Prevention of influenza - specific and non-specific measures to prevent the disease, description, advice, recommendations

Flu prevention is a set of measures aimed at preventing infection, development of pathology and complications.

The incubation period of flu lasts from several hours to 2-3 days. During this period, there are no symptoms indicating the onset of the disease. It develops acutely, there is no prodromal period.

The main symptoms of influenza include:

• chills and fever up to 39-40˚C;
• muscle and joint pain, aching sensation;
• dry cough and runny nose;
• pain in the eyeballs.

Children become lethargic, do not eat and quickly lose weight.

The acute period of influenza without complications lasts from 3 to 5 days, recovery occurs in 6-10 days. After the illness, a person may experience weakness, fatigue, insomnia and headache for two weeks.

Severe influenza lasts longer and is treated in a hospital setting. The patient's intoxication increases sharply, delirium appears, hallucinations and even loss of consciousness are possible. In most cases, complications develop - inflammation and pulmonary edema. Sometimes they end fatally.

Flu or ARVI: main differences

Flu begins quickly, ARVI develops gradually - the patient becomes ill within a few days.

If the first symptoms of flu are a sharp rise in body temperature, chills, muscle pain and dizziness, then with ARVI there is a sore throat and nasal congestion.

With ARVI, a mild cough begins at the beginning of the disease, and with flu, a strong cough appears on the 2-3 day and is accompanied by pain behind the breastbone.

Another distinctive feature is general intoxication of the body. With ARVI, a person still feels bearable, and with the flu, the body is poisoned by harmful substances that appeared due to the breakdown of protective cells and viruses. The patient develops severe intoxication, which manifests itself in pain in the stomach and eyeballs, vomiting, sleep disturbances.

Colds are always easier than the flu. With ARVI, a person, after treatment and lying down for a week, returns to his usual way of life. After the flu, a recovered person needs time to fully recover and get rid of dizziness, weakness and headache. Complications after ARVI occur very rarely, and after the flu, pneumonia can develop, the nervous and cardiovascular systems can be disrupted.

Diagnostics and treatment of influenza

To correctly diagnose the flu, the doctor studies the symptoms of the disease, takes the appropriate tests. When infected, the patient's blood count decreases with leukocytes and platelets. The diagnosis is confirmed by the following types of research:

1. virological (the virus is isolated from the nasopharyngeal swab).
2. serological (detection of antibodies to the virus in the patient's blood);

The most common method at the moment is express diagnostics, during which the virus is detected in the cells of the upper respiratory tract. Quite rarely, flu is diagnosed by the polymerase chain reaction method. To conduct it, sputum, saliva, and blood are taken from the patient for genetic testing of viral and microbial material.

• If the patient is suspected of developing pneumonia, he is examined by a pulmonologist and a chest X-ray is prescribed.
• If there is a suspicion of developing complications of the ENT organs, the person is consulted by an otolaryngologist, who, if necessary, prescribes oto- and rhinoscopy.

In most cases, a person with influenza is treated on an outpatient basis. Patients with severe complications are hospitalized. If the body temperature is high, the patient is prescribed bed rest, plenty of fluids, and vitamins. The doctor prescribes antiviral, immunostimulating and antipyretic drugs. Severe flu may require detoxification measures aimed at removing toxins from the body.

Swine flu and regular flu: what's the difference

Despite different antigen structures, it is impossible to distinguish the regular virus from the swine flu by clinical signs. They are both characterized by general weakness, high fever, cough, runny nose, chills, chest pain and muscle pain.

Early complications may suggest a serious illness. The most common are viral pneumonia, meningitis, infectious toxic shock, laryngospasm in children. In addition, due to the increasing infectious load, other organs and tissues may be affected.

Preventive measures and doctor's recommendations

Prevention of influenza can be non-specific and specific.

Specific prevention consists of the use of a vaccine. It does not guarantee the absence of the disease in the future, but it can protect a person from severe complications.

Non-specific influenza prevention is conventionally divided into seasonal and emergency:

• seasonal prevention is provided by taking medications a month before the peak of the disease and during the entire epidemic;
• emergency is carried out for 6-10 days after contact with a sick person.

In both cases, a person is prescribed drugs that increase the body's resistance to influenza.

It is very important that all medications are prescribed by a doctor who is able to take into account the individual characteristics of each patient. Non-drug influenza prevention is effective only if it is carried out regularly. This includes:

1. hardening;
2. proper nutrition;
3. reducing psycho-emotional stress;
4. avoiding hypothermia;
5. observing the work and rest regime;
6. no contact with a sick person;
7. regular hand washing and treating them with an antiseptic.

If you have any questions or doubts, you should consult a doctor. He will suggest methods of preventing and treating the disease.