Flu Vaccine- It's Not Too Late!

Okay, it's January, and now EVERYONE you know is getting the flu! Is it too late for you to get vaccinated? ABSOLUTELY NOT! The truth is that now that we're all scared, it's tough to find somewhere that has the flu vaccine in stock! Call your doctor or your pharmacy and find out how many they have left, then jump in your car and head over.

This year is another one of those "really bad" flu years. Yes, if you are vaccinated today, you have to wait a couple weeks for your shot to protect you. BUT...the flu season is just catching its stride, so all you have to lose is a temporarily sore shoulder.

This year's flu seems to be bringing with it the added bonus of nausea and vomiting, as if muscles that feel like a Mack truck hit you were not enough. The flu is NOT just a stuffy or runny nose and cough- that's a cold. The flu is OMG, I can NOT get out of bed and function, because my head is splitting, my muscles are screaming, and yes, this year's bonus is the vomiting and diarrhea. Believe me, a sore arm for a few days is a happy trade for the flu.

Who should be vaccinated? Hello, it's EVERYONE. The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that everyone over the age of 6 MONTHS get a flu vaccine each year.

Wash hands, wash hands, and oh yes, wash your hands...for 20 full seconds! When you dash them under the water or take 5 seconds to apply hand sanitizer, you are nicely moving your germs around, so spend the extra 15 seconds and scrub a bit to be more effective.

BOTTOM LINE: FLU SEASON is in FULL SWING- Strike back by getting your FLU VACCINE and WASHING YOUR HANDS...for a full 20 seconds!

For more info, check out the current stats on this year's flu at the CDC at: 
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2012-2013.htm

Was it Food Poisoning or a "Stomach Flu"?

All this talk about fruits and vegetables reminds me of...food poisoning. In the recent past, we've had several outbreaks of food borne illnesses that have caught our attention- first the E-Coli in hamburgers, then the Salmonella outbreaks from eating tuna (or perhaps from handling small turtles), and let's not forget the Listeria-infected cantaloupes!  As such, I thought it would be helpful to go over some facts about food poisoning.

First of all, you are unlikely to know if your last bout of intense stomach upset was the result of food poisoning rather than a "stomach virus", unless there was a specific, easily identifiable source and obvious consequences (four coworkers had egg salad, the other ten had ham sandwiches, and only the four egg-eaters were sick that night). For every one case of food poisoning that is reported, the CDC estimates there are at least another 30 cases that went unreported for this very reason.

The good news here is that the treatment really is the same, regardless of the source of the stomach upset (nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea). The vast majority of food poisoning does NOT require specific treatment such as an antibiotic. In general, the best treatment is to gently stay hydrated (watered down sports drinks seem to work the best), rest, and avoid irritating your stomach for a few days by sticking to a relatively bland diet free of caffeine, alcohol, dairy or spicy foods.

Food-borne illnesses are very common, with over 38 million cases of gastroenteritis , over 70,000 hospitalizations and over 1600 deaths per year in the United States alone. The agents that are the most lethal (cause the greatest number of deaths) are Salmonella, Listeria, Toxoplasma and norovirus, although in healthy adults, these diseases are only occasionally severe. Additional food poisoning culprits include the bacteria Campylobacter, Shigella, Yersinia, Clostridium botulinum (causes botulism) and Staph. Stay tuned this month for more details on these illnesses.

BOTTOM LINE: Food poisoning is common, but identification of the source or causative agent is much less common and not usually medically significant. Prevention is definitely worth a pound of cure for these illnesses!

Coming Up or Running Out- the GI Drugs in the Cabinet

Finishing up what doctors keep in their medicine cabinets, I need to include the GI (gastrointestinal) emergency stash- drugs for throwing up and diarrhea.
For one or two episodes of vomiting, we simply cautiously hydrate with sips of gatorade and wait and see. However, for those occasional wicked stomach viruses that cause nonstop puking all night, we reach for a prescription that we keep on hand- phenergan (promethazine). This drug comes in suppositories as well as pills, and we know when a family member is ready to deal with a suppository, they really need it! Note that phenergan makes you sleepy, which is often a desired side effect, but it also can be addictive- this is for infrequent intense nausea, not for daily use!

What about the other end? No prescription here, we simply keep OTC liquid and pill forms of Imodium. The most important thing with diarrhea is to stop dairy products for a couple days, as you become temporarily lactose intolerant after a day of loose stools.
We also keep a bottle of acidophilus (probiotics) tablets for preventative use when someone is on an antibiotic (to avoid diarrhea from killing off the good bacteria in the gut.)
This is perhaps the least frequently used part of the medicine cabinet, but desperately desired when the occasion arises.

BOTTOM LINE: Phenergan and Imodium make up the gastrointestinal portion of our medicine cabinet.