FLU THREAT IS IN THE AIR.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer With the launch of the holiday shopping and travel season comes another, more dubious beginning - the start of the winter flu season. No sooner have relatives pushed back from the dinner table and bargain hunters come in from the malls than the aching, coughing and overall misery starts in earnest. ``It usually is right around this time - it's November to February,'' said registered nurse Leslie Budrick, infection control coordinator at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. ``I think the reason why you see it so much then is everyone's out and about, going to shopping malls, over to relatives' houses'' - spreading any germs they carry. Hospital emergency rooms are bracing for the onslaught of patients who, in years past, have doubled the daily patient load at some emergency rooms, overwhelming doctors and nurses trying to care for the sick. Sinusitis sinusitis Inflammation of the sinuses. Acute sinusitis, usually due to infections such as the common cold, causes localized pain and tenderness, nasal obstruction and discharge, and malaise. and bronchitis are also expected to peak earlier than usual this year, creating a chorus of coughing, sneezing To verbally tell somebody about a new and interesting Web site. See viral marketing. , wheezing Wheezing Definition Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound associated with labored breathing. Description Wheezing occurs when a child or adult tries to breathe deeply through air passages that are narrowed or filled with mucus as a Angelenos. At RTIalert.com, a site about respiratory-tract infections sponsored by the Bayer company, health-conscious types can punch in their ZIP code and see just how close infections are coming to the neighborhood. The site also posts the nation's top-five hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. for flu and infections. ``Across the entire country, the peak is going to be between Thanksgiving and New Year's,'' said Dr. Mark Mehle, an ear, nose and throat specialist ear, nose and throat specialist n → oto-rhino-laryngologiste m/f ear, nose and throat specialist n → Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Arzt m, who tracks the Web site from his practice in Cleveland. ``I think people need to start thinking about prevention: ... good hand- washing, not using people's plates and utensils,'' he said. ``If infected people don't hug and kiss their relatives ... that may make a big difference as far as running through households.'' It starts simply enough. Someone coughs or sneezes behind you in line at the department store, spreading the virus in the air. A waiter takes cash from an infected person, then sets the table for the next diner, passing along germs through contact, health officials said. Soon a virtual epidemic is under way as the flu spreads from person to person. Most flu sufferers will be back to normal within two weeks, Los Angeles County health officials say, but some can develop complications leading to hospitalization and, in some cases, death. Los Angeles County has 120,000 doses of flu vaccine, and campaigns across the nation are encouraging flu shots in the wake of the anthrax scare, so that fewer people will get the flu and mistake it for the potentially deadly bioterrorist threat. ``I think people kind of took heed,'' said Mary Ann Jackman, a nurse epidemiologist at Los Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
An attempt to stop a prevailing trend. Sometimes referred to as "stop the bleeding." Notes: If a stock is continually falling, stemming the tide would be an attempt to halt the free fall and change its direction. See also: Reversal, Trend of flu season. The flu or influenza is a viral infection viral infection, n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. that can hit millions of people annually, and nationwide it accounts for about 20,000 deaths a year, according to county officials. Passed by contact or through the air, the virus goes from those infected into the nose and throat of bystanders, taking hold within days and leaving its trail of all-too-common symptoms. Similarly, colds and bacterial infections - bronchitis and sinusitis - make their way this holiday season from home to work to parties. But there's nothing like the flu shot for bacterial infections, leaving the best line of defense the common-sense one - namely, hand-washing - officials said. ``Somebody picks up something. They bring it into the house when they get here in Thousand Oaks, and they share it with everybody,'' said Los Robles spokeswoman Kris Carraway-Bowman about the flu. ``This is the time when it starts - this weekend, right after you have your turkey dinner. ... Then the germs start to fester fester /fes·ter/ (fes´ter) to suppurate superficially. fes·ter v. 1. To ulcerate. 2. To form pus; putrefy. n. An ulcer. .'' Health officials worry about the overload of flu patients in emergency rooms. The staff at Valley Presbyterian monitors the situation each day to see whether the flu has hit - it hasn't yet - while doctors at Los Angeles County's health department compile weekly reports to track the arrival statewide. Dr. David Dassey, deputy medical director of acute communicable disease communicable disease n. A disease that is transmitted through direct contact with an infected individual or indirectly through a vector. Also called contagious disease. control for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) in Los Angeles County's department providing public and personal health services to the over 10 million residents in the County. , said residents need to think before they run off to the emergency room about whether the sniffles snif·fle intr.v. snif·fled, snif·fling, snif·fles 1. To breathe audibly through a runny or congested nose. 2. To weep or whimper lightly with spasmodic congestion of the nose. n. 1. can be treated at home, and whether their case really requires medical attention. ``(Emergency rooms are) not intended to take care of people who have ordinary influenza without complications,'' said Dassey, adding that routine flu cases can be handled at outpatient clinics. ``They don't belong in an emergency room.'' With ibuprofen ibuprofen (ī`by  prō'fən), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that reduces pain, fever, and inflammation. , plenty of fluid and bed rest, most flu patients can
suffer through the bug without stepping foot in a hospital or clinic,
Dassey said.
CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Dr. Afsaneh Khalili gives a flu shot to Julie Davis at the Woodland Hills Medical Clinic as the flu season kicks off. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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