Fall means flu season

Late October brings at least three things to the IU campus: the changing of the fall colors, the first basketball practices and -- less auspiciously -- the start of flu season.\nEach year students come to the IU Health Center with questions about influenza. How do I distinguish the flu from the common cold? Is it safe to get a flu vaccine? Can the flu be treated with antibiotics? \nHere are some answers to common questions about the flu:\nInfluenza, or "the flu," is a virus that causes a severe respiratory tract infection. It is quite contagious and spreads in epidemics around the world. The flu causes more than 20,000 deaths and 100,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The vast majority among the elderly and infirm. Among young and otherwise healthy college students, the flu will likely keep one out of class and in bed for a week, but it rarely causes more serious complications.\nCommon symptoms of the flu include sudden onset of fever (sometimes up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit), chills, muscle aches and pains, dry cough, congestion, sore throat, headache and fatigue. People often mistake bad colds for the flu, but with true influenza symptoms are much more severe. Patients with the flu usually feel as if they have been "hit by a truck," whereas patients with bad colds report their symptoms coming on more gradually. (Compared to the flu, it\'s like being nudged by a Volkswagen.) In addition, sometimes people confuse stomach upset and vomiting with the flu (i.e., the "stomach flu") but stomach illnesses are actually caused by completely different viruses than influenza. \nThe flu cannot be treated with antibiotics. If you see a doctor within the first 48 hours of symptoms, you may receive antiviral medications. When taken early during the course of the flu, these medicines usually reduce the length of illness by one day. If you are unable to see a doctor within this time period, your treatment will involve rest, drinking plenty of fluids and taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen for aches, pains and fever. You may also use cough suppressants or decongestants, depending upon your symptoms.\nThe best prevention against the flu is getting a flu shot each year. The influenza vaccine helps to keep you from getting the flu or may help to reduce the severity of the flu, if you should get it. Many people believe the influenza vaccine will give you the flu. This is not true! The vaccine is not made from live viruses. It cannot give you influenza, though in rare cases, it can cause muscle aches and a low-grade fever for a day or two. Both last year and this year there has been a delay in the availability of the flu vaccine. It should be available shortly. Check with the IU Health Center Web site for updated availability.