As fall arrives on campus and University of Oregon students finish unpacking the last of their boxes and begin to call Eugene home, a change in season could cause illness for these new Eugene residents.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that, “Everyone six months and older get immunized against the flu, unless there’s a medical reason not to.”
Each year thousands of people in the United States die from influenza, more commonly known as the flu. The flu is a highly contagious illness that stretches across the United States every year during the flu season, October through May. The flu is most commonly spread by coughing, sneezing and close contact, and can live on surfaces for at least eight hours.
Some of the symptoms include, but are not limited to: fever, chills, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, cough, fatigue and headaches.
So what can students do to prevent the contraction of the flu?
The conventional flu vaccine is a shot created from dead influenza viruses that are injected into the muscle of the upper arm. When the solution enters the body, it triggers an immune response, which causes the body to produce antibodies against the strains. As the flu virus strains are continuously changing, each year a new flu vaccine is created and administered to help protect against three or four likely virus strains specific to that year.
It is not widely known that a quadrivalent or four-strain flu shot is available. Typically if you go to a pharmacy or primary care physician they will only provide you with a trivalent or three-strain flu shot which protects against Influenza A (H1N1), Influenza A (H3N2), and an Influenza B strain. The quadrivalent shot provides you with protection against the same three strains as the trivalent, but also gives you resistance against an extra Influenza B strain.
Tori Ganahl, a UO sophomore gets the flu shot every year. “I usually have a pretty good reaction to the shot. This year I got sicker than usual though,” Ganahl said.
According to the pharmacy technicians at Walgreens, this type of reaction is normal. “If these problems occur, they usually begin right after receiving the shot and can last for a couple of days.”
A nasal flu vaccine (FluMist) option is available at some pharmacy locations for those patients who screech at the sight of needles. The mist is a live, weakened virus administered through a nasal spray that triggers an immune response similar to the vaccine.
Safeway Pharmacy Manager Dr. Harold Bucholtz advised that, “The mist may have more severe side effects than the shot, you may indeed feel some flu-like symptoms.” Dr. Bucholtz also added that the most common complaint he hears about the mist is, “The irritation it causes to the sinuses”
Keep in mind that a two to three week window is necessary prior to the vaccine becoming effective. The vaccine is then effective for several months to a year.
Other precautions to take are frequently washing your hands, properly disinfecting all surfaces, covering your coughs and sneezes, staying home if you are sick and getting the flu shot if you have not already.
Flu shots are available at most local pharmacies, primary care offices and the UO Health Center.