There is flu! Snot noses, headache, cough and a strong fever. The flu virus is found in more and more throat and nose monsters of people with flu-like symptoms. The number of people who go to the doctor with these complaints is also increasing sharply in recent weeks, according to figures.
For many people, the flu raises the question: do I have to go to the doctor, or can I look at home? And when is it wise to call in medical help, or are you the doctor’s burden if you call fever and a cough? And if you call or do not do this because you don’t find it necessary, does this have an effect on the flu figures that we hear every year? A reader asked us these questions, and we’ll find it out.
In most cases you don’t have to go to the doctor with the flu. The real flu is caused by the influenza virus, and the symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, sore throat and fatigue usually pass after a few days to a week. Many people therefore stay at home and take enough rest. Often there is also a flu when it comes to a good cold, but for the sake of clarity we really focus on Influenza in this article.
When should you contact your doctor? For example as:
- Do not improve your complaints after a week or even get worse.
- You have trouble breathing or are extremely stuffy.
- You have a chronic disease, such as asthma, COPD or diabetes.
- You have a vulnerable health, for example due to a reduced resistance.
In young children and the elderly, the risk of complications with flu is often greater than in healthy adults. Their immune system is more vulnerable, so that they not only get sick faster, but also run a greater risk of more serious consequences.
For children under the age of two, and in particular babies, flu can quickly become dangerous. Some signals where contact with the doctor is important:
- High fever that lasts for more than three days.
- Quick or difficult to breathe. Note: A child who shows “withdrawal” (pulling skin between the ribs) when breathing needs medical help.
- Dehydration. For example, if the child pees less, has a dry mouth, or becomes very drowsy.
- Listlessness or confusion.
In addition, children with a medical condition, such as asthma or a congenital heart defect, are extra vulnerable. For them, the consequences of the flu can be more serious, and they often have to see a doctor rather.
In the elderly, especially above 65, flu can lead to complications such as pneumonia, worsening of existing conditions (for example, heart failure, diabetes or COPD), and dehydration.
Official flu figures are based on reports to the doctor. If people with flu complaints do not go to the doctor, they are not included in the figures. This can distort the image, especially since not everyone with flu has complaints that are serious enough to seek medical help.
What does this mean for the interpretation of flu figures in Drenthe? How is people who do not go to the doctor into account? And what does this say about the actual number of flu cases?
Mariëtte Hooiveld, researcher at Nivel, explains how flu figures are kept. “We use several ways to follow the flu and other respiratory infections. One of them is the ‘respiratory surveillance’ through general practitioners, who register patients with flu -like complaints.”
In some patients, general practitioners take samples to see exactly which virus is active. “If the number of patients with flu complaints rises at least two weeks in a row and it turns out that it often comes through flu, we speak of a flu epidemic.”
According to Hooiveld, Nivel’s figures give a reliable indicator of a flu epidemic, but they are not an exact numbers of how many people actually have the flu. “Not everyone with the flu goes to the doctor, but people who are seriously ill or have a vulnerable health do. DO.
Nivel figures are also combined with other data, such as sewage research and laboratory results, to get the most complete picture possible. Although the weekly figures do not show the total number of flu cases in the Netherlands, researchers use estimates to calculate afterwards how many people have had flu in an entire season. “Our figures are therefore not an underestimate, but a way to see how an epidemic is developing,” Hooiveld emphasizes.
Are you sweating and coughing on the couch, are you in bed with a headache, or are you as healthy as a fish? If you have a question for finding it out!, Send it in!