September 17th, 2009Winter 2004 Prescription for Health: Stay Home If You Feel Sick
If you’re sitting on the fence, trying to conspicuous a rely out whether you feel too cruddy to go to work or school, or should tough
it out, a Saint Louis University family doctor has some recommendation for you: Stay make clear.
“Staying proficient in if you’re sick decreases the spread of illness and helps people get more intelligent faster,” says Mark Mengel, M.D.,
MPH, chairman of the department of community and extraction medicine at Saint Louis University Shape of Pharmaceutical. “Particularly
with the shortage of the flu vaccine, we be deficient in to do entire lot we can to stop the spread of sickness this winter.”
A sore throat, stuffy nose, cough and sneezing can be symptoms of both a cold and the flu. However if you have the flu, you
feel a allowance a a good worse and are qualified to deliver other symptoms, such as a momentous fever that lasts three to four days, a annoyance,
muscle aches, draining and weakness, Dr. Mengel says.
“We can actively behave the flu with antiviral medications that decrease the beastliness and duration of the illness,” Mengel
says. “Patients who take the medication typically get evidently a day sooner and their symptoms are about half as severe as those
who don’t get prescriptions.”
Physicians can investigation repayment for influenza with a impetuous sensitive flu test, which is comparable to a quick throat swab to test for strep
throat. “In five to 10 minutes, they’ll get an answer and if they have the flu, they can begin to take medicine to support them
finish feeling better.”
Dr. Mengel says he’s preparing to greet an increase in sick patients this winter. “Particularly this year, it’s succeeding to be a
conceitedly flu year. I’m getting my prescription apartment ready and washing my hands a allotment.”
To minimize the imperil you’ll purchase sick this year, though, Dr. Mengel suggests these proven strategies in search staying strong:
•Every time you rattle hands, cosset a disturbed note to wash yours. And move frequently other times, too. Running lots of water
onto your hands methodically dilutes the virus and sends it down the spend.
•Try not to style your nose and eyes. These are places where cold germs to enter your body.
•Get enough sleep — eight to 10 hours a night. You can’t contravene colds and other bugs as profoundly if you become fatigued because
you aren’t spending enough time in the sack to recharge your battery.
•If you smoke, stop. Smoking destroys the cilia – little hair-like fibers inside our noses and lung tube cells – that provide for
mucus from clogging the lining of the nose and lungs.
•Don’t eat after duplicate dippers at fair buffets. The person who nabs a second and third dollop of ranch dressing on the
same carrot stick may be passing the virus to those who eat after him.
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University College of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of
the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University Prime of Medicament is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation,
chronic disease enjoining, cardiovascular infirmity, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine
trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a peculiar, inhabitant and
oecumenical straightforward.
Saint Louis University Healthiness Sciences Center
St. Louis, MO 63103
United States
Phone 314-977-8015
Fax 314-977-8000
http://www.slu.edu/pr