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Dr. Tim Hayden practices at Northside Medical Clinic with family practitioners Dr. David Larsen and Dr. Elizabeth Londino.

Symptoms of seasonal flu

• Fever (often high)
• Headache
• Extreme tiredness
• Dry cough
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle aches
• Stomach symptoms. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea also can occur, but are more common in children. Some people who have been infected with the new H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

Source: Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention

If you get the flu

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends …

• Stay away from others as much as possible to keep from making them sick. You should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events and public gatherings.

• If you must leave home, for example to get medical care, wear a facemask or cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue.

• Wash your hands often to keep from spreading flu to others.

• Stay at home another 24 hours after your fever is gone



Other stories with our doctors

Flu vaccine best protection to stay healthy

Dr. Tim Hayden examines Kathy Mealer, a patient.

Flu season dropped by Jackson a bit early in 2009. Though flu season is normally December through March, Dr. Tim Hayden at Northside Medical Clinic saw his first flu cases over the 2009 summer.

“It definitely picked up by the end of August, the first of September,” says Dr. Hayden, a family practice physician. By the first of October, people with the flu were filling doctors’ clinics, including his.

The culprit was the swine flu, officially H1N1. It is not to be confused with the regular, seasonal flu, which should start appearing in greater numbers later this fall. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It can cause mild to severe illness, and, at times, lead to death.”

Flu vaccine best protection
The best way to prevent flu, says Dr. Hayden, is to get the flu vaccine. 2009's flu season had two vaccines.
The H1N1 flu vaccine, which is in the form of a shot or a nasal spray called FluMist, is recommended for people who are 64 years or younger, says Dr. Hayden. The focus is on children, pregnant women and health care workers. Those older than 64 have a less likely chance of getting the swine flu because they probably were exposed to it when they were younger and still have immunity to it.

Children nine and younger need a second shot 21 days after the initial vaccination is administered, he says. “More than 250 million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine are expected to be shipped. If we can immunize that many people, we will stop H1N1 in its tracks.”

A Pandemic
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 a pandemic flu, meaning it is a global epidemic that has spread to more than one continent. A pandemic, which usually occurs three times in a century, last hit in 1968-1969.

About 5 to 20 percent of the general population will get the flu each year, with usually about 36,000 fatalities linked to the illness, mostly in the elderly and from associated pneumonia. Others with an increased risk for getting the flu are those on steroids and immuno-suppressing medications and health care workers.

Though it has caused deaths, the H1N1 flu, which tends to run its course in about five to seven days, is less severe than the seasonal flu, which can last 10 to 14 days. H1N1, however, is more contagious and infects young people in higher numbers. “It’s novel, it’s new,” says Dr. Hayden. “It catches like wildfire. One bright spot is that if you do get it, you will be immune to it for life.”

Avoiding the flu
Incubation for the H1N1 flu is one to four days, and the infection is generally spread by respiratory droplets or by touching something infected. The virus gets in the body through the nose, eyes or mouth.

Prevent infection with basic precautions. Avoid contact with people who seem to be sick. Wash hands frequently. “When someone sneezes or coughs, usually the germs fall to the floor within four to six feet,” says Dr. Hayden. “If you will stay four feet away from someone who is coughing or sneezing, you may be less likely to get it.”

Of course, getting the H1N1 flu shot is also a good way to protect yourself from that type of flu. “Once you get the vaccination for H1N1, it probably takes about eight to 10 days for your body to make the antibodies to the infection,” says Dr. Hayden.

Two flu seasons
The arrival of the H1N1 flu did not hamper the development of the regular, seasonal flu. The seasonal flu is usually from December through March. “You can mark flu season on your calendar,” Dr. Hayden says.

The media attention to the swine flu has probably helped more people realize the importance of getting a seasonal flu shot. “2009’s vaccine has three different flu viruses in one shot, two Type A, which is the same as last year, and a Type B with is a different strand,” says Dr. Hayden. The immunization tends to last about six months, which is why it has to be taken annually.”

In general, the A strand of the flu is more severe, says Dr. Hayden. “The flu Asians had last year circles around to the United States this year.” Scientists study the Asian variety of the flu, and then choose in the spring what combination of viruses should be in the seasonal flu vaccine. The vaccine is produced in the summer months so it is ready to administer in the fall.

Flu “hits you like a Mack truck”
When diagnosing the flu, Dr. Hayden typically looks for two symptoms: fever, which is often high, and muscle aches. Secondary symptoms can include upper respiratory problems and tiredness. “Patients can almost tell you when it hit because the flu tends to hit hard and fast,” he says. “Regular viruses, such as colds, don’t usually hit you like a Mack truck. Some patients can actually give me the hour of the day when they got the flu.”

He treats the flu with Tamiflu, which is a medicine. “It is important to get to your health provider within 48 hours of showing symptoms, so treatment can begin as soon as possible since the medication doesn't help much if started more than 48 hours after symptoms begin,” he says. “This will lessen the severity of the illness and shorten its duration somewhat.”

Dr. Hayden, however, feels that the flu shot provides the best level of immunity. “Many people mistakenly think they will get the flu if they take the shot,” says Hayden. “That’s impossible. It is an inactivated, killed virus.”