Flu season is at its worst from November through February. You can take preventative actions to avoid the flu and protect loved ones.
Dr. Luis J. Castro discusses how to be proactive against the flu and what to do if you catch it.
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Fight the Flu
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Learn more about Luis J. Castro, MD
Luis J. Castro, MD
Luis J. Castro, MD is a practicing Family Practitioner in Syracuse, NY. Dr. Castro graduated from State University of New York Upstate Medical University in 1996 and has been in practice for 22 years. He completed a residency at St Josephs Hospital Health Center. Dr. Castro also specializes in OBGYN (Obstetrics & Gynecology). He currently practices at Primary Care Center West and is affiliated with St Joseph's Hospital Health Center and St Joseph's Hospital.Learn more about Luis J. Castro, MD
Transcription:
Prakash Chandran (Host): Everyone dreads coming down with a bad case of the flu. But luckily, there are some things we can do to lessen our chances of contracting it, this season. I’m Prakash Chandran and today we will be talking about three steps you can take to defend yourself against getting the flu. Here with us to discuss is Dr. Luis J. Castro, a Family Medicine practitioner at St. Joseph’s Health. Dr. Castro pleasure to have you here. So, let’s get right into it. I’m assuming that the first and most important step for flu prevention is actually getting the flu shot, isn’t that right?
Luis J. Castro, MD (Guest): Absolutely. Recommendations are for everyone to get a flu vaccine right around this time of year as the flu season starts to pick up and that includes infants as young as six months of age all the way up to adulthood.
Host: Now I know some people are a little bit concerned about getting the flu shot and it’s really interesting to me that there are still so many people that resist getting it year after year. So, I would love to hear about some of the common objections that you hear.
Dr. Castro: Absolutely. There’s a lot of myths and misperceptions about the flu vaccine. Number one, oftentimes I’ll get patients who will say you know, previous years I did get the flu vaccine and then shortly after I became very ill with the flu and I believe that the flu vaccine may have given me the flu and hence I don’t want to have a future vaccination. Number one, I explain to patients that you actually can’t contract the flu from the vaccine. Some people may get short preliminary flulike symptoms such as aches and pains and low-grade fever. But that resolves, and it does not actually give you an actual case of the flu. What often happens is from the time that you receive the flu vaccine, it may take a week to ten days for the flu vaccine to actually confer the protection against the flu. Within that period of time, that window of time, you are still susceptible to the flu and oftentimes you get your flu shot, three or four days later you get sick and then you assume it’s from the flu vaccine when in fact, it’s just bad timing and poor luck that you got the flu vaccine. Even in that case, people who are vaccinated and who still get sick, typically have a much milder version of the flu. So, even if people get vaccinated and some will still get a little bit sick, it typically gives you a much milder version of the flu.
The other thing I hear a lot from patients is well you know, oftentimes you hear that the flu vaccine is not effective this year. It’s not working, and people are still getting sick. And that is true. That sometimes happens. Flu vaccines are not perfect. They are made a year in advance again trying to predict what the most common strains of the flu will be prevalent at this time of year and sometimes they do get the wrong strains involved. But for the most part, getting a flu vaccine over not getting one is the best option, really.
Host: Yeah, that seems to make a lot of sense and one thing that you said is that you do not get sick from the flu vaccine. That is certainly the most common thing that I hear. And another thing that’s important is that even if you don’t get it for yourself, get it for others around you, right, because even if you don’t – you aren’t susceptible to getting that flu; you can still spread it. Isn’t that correct doctor?
Dr. Castro: Absolutely. So, that’s a very good point. When we talk about vaccinations, not just flu vaccines, we talk about herd immunity. Herd immunity means that we need to get a certain percentage of the population vaccinated in order to protect the other percentage who are not able to be vaccinated, such as very young infants or elderly patients. So, yeah, getting a flu vaccine is not just something that’s beneficial to you personally; but to those around you. So, if you are around children, older adults, maybe people with chronic illness; that’s going to protect them as well so, that’s another major factor that I try to sell the vaccine to my patients in the office.
Host: So, you mentioned that anyone from six months and older should get the flu shot. Is there anyone that should not get the flu shot? Is there any circumstance where that might prohibit them from doing that?
Dr. Castro: The main contraindication would be if you had had some type of allergic or adverse reaction to a previous flu vaccine. What often comes up is the issue of egg allergy. A long time ago, the flu vaccine was made from a derivative of the egg. So, that if you had an egg allergy, we would not typically vaccinate people who had egg allergies. The newer vaccines no longer have that issue, so that’s really no longer a contraindication to getting the vaccine, if you have egg allergy or adverse reaction to eggs. The main thing is if you had really truly had some type of allergic or adverse reaction to a previous flu vaccine; that may be somebody who we would withhold the vaccine from. But other than that, six months and up, the high-risk groups are the infants, the very young, pregnant women especially are also a high risk for flu and we try to focus on that population and the elderly who are typically have chronic illness and don’t have strong immunity. Those are the three subgroups that we focus on, but basically anybody from six months on up should get a flu vaccine.
Host: Okay so that I think is a pretty comprehensive explanation for why you should get the flu shot. So, that is step one and so step two I imagine is taking that preventative action to spread germs. So, of course this mean covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze and washing your hands frequently, but what are some other ways people can stop germs from spreading?
Dr. Castro: Yeah, certainly sneezing into your elbow, not into your hand, hand washing is key, frequent hand washing. Probably the biggest one and one that I think most of us are probably guilty of not doing is don’t go to work when you are sick or don’t go to school when you are sick. A lot of us do that. We feel responsibility to show up for work when we are ill and that is the biggest way that we spread illness. So, you go to your office, you go to school or whatever and then you get everybody that you are around, they get all of the sudden sick because you decided to come in. So, the best thing you can do if you are sick, stay at home, proper hand washing, don’t sneeze into your hands, sneeze into your elbow. If you have to go outdoors, if you have to be in a public situation; wearing a mask will also help prevent the spread of the respiratory droplets, but probably the biggest one is if you are truly sick; you should stay home.
Host: Yeah, that makes a ton of sense there, but it’s always tricky when you live with someone that might have the flu. So, for example if my wife has the flu, what are best practices, like do I need to stay away from her? At what point would she be noncontagious?
Dr. Castro: Yeah, certainly you can’t avoid being around sick people 100% of the time especially if you live with them. So, avoiding close contact which is basically not sharing glasses, utensils, probably not having a lot of skin to skin contact like shaking hands or kissing, those types of things would reduce the spread of the illness because it is an airborne illness, so close contact is the biggest thing. Typically, once you have the full-blown flu and the fever has broken and those things are starting to improve; you are much less contagious to other people.
Host: Yeah and so, the final step I have heard is that you take flu antibacterial drugs if your doctor prescribes them. Can you explain a little bit about how this works Dr. Castro?
Dr. Castro: Yeah so flu is a virus. There are medications called antiretrovirals that will fight the flu. It doesn’t necessarily treat the flu or get rid of the flu completely. What it typically does if taken early within about 48 to 72 hours of symptoms; if you get on the medication it typically reduces the duration and the severity of the symptoms. So, if you are sick a day or two and start taking the anti-flu medications; it will typically reduce the severity and the duration of your symptoms by a few days and so you can get back to work or back to school a little bit sooner. So, that’s something that if you feel like you are coming down with some flu-like illness, calling your primary care doctor, getting in to be seen sooner than later is beneficial if they feel that the drugs are appropriate.
Host: Well that was really informative and as just a recap for the people that are listening, the steps were number one; get a flu vaccination. It is really easy to do. My wife and I just recently went down to the CVS and it was 100% covered by our insurance so, it was easy and painless. Number two; is take that preventative action to spread germs like Dr. Castro said. Wash your hands, sneeze into your shoulder if you need to. Just kind of stay away – stay at home, do not go to work or do not go to school if you feel like you are sick. And then the third is take those flu-antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them to you. So, beyond all of that Dr. Castro, is there anything else you would like our listeners to know about defending yourself against the flu this season?
Dr. Castro: Well I think not just the flu but any illness; the best way to prevent it is to live a healthy lifestyle. So, eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep, plenty of fluids, all those things factor into helping boost your immunity and if you do those things on a regular basis and make it a habit; you are less likely to get sick as well as being vaccinated.
Host: Yeah, I think all of us can take more time to live that happy and healthy lifestyle. It builds up that immunity and will really help us especially during a season like this one. So, Dr. Castro thank you so much for your time. For more information please visit www.sjhsyr.org, that’s www.sjhsyr.org. This is St. Joseph’s Health MedCast from St. Joseph’s Health. I’m Prakash Chandran. Thank you so much for listening.
Prakash Chandran (Host): Everyone dreads coming down with a bad case of the flu. But luckily, there are some things we can do to lessen our chances of contracting it, this season. I’m Prakash Chandran and today we will be talking about three steps you can take to defend yourself against getting the flu. Here with us to discuss is Dr. Luis J. Castro, a Family Medicine practitioner at St. Joseph’s Health. Dr. Castro pleasure to have you here. So, let’s get right into it. I’m assuming that the first and most important step for flu prevention is actually getting the flu shot, isn’t that right?
Luis J. Castro, MD (Guest): Absolutely. Recommendations are for everyone to get a flu vaccine right around this time of year as the flu season starts to pick up and that includes infants as young as six months of age all the way up to adulthood.
Host: Now I know some people are a little bit concerned about getting the flu shot and it’s really interesting to me that there are still so many people that resist getting it year after year. So, I would love to hear about some of the common objections that you hear.
Dr. Castro: Absolutely. There’s a lot of myths and misperceptions about the flu vaccine. Number one, oftentimes I’ll get patients who will say you know, previous years I did get the flu vaccine and then shortly after I became very ill with the flu and I believe that the flu vaccine may have given me the flu and hence I don’t want to have a future vaccination. Number one, I explain to patients that you actually can’t contract the flu from the vaccine. Some people may get short preliminary flulike symptoms such as aches and pains and low-grade fever. But that resolves, and it does not actually give you an actual case of the flu. What often happens is from the time that you receive the flu vaccine, it may take a week to ten days for the flu vaccine to actually confer the protection against the flu. Within that period of time, that window of time, you are still susceptible to the flu and oftentimes you get your flu shot, three or four days later you get sick and then you assume it’s from the flu vaccine when in fact, it’s just bad timing and poor luck that you got the flu vaccine. Even in that case, people who are vaccinated and who still get sick, typically have a much milder version of the flu. So, even if people get vaccinated and some will still get a little bit sick, it typically gives you a much milder version of the flu.
The other thing I hear a lot from patients is well you know, oftentimes you hear that the flu vaccine is not effective this year. It’s not working, and people are still getting sick. And that is true. That sometimes happens. Flu vaccines are not perfect. They are made a year in advance again trying to predict what the most common strains of the flu will be prevalent at this time of year and sometimes they do get the wrong strains involved. But for the most part, getting a flu vaccine over not getting one is the best option, really.
Host: Yeah, that seems to make a lot of sense and one thing that you said is that you do not get sick from the flu vaccine. That is certainly the most common thing that I hear. And another thing that’s important is that even if you don’t get it for yourself, get it for others around you, right, because even if you don’t – you aren’t susceptible to getting that flu; you can still spread it. Isn’t that correct doctor?
Dr. Castro: Absolutely. So, that’s a very good point. When we talk about vaccinations, not just flu vaccines, we talk about herd immunity. Herd immunity means that we need to get a certain percentage of the population vaccinated in order to protect the other percentage who are not able to be vaccinated, such as very young infants or elderly patients. So, yeah, getting a flu vaccine is not just something that’s beneficial to you personally; but to those around you. So, if you are around children, older adults, maybe people with chronic illness; that’s going to protect them as well so, that’s another major factor that I try to sell the vaccine to my patients in the office.
Host: So, you mentioned that anyone from six months and older should get the flu shot. Is there anyone that should not get the flu shot? Is there any circumstance where that might prohibit them from doing that?
Dr. Castro: The main contraindication would be if you had had some type of allergic or adverse reaction to a previous flu vaccine. What often comes up is the issue of egg allergy. A long time ago, the flu vaccine was made from a derivative of the egg. So, that if you had an egg allergy, we would not typically vaccinate people who had egg allergies. The newer vaccines no longer have that issue, so that’s really no longer a contraindication to getting the vaccine, if you have egg allergy or adverse reaction to eggs. The main thing is if you had really truly had some type of allergic or adverse reaction to a previous flu vaccine; that may be somebody who we would withhold the vaccine from. But other than that, six months and up, the high-risk groups are the infants, the very young, pregnant women especially are also a high risk for flu and we try to focus on that population and the elderly who are typically have chronic illness and don’t have strong immunity. Those are the three subgroups that we focus on, but basically anybody from six months on up should get a flu vaccine.
Host: Okay so that I think is a pretty comprehensive explanation for why you should get the flu shot. So, that is step one and so step two I imagine is taking that preventative action to spread germs. So, of course this mean covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze and washing your hands frequently, but what are some other ways people can stop germs from spreading?
Dr. Castro: Yeah, certainly sneezing into your elbow, not into your hand, hand washing is key, frequent hand washing. Probably the biggest one and one that I think most of us are probably guilty of not doing is don’t go to work when you are sick or don’t go to school when you are sick. A lot of us do that. We feel responsibility to show up for work when we are ill and that is the biggest way that we spread illness. So, you go to your office, you go to school or whatever and then you get everybody that you are around, they get all of the sudden sick because you decided to come in. So, the best thing you can do if you are sick, stay at home, proper hand washing, don’t sneeze into your hands, sneeze into your elbow. If you have to go outdoors, if you have to be in a public situation; wearing a mask will also help prevent the spread of the respiratory droplets, but probably the biggest one is if you are truly sick; you should stay home.
Host: Yeah, that makes a ton of sense there, but it’s always tricky when you live with someone that might have the flu. So, for example if my wife has the flu, what are best practices, like do I need to stay away from her? At what point would she be noncontagious?
Dr. Castro: Yeah, certainly you can’t avoid being around sick people 100% of the time especially if you live with them. So, avoiding close contact which is basically not sharing glasses, utensils, probably not having a lot of skin to skin contact like shaking hands or kissing, those types of things would reduce the spread of the illness because it is an airborne illness, so close contact is the biggest thing. Typically, once you have the full-blown flu and the fever has broken and those things are starting to improve; you are much less contagious to other people.
Host: Yeah and so, the final step I have heard is that you take flu antibacterial drugs if your doctor prescribes them. Can you explain a little bit about how this works Dr. Castro?
Dr. Castro: Yeah so flu is a virus. There are medications called antiretrovirals that will fight the flu. It doesn’t necessarily treat the flu or get rid of the flu completely. What it typically does if taken early within about 48 to 72 hours of symptoms; if you get on the medication it typically reduces the duration and the severity of the symptoms. So, if you are sick a day or two and start taking the anti-flu medications; it will typically reduce the severity and the duration of your symptoms by a few days and so you can get back to work or back to school a little bit sooner. So, that’s something that if you feel like you are coming down with some flu-like illness, calling your primary care doctor, getting in to be seen sooner than later is beneficial if they feel that the drugs are appropriate.
Host: Well that was really informative and as just a recap for the people that are listening, the steps were number one; get a flu vaccination. It is really easy to do. My wife and I just recently went down to the CVS and it was 100% covered by our insurance so, it was easy and painless. Number two; is take that preventative action to spread germs like Dr. Castro said. Wash your hands, sneeze into your shoulder if you need to. Just kind of stay away – stay at home, do not go to work or do not go to school if you feel like you are sick. And then the third is take those flu-antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them to you. So, beyond all of that Dr. Castro, is there anything else you would like our listeners to know about defending yourself against the flu this season?
Dr. Castro: Well I think not just the flu but any illness; the best way to prevent it is to live a healthy lifestyle. So, eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep, plenty of fluids, all those things factor into helping boost your immunity and if you do those things on a regular basis and make it a habit; you are less likely to get sick as well as being vaccinated.
Host: Yeah, I think all of us can take more time to live that happy and healthy lifestyle. It builds up that immunity and will really help us especially during a season like this one. So, Dr. Castro thank you so much for your time. For more information please visit www.sjhsyr.org, that’s www.sjhsyr.org. This is St. Joseph’s Health MedCast from St. Joseph’s Health. I’m Prakash Chandran. Thank you so much for listening.