There is a common mentality that flu is very underestimated. People with fever buy fever reducers, people with cough buy cough medicine, expectorants... but in the end, they don't know what kind of flu they have.
Medical experts say: Flu is usually a self-limiting disease and does not necessarily require hospitalization, but can cause dangerous complications such as respiratory failure, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, meningitis and secondary infections. Therefore, when there are signs of worsening, especially in the elderly and people with underlying diseases, the patient should be taken to the hospital promptly. Seasonal flu is usually mild and recovers within 2-7 days with symptoms of fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, runny nose, sore throat, cough and recovery. However, the disease can cause complications or death in high-risk groups such as people aged 65 and over, young children, pregnant women, people with underlying diseases...
Currently, the three strains of influenza virus that affect humans are influenza A, B, and C. Of these, influenza A is the most common and causes dangerous complications, leading to many epidemics and pandemics in many countries. This strain of influenza often combines H and N antigens to create pathogens such as H5N1, H3N2, H1N1, etc. Influenza A often has new variants that change every year and are highly contagious.
Influenza B also often causes sporadic outbreaks, but is not as severe as influenza A. Influenza C is very rare, usually causing only mild symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, and goes away after a few days.
However, it is difficult to distinguish which strain of flu a patient is infected with because the initial symptoms are often respiratory tract infections causing sudden high fever, headache, body aches, chills, sore throat, dry cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and loss of appetite.
Therefore, the habit of underestimating the flu and arbitrarily buying medicine to treat it is a habit that carries many potential risks.
The Ministry of Health has repeatedly advised people with suspected flu symptoms not to test themselves or buy medicine to treat themselves at home, but to contact a medical facility for timely advice, examination and treatment...
Every year, the world has about 1 billion cases of influenza, 3-5 million severe cases and 400,000-700,000 deaths. In Vietnam, every year, there are still 600,000 - 1,000,000 cases of seasonal flu recorded, with cases recorded year-round.
Flu - not only affects personal health but also is an economic problem.1 million cases of flu will lead to millions of hours of ineffective work, low productivity, not to mention complications that cause expensive medical costs, even death.
Vaccination, personal health care through exercise, diet, daily habits are all contributing to stabilizing the family and national economy.
