How to protect yourself from the flu virus: proven methods of treatment and prevention

It is autumn outside, and it is at this time of the year that one of the most unpleasant pathogens of infectious diseases is activated – flu virus. Earlier, the esthete portal talked about what flu symptoms will help you independently identify this particular infection in yourself. What to do if you or your family and friends begin to develop flu symptoms? In such cases, it is necessary to have information about methods for diagnosing influenza, which can most reliably confirm the diagnosis, about methods for effectively treating influenza, as well as specific and non-specific methods for preventing influenza that will help protect your entire family from this disease.

Influenza Diagnosis: Diagnosis Confirmation Methods

Diagnosing influenza is not a difficult process, as the specific symptoms of the disease may already lead to the idea that the influenza virus is the cause of the infection. There are also clinical and epidemiological criteria for this diagnosis:

• presence of contact of the alleged patient with a person already ill with influenza;
• acute onset and pronounced symptoms of influenza, manifested in the very first hours of the disease;
• two main syndromes: intoxication and catarrhal, which come to the fore in the clinical picture of influenza;
• an increase in body temperature lasting up to 5 days.

Laboratory blood tests of patients show leukopenia with relative lymphocytosis, normal or slightly elevated ESR. In order to diagnose influenza, specific methods are also used, such as bacteriological examination of swabs from the nasopharynx. It is possible to determine the pathogen in them from the end of the incubation period until the 5-6th day of the disease. You can specify the type and subtype of the influenza virus using the PCR method.

Influenza treatments: how to deal with the infection

Influenza treatment is complex and consists of several main components. In most cases, patients do not need hospitalization and flu treatment can be done on an outpatient basis. Patients are shown bed rest and plenty of fluids to detoxify the body. Be careful with the patient's temperature. The use of antipyretic drugs is recommended only in cases where the temperature reaches very high values ​​\u200b\u200band the state of the nervous system is disturbed. In other cases, in the treatment of influenza, one can limit oneself to physical cooling of the body: applying an ice pack to the head and main vessels, wet rubdowns, increasing the area of ​​​​the open surface of the body, and so on. Tablets and inhalation agents are used to reduce the manifestations of pharyngitis, expectorants reduce the severity of the characteristic symptom of influenza – pain behind the sternum, and also improve sputum discharge. Vasoconstrictive nasal drops help relieve nasal congestion. Etiotropic treatment of influenza includes two main groups of drugs: M2-channel blockers of the influenza A virus, and inhibitors of the neuraminidase function of the influenza A and B viruses, which are used more often. The selection of etiotropic drugs for the treatment of influenza should be made only after consulting a competent doctor.

and influenza A and B neuraminidase function inhibitors, which are used more frequently. The selection of etiotropic drugs for the treatment of influenza should be made only after consulting a competent doctor.

and influenza A and B neuraminidase function inhibitors, which are used more frequently. The selection of etiotropic drugs for the treatment of influenza should be made only after consulting a competent doctor.

Influenza prevention: how to protect yourself from the insidious virus

How to prevent the flu – A question that concerns, for sure, every person. There are specific and non-specific methods of influenza prevention. Non-specific methods of preventing influenza include isolating a sick patient, wearing masks in his presence that protect against the pathogen entering the respiratory tract of contact people, disinfecting rooms and all the things of a sick person. For the purpose of emergency prevention of influenza, it is possible to use the same antiviral drugs that are used to treat influenza. Specific prevention of influenza is the introduction of inactivated influenza vaccines that contain influenza virus antigens. Three types of such vaccines are used: whole-virion vaccines, split vaccines and subunit vaccines. The development of immunity begins on the second day after the introduction of the vaccine and lasts up to one year, so it makes sense to conduct specific influenza prophylaxis annually. The effectiveness of influenza vaccines is 70-90%. Using the above methods to prevent influenza, as well as the timely initiation of treatment for influenza, will help protect you and your family from infection, as well as effectively manage the flu virus.