Winter is a favorite season for everyone, but it can also bring about illnesses for us and our loved ones. This is because the cold weather is conducive to the survival and spread of certain pathogens, such as viruses.
Diseases that are common during winter Including colds, influenza, acute diarrhea, pink eye or conjunctivitis, dermatitis, etc.
In this article, we will only discuss infectious diseases of the respiratory system, which are colds and flu. In addition to causing physical suffering to the patient, this disease also indirectly causes them to stop studying and working, becoming a burden for parents who have to take care of them, and increasing household expenses. In addition, in those with chronic diseases or immunodeficiency, complications may occur when they get sick, such as sinusitis, otitis media, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Importantly, it can also easily spread germs to people around them.
Causes of illness and transmission
Colds and flu are caused by viral infections. There are many different viruses that cause colds, but the flu is caused by the influenza virus, which is a common cold that occurs frequently during the rainy and winter seasons.
According to the Epidemiology Division, Department of Disease Control, the number of influenza patients reported in 2022 was 79,374, which is lower than the actual number due to the lack of a proactive surveillance system. The most common group is young children aged 0-4 years, followed by adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 years, and adults aged 25-34 years, respectively.
The viruses that cause colds and flu can be spread through droplet transmission, which is the respiratory transmission of germs from coughs and sneezes. They can also be spread through contact transmission, which involves touching the nose and mouth with contaminated hands.
The incubation period for cold and flu viruses is 1-5 days, with an average of about 2 days.
How do you know if you are sick or have complications?
When sick with the flu, symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough, sneezing, and stuffy nose. Some people may not have a fever at all and usually recover within 1 week. If you have the flu, you will usually have a sudden high fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and body aches. Later, you will have a cough and sore throat. Some people may also have nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and loose stools. Most general symptoms will improve on their own within 3-7 days after the onset of symptoms.
In addition to having clinical symptoms that suggest influenza, confirmation of diagnosis is done by testing for influenza virus genetic material from specimens collected from the upper or lower respiratory tract. Commonly used tests include rapid influenza diagnostic tests and RT-PCR tests for viral genetic material.
In the risk group, when sick with the flu, complications or death may occur. Such risk groups include young children under 2 years old or adults over 60 years old, obesity, pregnant women or women who have given birth within 14 days, people with chronic diseases such as lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, immunodeficiency or people who have to take immunosuppressive drugs, people who have been treated with aspirin for a long time, etc.
Common complications include sinusitis, otitis media, bronchitis, and, more severely and potentially fatally, pneumonia.
If sinusitis occurs, it is often found in patients who have had a cold for more than 10 days. They will have a runny nose, thick yellow or green mucus, sometimes a postnasal drip, coughing, bad breath, some people may have pain in the sinuses, such as the cheekbones, forehead, around the eyes, etc. People who have complications of otitis media, especially children, will have a fever, earache, tinnitus. Young children may be restless, pulling the painful earlobe. For bronchitis, patients will have a cough, a dry cough or a cough with sputum. The sputum will be thick and sticky. Some people cough a lot and cough frequently until their chest or ribs are sore. Symptoms may last for several weeks. If there is pneumonia, patients will have a fever, cough, shortness of breath, and some people will have a blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) is lower than the normal value, which can be confirmed by a chest X-ray.
How to provide care and protection?
Treatment of colds and flu is generally supportive treatment, mainly treating symptoms. In patients at risk for influenza or those with severe symptoms, antiviral drugs are recommended as soon as possible for best treatment results. They should be given within the first 48 hours, and symptoms should be closely monitored. If symptoms do not improve within 48 hours or become more severe, hospitalization should be considered. Patients who are not at risk for severe disease should be treated symptomatically. Antiviral drugs may be considered if symptoms have not been present for more than 48 hours, and it is recommended to return for a checkup if symptoms do not improve after 48 hours. The first-line antiviral drug used is oseltamivir, given for 5 days.
Important prevention measures remain: wearing a mask in public, keeping a safe distance from others, and washing hands before and after touching your face or when contaminated with respiratory secretions.
There is currently a vaccine for influenza. Consider giving it to children 6 months and older, especially children under 2 years old and those at risk of severe disease. It is recommended to get it before the rainy season. However, it can be given all year round.
If the child is less than 9 years old, the first injection of life must be 2 injections, 1 month apart. If the first year was injected only once, the following year should be injected 2 times. After that, it can be injected once a year. In older children and adults, it should be injected once a year.
Reference documents
1. Department of Medical Services, Ministry of Public Health. Treatment recommendations for influenza patients for medical and public health personnel, revised on October 2, 2023.
2. Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. Vaccination schedule according to the Ministry of Public Health's Immunity Promotion Plan 2023.
