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Let’s talk flu, its prevention and home remedies.

Let’s talk flu, its prevention and home remedies.

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Boo-ger season is here! Let’s begin by defining flu (short term for influenza) because it’s usually misunderstood as fever or cold. Flu is a common respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus and is usually a very mild illness. Having said that, influenza can be a serious threat, especially for new babies, people who are over 65, and those with chronic illnesses. A weak or under-developed immune system is a common reason why flu can cause complications to some.

Understanding this moderately-complicated sickness means knowing it’s seasonal and in Sri Lanka, it peaks between April-June and November-January. Not to be a bummer, these are the months we celebrate New Year, Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Vesak—a time when people mostly gather, and flu is highly contagious. Uh-oh. 

Fret not, the good news is that you can prevent and prepare so keep reading as we are about to share the symptoms, preventions and natural home remedies.

person sick with flu
symptoms of flu

Influenza symptoms

  • Fever or having chills
  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headaches
  • Fatigue (feeling very tired)
  • Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhoea. (This is common in children)

Also, there are ways to tell if you are affected by flu or just having a common cold. You always know when you’re about to catch a cold as it affects you quite gradually. On the other hand, flu catches you off guard by showing up on a random day. Also, fever, aches and fatigue are usually more common for influenza than cold. Flu can lead to serious health problems and cold doesn’t, so by being aware allows you to take care of yourself and others better. 

Prevention is better than panicking – remedies for flu

While it is an instinct to not want an infected person next to you, demonizing them isn’t the answer. It’s only going to make things worse as people may try not to reveal their sickness. It’s a crazy world out there so simply the following preventive steps: 

  1. Avoid close contact with an infected person. Wear your mask, avoid physical contact  and sanitize regularly. If you are infected, stay indoors as much as possible and be responsible. 
  2. Cover your mouth and nose. Flu viruses spread mainly by droplets when those infected cough, sneeze or talk. Use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose  (or just wear a mask!) when talking or sneezing. Make sure to toss the tissue in a bin after using it.
  3. Wash your hands regularly! This goes without saying but it’s too crucial to not emphasize. Carefully wash your hands with soap and water by scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. If you’re out and can’t find a sink next to you, use a sanitizer after using door handles, railings, etc.
  4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Infections enter your body through this.
  5. Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that might be contaminated.
  6. Check with your doctor if you could take the flu shot.
  7. Take care of yourself with enough rest, nutritious food, physical activity and plenty of fluids. They support your immune system and are a good force against the virus.

Before you start making notes, remember the first step is always to consult a doctor.The home remedies are simply an aid to sail smoothly in your recovery process and it’s never the sole answer. 

So you got the flu? Avoiding the flu is quite a task so try not to be hard on yourself. Usually, mild flu symptoms disappear on their own and prescribed medication go a long way. Meanwhile, trying proven home remedies can make you feel better and help speed up the recovery process. Here are some suggestions.

 

Rest more: Your immune system has extra work to do while you are sick. By sleeping more than usual, you save energy for your immune system to do its job.

Have faith in fluids: A fever can dry you out and the moisture inside your lungs will evaporate fast when your body temperature is high. Therefore, help yourself with hydration.

Get some fresh air: Spending time outdoors helps to soothe your breathing. Make sure to do this in your garden or in isolated open areas for others’ safety. 

preventing flu

Take zinc and vitamin C supplements: They help with strengthening your immune system and make you feel better soon.

Take probiotics: It’s a natural bacterium that supplements your microbiome and stimulates your immune response. You can consume them in the form of cultured or fermented foods like yogurt, kombucha and pickles. 

Gargle with salt water: This helps to soothe a sore throat by pulling water from surrounding tissues to decrease inflammation, wash out mucous and bring moisture.

Slurp into a bowl of soup: Broth contains electrolytes that balances your body. The steam from heated soup helps to soothe your dry nose and throat. Surround yourself with essential oils: Oils made with tea tree leaves, lemon and eucalyptus can help unblock nasal passages. 

Use tea to fight it: Green tea, ginseng tea and hibiscus tea are known to have effects against influenza. Honey is an effective cough reliever, so maybe you could use that to sweeten the tea. 

 

Time to see the doctor

If you are an adult with flu symptoms, speak to a doctor, if the fever lasts longer than  3 days  or the cough lasts longer than 2 weeks. Anyone having trouble breathing should get treatment right away! Aside from that, adults shouldn’t overlook chest pain and children be taken to the emergency room if they are having problems passing urine, fever higher than 104 degrees or if they are overly sleepy.

 If you are experiencing any of the symptoms or would like more information on how to prevent or treat the flu, speak to a GP from the safety and comfort of your home at any time via oDoc. Stay safe! 

 

Sources

  • Healthy Habits to Help Protect Against Flu, CDC (2022)
  • Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health (2022)
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What’s The Deal With COVID19 Boosters?

covid-19 booster

What’s The Deal With COVID19 Boosters?

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As Sri Lanka rolls out its COVID19 booster program, we break down the answers to your most pressing questions.

Firstly, what is a booster?

A booster is an additional shot of the vaccine given to supplement the protection from the original doses. It is timed to be administered as the protection from original doses wane so you can maintain a good level of immunity for a longer period of time.

But aren’t I good with the two doses I got previously? Why do I need another dose?

A recent Public Health England(4) report detailed how vaccine effectiveness changes with time for those that received two doses of AstraZeneca and two doses of Pfizer.

Twenty weeks after the second dose:

covid19 booster
vaccine effectiveness pfizer

The same study showed there was a greater waning of vaccine effectiveness for the 60+ age group that received AZ.

By administering a booster, especially that of a more efficacious vaccine, we kick into gear the immune response against COVID19 and its variants.

What do variants mean for boosters?

We saw the carnage that was wrecked by the delta variant in Sri Lanka & around the world over the last few months. Vaccination and preventing spread is important in curtailing variants from forming in the first place. However, once they appear, vaccines play a large role in preventing symptomatic sickness, hospitalisations and deaths.

Pfizer and Moderna, the mRNA vaccines, have shown better vaccine effectiveness against the more potent delta variant vs. alpha.

alpha delta variant

When is the booster administered?

Across the world, including in Sri Lanka, the booster is given three months after the second dose of the original regime.

Who can get a COVID booster in Sri Lanka?

At the time of writing, the Ministry of Health is rolling out the booster program for:

  • Healthcare and front line workers
  • Over 60 population
  • Those who are 20 years and above with comorbidities or are immunocompromised (at least after one month after the second dose)

The booster is currently given to those above 60 in the Southern & Western provinces, Anuradhapura and Ampara. They will receive an SMS with the date, time and location of the booster.

Which vaccine is used as a booster in Sri Lanka?

Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine (30mg dosage) is used as a booster in Sri Lanka. This method of mixing different vaccines (heterologous booster) has been previously used for other vaccines such as Ebola.

Wait, but I got AstraZeneca as my first two doses. Is it safe to mix & match?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: In May 2021, a UK trial(3) of 830 participants reported safety data for mix & match vaccines when compared to same type (homologous) vaccines. Though those that received Pfizer after AstraZeneca reported greater intensity of fatigue, headaches and muscle aches – these side effects only lasted 48 hours. There were no hospitalisations or any severe adverse events reported.

What about Sinopharm?

There have been no published studies on mixing mRNA vaccines with Sinopharm. However, Bahrain started boosting those that received two doses of Sinopharm with Pfizer in June.

Are we the only country mixing and matching vaccines?

Nope! Pfizer and Moderna have been approved as booster doses for those that have taken other vaccines in major countries such as the U.K, U.S, Canada and Israel.

Okay, say I get this booster. What does it mean for my immunity against COVID-19?

The Spanish CombiVac trial(2) with 663 people reported in May 2021 that the participants who received a Pfizer booster eight weeks after receiving their first AstraZeneca dose showed a markedly higher level of antibodies than the response generated after two doses of AstraZeneca.

This is expected. When additional doses of a viral vaccine like AZ is administered, the body generates an immune response quickly to destroy the foreign particles. Basically, it becomes good at recognising the virus that it doesn’t allow the vaccine to do its thing – last long enough in the body to actually boost the immune response.

However, by introducing an mRNA vaccine after a viral vaccine, the body is made to work a little harder and longer to recognise the virus. This results in a boosted immune response.

Okay but how many boosters will we need? Will this pandemic ever end?

This too shall pass so the pandemic will end. However, we have a large role to play in this. Our behaviour will dictate whether the pandemic rages on with newer and more potent variants or it gets squashed sooner than later. Variants occur when the virus is allowed to spread so stopping the spread by sticking to COVID19 guidelines is of paramount importance. The less variants, the less need for boosters.

Vaccines save lives and vaccinated people don’t spread the virus as easily as unvaccinated people. So the more people that get vaccinated, the less spread and the sooner we can end this merry go round.

Got more questions? Want to understand whether you should sign yourself or your loved one up for a booster dose? Speak to one of our doctors on oDoc! Download the app today!

Sources

  • Booster Shots and Third Doses for COVID19 Vaccines: Everything You Need to Know. (2021)., Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Callaway, E (2021), Mix-and-match COVID vaccines trigger potent immune response., Nature.
  • Shaw, R et al (2021)., Heterologous prime-boost COVID19 vaccination: initial reactogenicity data., The Lancet., 397:2043-2046
  • Duration of protection of COVID-19 vaccines against clinical disease. (2021) Public Health England
  • Bernal et al (2021)., Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant., NEJM., 385:585-594
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Back to School – A Battle Between Education and COVID-19

Back to School - A Battle Between Education and COVID-19

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Students are finally returning to school. But as parents, many are worried about COVID-19 safety. But while preparing to return to school, it is also essential to think about the other ways to keep your children safe and build an environment inclusive of everyone. 

Here are a few tips to help protect your children from this virus.

covid safety children school

If you have any questions regarding your child’s health or would like some medical advice you can consult a paediatrician or a general physician from the comfort of your home via the oDoc app. Click here to download oDoc now.

References:

  1. What Do Students Need This Back-to-School Season?, Raliance (2021)
  2. Be Back-to-School Ready, Weill Cornell Medicine (2021)
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Children, COVID19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome – The What’s What

Children, COVID19 and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome - The What’s What

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Parents around the world, including Sri Lanka, have been concerned about Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome or MIS-C appearing in children who have been diagnosed with COVID19. In this article, we break down what’s known, what remains unknown and the steps to take if you suspect your child could be suffering from MIS-C.

What is MIS-C?

MIS-C is a condition where different parts of the body can become inflamed including the heart, lungs, brain, eyes, kidneys or gastrointestinal tract. 

It appears in children who have had or been around someone who has been diagnosed with COVID19. It’s considered to be a potentially serious condition, developing as a delayed complication of COVID19. Data shows that it usually develops two to six weeks after children have recovered from the virus. It can even develop in those children who were asymptomatic to COVID19. 

What are the symptoms of MIS-C?

Call your regular paediatrician or an on-demand paediatrician or family doctor at anytime on the oDoc app if your child is experiencing:

  • A fever and any of the following symptoms:
    • Abdominal pain
    • Bloodshot eyes
    • Chest tightness/pain
    • Diarrhoea
    • Extra fatigue or feeling unusually weak or dizzy
    • Headache
    • Low blood pressure
    • Neck pain
    • Rash 
    • Vomiting

If your child is showing any of the following signs, please seek emergency care immediately. 

  • Difficulty in breathing
  • Continuous pain or pressure in the chest
  • Inability to stay awake or alert
  • Pale, grey or blue coloured skin, lips or nail bed

This is not an exhaustive list of symptoms, please call a medical professional immediately if any other signs or symptoms appear that are severe or concerning to you. 

Please call 1990 for the Suwa Seriya ambulance service.

Can MIS-C be treated?

Doctors will conduct diagnostics tests on your child to look for inflammation and other signs of disease. Once diagnosed, doctors will closely monitor your child and use a variety of medications to reduce inflammation and protect the affected organs. 

It is vital to seek medical care at the earliest indication of MIS-C. 

What are the unknowns?

There are still a lot of questions out there such as why do some recovered children develop MIS-C and others do not? What health factors could contribute to MIS-C? 

Scientists are working hard to answer these questions and we will update this blog as and when new research is published. 

And finally…

The best way to protect your child from MIS-C is to protect your household from COVID19, this includes:

  • Getting all adults in the household vaccinated at the first opportunity to do so
  • Continuing to mask when interacting with others from different households
  • Washing hands often with soap and water
  • Conducting play dates within a social bubble and in an outdoor environment

If you are concerned about COVID19 or MIS-C and would like medical advice, please consult a pediatrician or family doctor on the oDoc app. Click here to download the app.

Sources

  1. For Parents: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19, CDC.gov website (2021)

  2. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), Boston Children’s Hospital (2021)

  3. MIS-C and COVID-19: Rare Inflammatory Syndrome in Kids and Teens, Johns Hopkins Medicine (2021)

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Long COVID: What we know so far

Long COVID: What we know so far

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Since May 1st, over 300,000 cases of COVID-19 been diagnosed in Sri Lanka. We are mostly familiar with the short term symptoms of the disease (e.g. fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose to name a few). Most have recovered but ca. 8,700 persons have died at the time of writing. Some have seen symptoms persist for a longer period, a condition globally known as long COVID. In this article, we break down what we know so far about long COVID.

What is long COVID?

The UK’s National Health Service describes long COVID as having symptoms that continue for more than 12 weeks after initial diagnosis which cannot be attributed to another illness.

The UK COVID Symptom study found that 1 in 7 adults experienced symptoms for longer than 4 weeks and 1 in 20 adults experienced symptoms beyond the 8 week mark.

long COVID

What are the common symptoms of long COVID?

There are over 200 symptoms that have been reported that affect various organs in the body from the brain to the skin. Symptoms vary from person to person.

Most common symptoms include:

  • Extreme fatigue
  • Brain fog (problems with memory or concentration)
  • Joint pain
  • Changes to taste or smell
  • Shortness of breath, heart palpitations and chest tightness

Other symptoms range from hallucinations, insomnia, hearing and sight changes, gastrointestinal problems to changes in periods and skin conditions².

Those that experience long COVID have described it as “a storm. One day you can have zero symptoms … then it will just go crazy and as quickly as it hits you it can go.”³

What makes some people prone to long COVID whilst others recover quickly?

The science is still out on exactly why some people suffer for longer. Persons experiencing long COVID are not thought to be infectious but one theory is that the body continues to respond to small amounts of the virus that remains in the body & become reactivated. Another theory is that the infection causes some people’s bodies to go into overdrive, attacking its own tissues.

The COVID symptom study¹ had also found that those who experienced a milder version of COVID19 are more prone to long COVID over an extended period of time.

There is evidence that the following categories of people may be more prone than others:

  • Women
  • Older adults
  • People with pre-existing asthma
  • People who had a wider range of symptoms during their initial illness

Can children get long COVID?

A recent study by King’s College London found that for most children, COVID tends to be a mild, short illness. The 1,500 subject study reported that the average duration of symptoms for a child is six days and fewer than 1 in 50 children are unwell after eight weeks.

How long does it take to recover from long COVID?

Recovery estimates vary but most people with long-COVID are able to live life as relatively normal. However, It is important to get healthcare advice from a trusted professional, listen to your body and rest as much as possible when symptoms flare up.

Are there any treatments available?

Large studies are underway to better understand the nature of this secondary condition. As the 216m persons infected with COVID around the world recover, their experiences help shed light on the disease.

Whilst there are no specific treatments available, the focus is on managing symptoms and enabling a slow return to normal activity.

Nutrient rich foods rich with vitamins & minerals that support the immune system are deemed beneficial and experts encourage patients to eat a holistic, well rounded diet.

Worried you may be suffering from long COVID?

If you are experiencing any new or worsening symptoms, especially 4-8 weeks post your initial COVID-19 diagnosis, speak to a doctor on oDoc. Your doctor will discuss your symptoms and if necessary, order clinical tests to rule out other causes. They will provide guidance on how to best manage your symptoms.

If you are worried or anxious about COVID19 or long COVID, speak to a mental health professional on oDoc.

Click here to download the oDoc app to your mobile device.

Sources:

  • COVID Symptom Study, 2020 How long does COVID-19 last? ZOE COVID Study, UK
  • Davis, H et al., (2021) Characterizing long COVID in an international cohort: 7 months of symptoms and their impact. The Lancet
  • Guardian, UK., 2020, Lingering and painful: the long and unclear road to coronavirus recovery.
  • COVID Symptom Study, (2020) Do children get long COVID? ZOE Covid Study, UK
  • Molteni et al., (2021).,Illness duration and symptom profile in symptomatic UK school-aged children tested for SARS-CoV-2., The Lancet
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