In 1918 the Spanish Flu pandemic killed more people than World War I and World War II combined, said Kent Bullis, medical director of the Amelia T. Wood Health Center. That year, he said, the flu killed 20 million people.
"The best thing to prevent the flu would be to get the flu shot," said Denise Amschler, professor in the department of physiology and health science at Ball State University.
The flu shot should be administered in October or November because flu season begins in November and ends in February, she said.
The vaccine becomes effective two weeks after administration and lasts for three to four months, Bullis said. All people should get vaccinated once a year, he said, and a second shot is encouraged for the elderly.
The Health Center and the Delaware County Health Department have the flu vaccine readily available, Bullis said. At the Health Center, the flu vaccine is $29, he said. The Health Center does not profit from flu vaccine sales, he said, they just try to break even.
Most private insurance companies do not cover the cost of the flu shot, he said.
The vaccine comes in two different forms: an injection and a nasal spray, Amschler said. The injection is a dead, inactive virus of the flu strains that are being anticipated for the year, she said.
The nasal spray is called the flu mist, she said. Although the flu mist contains a weakened virus, it will not cause people to get the flu. However, it can cause people to feel ill for a short period of time, she said. The flu mist has now been approved for children, ages two to four, she said.
Last year the Health Center charged students $45 for the flu mist, Bullis said, and only a few students requested it. Bullis said students decided avoiding an injection was not enough motivation for them to pay an additional $16 for the flu mist.
The flu mist is no longer available at the Health Center for expense purposes and lack of demand, he said.
The flu is spread by cough or sneeze droplets that are carried and distributed to people and objects by particles called fomites, Bullis said. People become infected with influenza after touching contaminated objects and then touching their hands to their mouths, he said.
Influenza is a dangerous disease which leaves its victim incapacitated with symptoms of fever, chills, sweats, body aches, head aches and cough, Bullis said. A person's fever can rise as high as 102 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
"You are contagious one day before developing symptoms to five days after," Amschler said.
The flu can last from five to seven days, he said, and any people with the flu can pin point the second they became ill.
Influenza can be life-threatening for young children, the elderly and people with other health conditions, Amschler said. It is important for people to take precautions to avoid getting ill, she said.
Other methods of preventing the flu include washing your hands before you eat or touch your face in any fashion, Bullis said.
Although washing your hands is a way to prevent contracting the flu, Bullis said, hand sanitizer kills more germs than soap and water.
Amschler said one benefit of hand sanitizer was its portability.
"If you're out in places where you can't wash your hands, bring sanitizer with you," Amschler said.
To prevent germs from spreading further, Amschler said, someone who is sick should cover his nose and mouth with a sleeve when coughing or sneezing. The sleeve will trap the germs and prevent them from contaminating more objects and people, she said.
If living with an infected person, keep the common areas clean and sanitized, she said.
A face mask can be worn by the infected person or by roommates to prevent the illness from spreading, Bullis said.
Sleep is an important factor to keep the immune system working correctly, Bullis said. College students need eight and a half to nine hours of sleep a night, he said.
However, exercising, eating nutritious foods, and drinking fluids are just as important as getting enough sleep, Amschler said.
"You need good nutrition to fight illness," she said.
Because it is sometimes difficult for college students to get proper nutrition, Bullis said, vitamin supplements can provide the body with the lacking nutrients.
If students come to the Health Center with influenza they can receive antiviral drugs, Bullis said. Antiviral drugs can shorten the length of the illness, he said, and make the illness less severe.
If you have been exposed to a person who has the flu, he said, antiviral drugs can help prevent becoming infected.
Ball State has a Web site dedicated to informing students about influenza, Bullis said. The Web site is updated when a flu pandemic starts to go through the community, he said. The Web site helps to keep Ball State students updated when classes have been canceled because of the pandemic, he said.
>Flu facts
- When a strain of influenza is going through a community, a spike of deaths and hospital admissions is visible
- A flu shot becomes effective two weeks after being administered
- Best time to get a shot: October and November
- The Amelia T. Wood Health Center has 20,000 visits a year
- About three percent, or 150 students on campus get the flu in a year
- The flu can turn into a sinus infection, middle ear infection, asthma, pnemonia or bronchitis
- In 2006 the flu caused 36,000 deaths and hospitalized 200,000
- Recent estimates put the costs of the flu in the U.S. at a whopping $71 billion-$167 billion annually
- In the United States, the flu season is generally considered between October and May with the peak of the season falling between late December and March
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