Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC
By now most of you have heard that influenza is spreading wildly across America and elsewhere. Here is a link to an article we posted in May, 2011, regarding preventing the flu. You will find this posting to be of great interest.
Blogfinger article on flu prevention
Influenza has been noticed ever since the pandemic of 1918. In 1908, the hospital where I worked, Dover General Medical Center, was founded in an old mansion. It had 25 beds and a small staff of doctors (not me) and nurses. When the 1918 pandemic hit, they were swamped and had to turn people away. They promised then that they would never refuse patients again. So the hospital grew to 360 beds, but when I was there, despite all those beds, each year at this time, the ER was overflowing, and there were beds in the hall. Sometimes the rescue squads would have to shop around for a hospital that had room, although usually, when one hospital was filled, so were the others. As hard as everyone worked, the degree of business would get chaotic, and the chance of errors would increase.
That pattern continues today at many hospitals where conditions get scary during flu season. Sometimes extra beds are added to rooms, and staffing shortages quickly develop. A hospital is not a good place to be at this time. If you have a friend or family member admitted with influenza or anything else, try to help the nurses (with their consent) whenever possible. But wear a mask and wash your hands frequently. Any patient who is admitted now with another condition, such as diverticulitis, is at risk for catching flu from a patient nearby or even the one who was last in your bed. Hospitals have to be meticulous when cleaning the rooms before admitting another case, despite the pressure coming from the ER to move patients to a regular bed.
Some of you may have heard of Tamiflu (oseltamivir,) an antiviral drug, which is given orally to patients who present within two days of the onset of symptoms. It is used all over the world, but there is some debate as to its effectiveness. In addition, Roche Labs is suspected of withholding research data. (See Forbes magazine Jan. 8,2013. )
Some individuals have stockpiled the drug in case a flu epidemic occurs. But you should know that the only proven results consist of shortening the duration of the illness by one day and perhaps reducing the severity of the attack. There is no proof that it prevents viral transmission or that it prevents the dreaded complications, particularly pneumonia.
You can still obtain benefit by getting a flu shot, but the flu shot may not be totally protective. It takes two weeks for a flu shot to kick in, and the elderly are weak producers of antibodies. So, by all means, get the vaccine if you haven’t done so already. Most of the drugstores have it.
Here is a NY Times link from today: