Why it's important to know the difference
The incidence of influenza rises when the seasons change and in our small, close knit community everyone seems to catch it.
The Comber family told me that their four-year-old son Jason comes into contact with the viruses at pre-school, and spreads it to the whole family when he gets home.
“We’ve had everything going this season,” said Mr. Comber. “You name it we have had it.”
The extent of the problem is usually easily seen in the workplace, as employees are out sick or home with sick children. When sick employees decide to come to work the effect can be devastating as they infect work colleagues who in turn need to go to their beds.
Productivity can almost collapse.
To counter this problem there are some companies that pay for their workers to get the flu vaccine every year. One man I spoke with said he didn’t think it was for any philanthropic reason that his company did this.
“To them it’s just good business sense. There will be less people off sick,” he said.
The Health Department did not reveal how many cases of influenza local doctors have reported in recent weeks and King Edward VII Memorial Hospital said their emergency ward has not seen a noticeable rise.
But on the street almost everyone is talking about a spouse, work colleague or themselves as having the dreaded flu. One friend e-mailed to say that there is a “killer flu” that only antibiotics will really get rid of. Part of the problem is knowing when you have the flu or a cold. They are not the same thing.
Both are respiratory infections and both are usually caused by a virus.
Influenza — the flu — tends to affect more of the body. People suffering the flu may feel dizzy, tired, have fever, aches and pains or migraines.
Cold victims tend to only have a nasal congestion and runny noses.
The flu can lead to more serious infections like pneumonia or bacterial infections, while colds usually do not.
Knowing the difference is important because treatment is different. The flu can be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics will have no effect on the viruses causing a cold.
In the case of a cold there is no real cure. There are medications and treatments that can be taken to alleviate symptoms. Nothing kills those viruses.
A flu shot usually provides good protection against the flu but it must be taken before an infection to have any effect.
The flu vaccine is a mild version of the actual virus and enables the body to build up antibodies. Antibodies can be thought of as security guards for the body. When they see foreign material they kick them out. The secret is they have to know what the invader looks like. A vaccine introduces them to the invader. They see it and form a memory of it. When that invader tries to get in again, the antibodies immediately recognise it and fight it off efficiently. This results in only a mild form of infection or oftentimes, no infection at all.
