Flu Season: What to Know as Peak Comes to an End
The worst flu season in the last 15 years is finally coming to an end, but many people are still struggling with the virus. The combination of the flu, Covid, and the Respiratory Syncytial Virus put a significant strain on the national healthcare system.
Fabrizio Giostra, Director of the General Emergency Department of the IRCCS Policlinico di Sant’Orsola, shared his insights on the flu and offered advice for prevention and management.
Symptoms of this year’s flu include high fever, cough, muscle and osteoarticular pain, headache, sore throat, weakness, poor appetite, and gastrointestinal symptoms in children.
The flu has an incubation period of approximately two days and typically lasts for a week. It is contagious from 1 day before symptoms appear until about 4-5 days after their onset.
Prevention measures include coughing and sneezing into your elbow or a tissue, frequent handwashing, avoiding touching your face, and wearing a mask, especially in crowded places. Vaccination is also recommended to reduce the probability of contracting the flu.
Giostra recommends staying hydrated, eating light meals, and taking vitamin C to strengthen the immune system if you’re managing the flu at home. He also advised calling a family doctor for appropriate prescriptions and not using antibiotics independently, as they are only effective in treating bacterial complications.
In some cases, the flu can lead to a long convalescence. Giostra advises seeking medical attention in case of a productive cough, persistent symptoms after 5 or 6 days with high fever, breathing difficulty, or symptoms that last for more than 4 weeks.
As the flu season winds down, it’s important to remain vigilant and seek medical advice when necessary to ensure a full recovery.
