Every year 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population gets sick with the seasonal flu and about 36,000 people die from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, other illnesses are often mistaken for the flu, and many times unhealthy practices can lead to spreading the influenza virus.
A report on the CDC's influenza Web site (www.cdc.gov/flu) said people often get the flu confused with gastro-intestinal problems.
"Many people use the term 'stomach flu' to describe illnesses with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms can be caused by many different viruses, bacteria, or even parasites. While vomiting, diarrhea and being nauseous or 'sick to your stomach' can sometimes be related to the flu these problems are rarely the main symptoms of influenza. The flu is a respiratory disease and not a stomach or intestinal disease."
The flu is also different from a cold, the CDC points out. Influenza, according to the Web site, usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms: fever, headache, extreme fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches.
Dr. Kent Bullis is the health director at the Amelia T. Wood Student Health Center. He said the sudden appearance of the flu is one of its more recognized symptoms.
"People who get true influenza," Bullis said, "typically become sick very, very rapidly and a lot of the time they can almost tell you, 'I got sick the day before yesterday at 11 a.m.' or 'I got up in the morning and was feeling fine and at 11 a.m. all of a sudden I felt like crap.'"
Bullis said students can be out of commission for five to seven days when they come down with the fever, coughs and body aches typical to the seasonal flu.
"Students are usually incapacitated so that they are unable to study and attend class during that time," Bullis said. "So you take a student that is already working hard to do the best that they can, and then you knock them completely out of classes or studying, and it can have an impact on their performance." -á
According to the CDC, the best way to prevent the flu is to get the flu vaccine.
October or November is the best time to get vaccinated, according to the CDC's Web site, but vaccinations received in December or even later can still be beneficial because most influenza activity occurs in January or later.
However, if it is not possible to get the vaccine there are other things that can be done to cut down on the chance of catching the flu.
"Students should try to keep their hands away from their mouths," Bullis said.
Bullis also said there are things that students certainly should not do.-á
"Try to get away from the habit of chewing on pencils and that type of thing," Bullis said. "Don't share food. Don't eat after one another [or] drink after one another. Don't grab someone else's pop can and take a drink from it."
The CDC recommends staying away from people who are sick. However, if roommates are sick, staying away can be difficult, Bullis said.
"If your roommate is sick, the safest thing to do would be move out for a few days and find somewhere else to live and stay until your roommate gets better," he said, "but often times that is not practical for us."-á
Bullis also recommends asking your roommate to wash his hands frequently and to cover his face when sneezing.
"Make sure they have Kleenexes handy and nearby," Bullis said.
One method of reducing the spread of germs is to sneeze or cough not into your hands but into your sleeve, which minimizes the amount of germs that could be spread, Bullis said.-á
If one does catch the flu virus this season, the bad news is the flu is difficult to treat. Because it is a viral disease it cannot be cured through use of antibiotics, the CDC said.
However, medication can be taken to relieve some of the symptoms associated with the flu, and resting, drinking plenty of liquids and avoiding the use of alcohol and tobacco are ways to feel better during the flu, according to the CDC.
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