Word: flu
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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Knight is good. Maybe too good. The U.S. is deep in the grip of a flu outbreak. It happens every year, but we keep hearing this one is different. Emergency rooms are jammed to overflowing. Offices are decimated. The I've-been-hit-by-a-dump-truck feeling that is one of the hallmarks of influenza seems to be lasting longer than it ever has before...
...government agency issued a public-health advisory to remind physicians that Relenza and Tamiflu (as well as two older antiviral drugs) do not cure influenza and should not be viewed as substitutes for standard treatment. Apparently, a few patients died when they developed bacterial infections--a common complication of flu--and were treated solely with antiviral medications, which don't work against bacterial infections and were never meant to. Only antibiotics can tame bacterial infection. In addition, some people with asthma and other lung problems saw their condition worsen while on Relenza, a known side effect that GlaxoWellcome properly flags...
Most of the time, the best treatment for flu is to dive under the covers and forget the world for a week. Be sure to alert your doctor, however, if you start having trouble breathing, develop a rattle in your chest or your fever persists. You may be developing pneumonia. Only your doctor can determine whether an antiflu drug is right for you. But remember, the most that Relenza or Tamiflu can do for you is cut your downtime by a day or two--and then only if you take it within 48 hours of the first symptoms...
...recent upswing in emergency room visits indicates, this year's flu strain has hit early and often, taking a toll both on patients and exhausted doctors. According to CNN, a spokesman from California's Health and Human Services Department has tried to ease the pressure on beleaguered hospital staff by asking the public not to descend on the state's emergency rooms. After a stint in the Southwest, the flu is bearing down with particular force on the Northeastern states: Public health facilities across New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia are dealing with a massive influx of patients suffering...
...flu, which poses particular dangers to people with compromised immune systems, is distinguished from other bugs by several factors: Its onset is extremely quick, and it brings high fever, cough and sore throat, headaches, extreme fatigue and muscle aches. Although some sufferers, including the elderly and the very young, should seek emergency assistance if the symptoms are extreme, most flu patients will be advised simply to rest, drink fluids and take a fever-reducer such as Tylenol or Advil. "You treat the symptoms," says TIME medical contributor Dr. Ian Smith. "Flu isn't life-threatening - it just makes people feel...