The flu is going around, judging from area ER’s. Here are some tips for avoiding it
The flu has arrived in Pierce County and sufferers are visiting emergency rooms in droves.
Nearly 8 percent of emergency and urgent care visits in Pierce County are for the flu, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Most of the people seeking care are under 25.
Most of the activity is coming from influenza B, which is the most common to hit children. Some schools in the region were reporting 10 percent or greater absenteeism before the holiday break, the health department said.
“This flu season is really different,” said Denise Stinson, a public health nurse with the health department. “This is the first time I’ve seen influenza B show up this early.”
Flu accounted for 5.1 percent of visits to emergency and urgent care facilities for the week of Dec. 20. The next week, that number jumped to 7.9 percent. Statistics for January are not yet in.
Hospital visits
Like other facilities, the emergency room at St. Joseph Medical Center is seeing more influenza B than A this year.
“From the patient perspective, it’s still the flu,” said Nathan Schlicher, an emergency room doctor at St. Joseph.
Flu and flu-like illnesses were accounting for 8 to 10 percent of visits to his ER, Schlicher estimated.
“The flu and our boarding and crowding as the result of the flu arrived later this year,” he said. Boarding refers to the practice of putting patients on stretchers in hallways and other areas.
In some flu seasons, the rush started as early as November, Schlicher said.
Patients admitted to the hospital usually have underlying health conditions like COPD or long-term smoking.
“I have not yet admitted an otherwise healthy (flu patient) to the hospital,” Schlicher said.
Schlicher suspects that the high number of young patients seeking help could be attributed to patients having their first major illness after leaving home.
“They present for care because they don’t know what to do,” he said.
His advice: Call mom.
“See what she recommends,” he said. “Mother’s wisdom still applies. Tylenol, Motrin, Sudafed, Dayquil and Nyquil. Stuff to help manage the symptoms whether it’s the flu or the million other viruses out there.”
If those don’t work or if you have a high heart rate or breathing issues, seek medical help, he said.
“It’s possible that the flu has set you up to develop pneumonia as well, or it’s triggered underlying asthma you had as a kid and you forgot about,” he said.
Statewide flu cases
Flu cases statewide were listed as “elevated” by the state Department of Health for the last week of 2019.
Deaths for the season stood at 17 adults and two children. All but one adult death occurred in individuals age 50 or older.
Five patients have died in Pierce County.
The actual number of deaths from the flu is most likely much higher, health officials say. The reported number comes only from tested cases.
Ten long-term health care facilities have reported outbreaks of flu-like illnesses.
Statewide, 8.5 percent of trips to medical facilities were for flu-like illnesses, the state health department reported.
Testing, symptoms and prevention
The only way to absolutely determine if you have the flu is through a laboratory test. For the patient, that’s not important, Schlicher said.
“I would say it doesn’t matter,” he said about testing. “You’ve got one of the viruses out there.”
It also won’t make a difference in treatment, he said. Tamiflu must be administered within the first two days to make a difference.
“Even then, it shortens the course by eight hours,” he said. It also doesn’t make a difference in mortality, studies have shown.
Symptoms of the flu can vary but can include high fevers, coughing, muscle aches and shaking chills.
The flu comes one to two days after exposure, Stinson said.
“Once you start feeling symptoms, you’re usually pretty sick within one day,” she said.
Health departments say the best way to prevent or diminish catching the flu is to get vaccinated.
In addition, practice good hygiene. That includes:
▪ Frequent hand washing. Wash your hands whenever you use the bathroom and when you have been in a public area where you might have touched door handles, gas pumps, ATMs and other common surfaces.
▪ Cover your coughs and sneezes even if you’re not sick. Cough and sneeze into a tissue or the crook of your elbow, rather than your hands.
▪ If you are sick, stay home. Your illness could be life-threatening to a child or someone with a weakened immune system.
