the site of the injection, low-grade fever, and mild body aches.  This is not the flu but your body’s response to the vaccine.  Side effects of the nasal flu vaccine in children can include runny nose, cough, wheezing, headache, vomiting, muscle aches, and fever.   In adults, side effects can include runny nose, headache, sore throat, and cough.  The second myth is that the vaccine does not work.  In years when the vaccine and circulating influenza viruses are well matched, the flu vaccine can be expected to reduce laboratory-confirmed influenza by 70 – 90%.  In years when the viruses are not as well matched it will still lower incidence of disease as well as reduce severity in those who do get influenza.  We must remember that not all flu-like illnesses are influenza, and the flu shot can only protect us against influenza viruses.

So is it time for your flu vaccine?  Yes, the flu vaccine is now routinely recommended for everyone.  That means babies over six months of age, children, and all adults including pregnant women.  It takes about two weeks for your body to make a response to the vaccine.  Call your doctor’s office to make an appointment today!

Posted in Blog, Seasonal Health, Viruses, Diseases, & InfectionsTagged body aches, diarrhea, dry cough, fatigue, fever, flu, flu season, flu shot, flu vaccine, headache, high-risk, influenza, nasal spray, nausea, sore throat, tired, transmit flu, vomitingLeave a Comment on It’s Flu Season- AGAIN
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