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Protecting Yourself and Others During Flu Season
Dr. Sima Asadi shares tips for protecting yourself and others from respiratory diseases during flu season.
Featured Speaker:
Sima Asadi, MD
Dr. Sima Asadi a board certified pediatrician and perinatologist at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera and Mercy Medical Center in Merced. She received her medical degree from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed her residency at USCF, and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Transcription:
Protecting Yourself and Others During Flu Season
Bill Klaproth (Host): RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious especially for infants and older adults and can become more complicated during flu season. So, how can you protect yourself and others during flu season? Let’s find out with Dr. Sima Asadi, a Board-Certified Pediatrician and Chair of the Pediatric Department at Dignity Health in Merced. Dr. Asadi, So what’s the best way to protect yourself from RSV or respiratory diseases especially during flu season?
Sima Asadi, MD (Guest): The most important and most effective way to prevent respiratory diseases is to wash your hands.
Host: It sounds so simple, but a lot of people don’t do that apparently.
Dr. Asadi: Yes. The second most important thing is to if you are actively coughing; to cover your cough with your elbow rather than your hands so as to prevent transmission hand to hand. The other important thing is when you go to shake hands during flu season; fist bumps or high fives are probably better than actually shaking hands. But yes, hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent respiratory diseases.
Host: Those are three simple things everybody can do. Make sure you wash your hands, cough into the crook of your elbow, I can’t take it when I see somebody coughing into their open palm. I can’t take it. it bothers me. And then fist bump instead of shaking hands. Three simple things we all can do. That’s wonderful. So, Dr. Asadi, if someone doesn’t follow your rules and they do get sick; what are the signs and symptoms we should be aware of. Because I know sometimes a cold can mimic the flu so what are we looking for?
Dr. Asadi: So, flu is very distinctive. It’s usually with fever. It starts with fever and chills first and then it progresses to runny, watery eyes, watery nose, and then a cough and oftentimes it also progresses to gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. So, the whole body is affected.
Host: Okay so think of the whole body then when it comes to flu.
Dr. Asadi: Think of the whole body.
Host: Well that’s a really easy way to remember that. So, Dr. Asadi, Mercy Medical Center is implementing visitor restrictions during respiratory season which is November 15th through April 30th. No children under the age of 13 or anyone with any symptoms of illness are allowed to beyond the hospital lobby. Now this is a practice that is observed by a majority of hospitals in the central valley. So, why are we implementing this visitor restriction?
Dr. Asadi: Primarily to protect our pediatric population but to protect our overall patient population as well.
Host: So, it’s really a protective measure then and the best way to not contract this is to not be around people that are sick.
Dr. Asadi: Yes. Children are oftentimes more commonly sick and more often sick during RSV flu season so bringing them to the hospital, having them visit our patients, especially our newborn patients puts them at risk for contracting those diseases.
Host: So, when it comes to protecting the pediatric population; is that because these children are too young to vaccinate, and they have an immature immune system?
Dr. Asadi: So, flu vaccine cannot be administered under six months of age. That is correct. So, the earliest we can administer a vaccine for flu is at six months. There is no vaccination for RSV. And our infant population as well as our elderly population are extremely at risk for complications from those diseases. And in addition to that, an infant yes does have a very vulnerable immune system to germs anyway.
Host: So, that’s why obviously this restriction is to protect the pediatric population and then for the high risk patient population; it sounds like minor colds even minor colds can cause serious illnesses in this population and oftentimes these high risk people have compromised immune systems. Is that right?
Dr. Asadi: Absolutely. In fact, RSV and influenza are both causes of pneumonia, viral pneumonia in our elderly population and oftentimes that’s the pneumonia that can’t be treated very well. It doesn’t respond to antibiotics and so yes, our ICU population, our postoperative patients, anyone who has a compromised immune system which is quite a few of the patients that are in the hospital, a good majority of them. They are more vulnerable to these diseases that we cannot treat very effectively once they occur.
Host: Well that makes sense. So, this restriction will be in place November 15th through April 30th and then as we wrap up Dr. Asadi, you’ve given us some great tips to protect ourselves from the flu. Let’s talk about the flu shot quickly. Why is it important that everyone get a flu shot. I see a lot of people like nah I don’t need this, I’m fine. Why should we all get one?
Dr. Asadi: Well we should get one because most of us are now really living in and residing in medically underserved areas and in a medically underserved area; prevention becomes far more important than trying to as they say, “fix it” once it’s broken. And when it comes to these viruses, especially influenza; preventing the illness from becoming severe is a far more effective means of protecting yourself than trying to treat it. so, when a patient goes in with the flu, oftentimes they will be given a prescription for an antiviral. Antivirals are not nearly as effective as antibiotics. So, treatment is not a very effective measure.
The other really important thing for our newborn population because they cannot get vaccinated is that anybody who is taking a baby home this time of year needs to do what we call cocooning which is where you immunize everybody that’s in that household with that baby for influenza so as to protect the baby.
Host: Well that makes a lot of sense. So the best medicine ultimately is prevention and then one last question Dr. Asadi, because I hear this all the time. People always say, I’m not going to get a flu shot because it gives you the flu. No, I’m not getting that shot. It gives you the flu. I’m not getting it. could you please tell everyone you are not going to get the flu from a flu shot.
Dr. Asadi: You are not going to get the flu from the flu shot. If your flu shot is effective; you will feel your immune system reacting to that influenza vaccine so you may as with other vaccines, feel a little under the weather, but that pales in comparison to what influenza, the virus itself is going to do to you. These vaccines are made from attenuated viruses so viruses that are made extremely weakened and then given to you. So, yes, most – and by the way, most children do not complain. It is exclusively an adult population problem. Yes, so children, in my world, they tolerate their flu vaccine like they do all their others like champs.
So, in the adult world, the way I explain it is that yes, you are going to feel a little under the weather for maybe a day or two. But just imagine if that was influenza that you got; it’s going to be 1000 times worse.
Host: So, there you go. Thank you. So, don’t listen to me. Take it from Dr. Asadi, she knows. All right, she is the authority. All right Dr. Asadi, thank you so much for your time today. we appreciate it.
Dr. Asadi: You are so welcome. Thank you.
Host: That’s Dr. Sima Asadi, a Board-Certified Pediatrician and for more information about Mercy Medical Center Merced’s new visiting hours, visit www.dignityhealth.org/merced. And if you like what you’ve heard on this podcast, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Hello Healthy a Dignity Health podcast. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Protecting Yourself and Others During Flu Season
Bill Klaproth (Host): RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild cold like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious especially for infants and older adults and can become more complicated during flu season. So, how can you protect yourself and others during flu season? Let’s find out with Dr. Sima Asadi, a Board-Certified Pediatrician and Chair of the Pediatric Department at Dignity Health in Merced. Dr. Asadi, So what’s the best way to protect yourself from RSV or respiratory diseases especially during flu season?
Sima Asadi, MD (Guest): The most important and most effective way to prevent respiratory diseases is to wash your hands.
Host: It sounds so simple, but a lot of people don’t do that apparently.
Dr. Asadi: Yes. The second most important thing is to if you are actively coughing; to cover your cough with your elbow rather than your hands so as to prevent transmission hand to hand. The other important thing is when you go to shake hands during flu season; fist bumps or high fives are probably better than actually shaking hands. But yes, hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent respiratory diseases.
Host: Those are three simple things everybody can do. Make sure you wash your hands, cough into the crook of your elbow, I can’t take it when I see somebody coughing into their open palm. I can’t take it. it bothers me. And then fist bump instead of shaking hands. Three simple things we all can do. That’s wonderful. So, Dr. Asadi, if someone doesn’t follow your rules and they do get sick; what are the signs and symptoms we should be aware of. Because I know sometimes a cold can mimic the flu so what are we looking for?
Dr. Asadi: So, flu is very distinctive. It’s usually with fever. It starts with fever and chills first and then it progresses to runny, watery eyes, watery nose, and then a cough and oftentimes it also progresses to gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. So, the whole body is affected.
Host: Okay so think of the whole body then when it comes to flu.
Dr. Asadi: Think of the whole body.
Host: Well that’s a really easy way to remember that. So, Dr. Asadi, Mercy Medical Center is implementing visitor restrictions during respiratory season which is November 15th through April 30th. No children under the age of 13 or anyone with any symptoms of illness are allowed to beyond the hospital lobby. Now this is a practice that is observed by a majority of hospitals in the central valley. So, why are we implementing this visitor restriction?
Dr. Asadi: Primarily to protect our pediatric population but to protect our overall patient population as well.
Host: So, it’s really a protective measure then and the best way to not contract this is to not be around people that are sick.
Dr. Asadi: Yes. Children are oftentimes more commonly sick and more often sick during RSV flu season so bringing them to the hospital, having them visit our patients, especially our newborn patients puts them at risk for contracting those diseases.
Host: So, when it comes to protecting the pediatric population; is that because these children are too young to vaccinate, and they have an immature immune system?
Dr. Asadi: So, flu vaccine cannot be administered under six months of age. That is correct. So, the earliest we can administer a vaccine for flu is at six months. There is no vaccination for RSV. And our infant population as well as our elderly population are extremely at risk for complications from those diseases. And in addition to that, an infant yes does have a very vulnerable immune system to germs anyway.
Host: So, that’s why obviously this restriction is to protect the pediatric population and then for the high risk patient population; it sounds like minor colds even minor colds can cause serious illnesses in this population and oftentimes these high risk people have compromised immune systems. Is that right?
Dr. Asadi: Absolutely. In fact, RSV and influenza are both causes of pneumonia, viral pneumonia in our elderly population and oftentimes that’s the pneumonia that can’t be treated very well. It doesn’t respond to antibiotics and so yes, our ICU population, our postoperative patients, anyone who has a compromised immune system which is quite a few of the patients that are in the hospital, a good majority of them. They are more vulnerable to these diseases that we cannot treat very effectively once they occur.
Host: Well that makes sense. So, this restriction will be in place November 15th through April 30th and then as we wrap up Dr. Asadi, you’ve given us some great tips to protect ourselves from the flu. Let’s talk about the flu shot quickly. Why is it important that everyone get a flu shot. I see a lot of people like nah I don’t need this, I’m fine. Why should we all get one?
Dr. Asadi: Well we should get one because most of us are now really living in and residing in medically underserved areas and in a medically underserved area; prevention becomes far more important than trying to as they say, “fix it” once it’s broken. And when it comes to these viruses, especially influenza; preventing the illness from becoming severe is a far more effective means of protecting yourself than trying to treat it. so, when a patient goes in with the flu, oftentimes they will be given a prescription for an antiviral. Antivirals are not nearly as effective as antibiotics. So, treatment is not a very effective measure.
The other really important thing for our newborn population because they cannot get vaccinated is that anybody who is taking a baby home this time of year needs to do what we call cocooning which is where you immunize everybody that’s in that household with that baby for influenza so as to protect the baby.
Host: Well that makes a lot of sense. So the best medicine ultimately is prevention and then one last question Dr. Asadi, because I hear this all the time. People always say, I’m not going to get a flu shot because it gives you the flu. No, I’m not getting that shot. It gives you the flu. I’m not getting it. could you please tell everyone you are not going to get the flu from a flu shot.
Dr. Asadi: You are not going to get the flu from the flu shot. If your flu shot is effective; you will feel your immune system reacting to that influenza vaccine so you may as with other vaccines, feel a little under the weather, but that pales in comparison to what influenza, the virus itself is going to do to you. These vaccines are made from attenuated viruses so viruses that are made extremely weakened and then given to you. So, yes, most – and by the way, most children do not complain. It is exclusively an adult population problem. Yes, so children, in my world, they tolerate their flu vaccine like they do all their others like champs.
So, in the adult world, the way I explain it is that yes, you are going to feel a little under the weather for maybe a day or two. But just imagine if that was influenza that you got; it’s going to be 1000 times worse.
Host: So, there you go. Thank you. So, don’t listen to me. Take it from Dr. Asadi, she knows. All right, she is the authority. All right Dr. Asadi, thank you so much for your time today. we appreciate it.
Dr. Asadi: You are so welcome. Thank you.
Host: That’s Dr. Sima Asadi, a Board-Certified Pediatrician and for more information about Mercy Medical Center Merced’s new visiting hours, visit www.dignityhealth.org/merced. And if you like what you’ve heard on this podcast, please share it on your social channels and be sure to check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. This is Hello Healthy a Dignity Health podcast. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.