Pediatrician: When It Comes To The Flu, Respect It - But Don’t Be Afraid

For most people, getting the influenza virus causes a horrible week or two, with high fevers, body aches, and generally the feeling that any movement of any muscle in your body is a feat too difficult to bear. I get it. I’ve been there. It’s miserable and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

However, for some people the flu can be much worse. For the elderly, the very young, or, sometimes, for an otherwise completely healthy person, the flu takes a tragic turn that can lead to hospitalization, or even death. When these cases hit the news, it leaves most of us breathless and scared. If a person can be healthy and well one day, and then unable to be saved by modern medicine only two days later, what can any of us do to protect ourselves and our loved ones?

Tell-tale Signs

The good news is that, although there are rare cases where someone really does sicken so quickly that nothing could be done, in reality most diseases have tell-tale signs that an experienced person can watch to see if a patient is headed in the wrong direction. As a pediatrician, I worked in the hospital taking care of children who were sick enough that they couldn’t get better with the care they could get at home. One of my main jobs was to the closely watch these children under my care, noting all the signs their bodies gave me, making sure that none were telling me that this story was heading in any direction other than a happy ending.

If you’re worried that you or a loved one may be unusually sick with the flu, or that you were getting better and then suddenly took a turn for the worse, finding someone who is trained to look for signs of serious illness could prevent complications later on. 

Keeping all of this in mind, during flu outbreaks like the one we’ve seen this week, we often hear our hospitals and urgent care centers telling us to stay home when we think we have the flu. There’s a good reason for these precautions; many patients don’t need prescriptions or hospitalization when they have the flu, they need rest at home and OTC medications for comfort. Keeping patients with the flu at home limits the spread of the virus to other patients and caregivers. 

However, it’s important for you to still check in if you’re worried that you may be unusually sick. Many physicians’offices have special call lines where you can talk to nurses and tell them about the symptoms you are having. Some hospitals have special waiting areas just for people who think that they have the flu and might need extra help. And many urgent care centers are staffed with professionals who can do a thorough exam, and make sure that you are safe to continuing recuperating at home.

Do a checkup from home

Another service that is fairly new, but several hospitals have credited as the reason they have been able to handle this flu season, is the use of telemedicine. Hospitals like Tampa General and Beaufort Memorial have started using video visits between patients and health care providers as a first-line assessment of people with the flu, allowing physicians to see patients through real-time video and audio calls, giving these doctors a good sense of who needs to come in for further care, and who can stay home.

For example, if you were having trouble breathing and worried that you had the flu, you could do a video call with a doctor, they could hear your story and see how you were breathing, then let you know if you actually needed to come in to be seen in person or not. That call could save you a trip outside of your house, and keep other people at the hospital from being exposed to someone with the flu. 

Making it through a difficult flu season is stressful for patients and health care workers, alike. At times it feels like there are new worries around every corner and that the outbreak will never end. However, treatments for complications of the flu are available across the country, and most health care providers are well trained to tell if your is something that can be treated at home, or needs extra care. With new technologies, reaching health care providers in a safe and timely way is easier than ever. 

My Take

I respect the flu as a pediatrician and mother of young children, but I am not afraid because I know that there are many others like me, watching out for our patients and making sure that they are safe. I’m happy that there's an ever-increasing number of new technologies that can help us see our flu patients, while keeping them and others around them safe. 

Sylvia Romm, MD, MPH, is a pediatrician and medical director at American Well. She lives with her family in New York City.