Increased flu hospitalizations
Currently, the North is in the transitional season, sometimes cold, sometimes hot, creating favorable conditions for respiratory diseases to develop, including influenza. According to medical experts, the virus strains that are circulating in our country are still seasonal influenza strains, mainly influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and influenza B.
In fact, records at a number of hospitals in Hanoi show that the number of people going to the doctor and being hospitalized for treatment due to seasonal flu is on the rise.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, Deputy Head of the Infectious Diseases Unit, Thanh Nhan Hospital, said that since the Lunar New Year, with the erratic hot and cold weather, the number of flu patients coming to the hospital for examination and treatment has increased. Especially in the past 2 weeks, with the humid weather, every day, doctors receive about 5-10 patients coming to the hospital with seasonal flu symptoms.
Among them, many patients tested positive for influenza A and influenza B, mainly in groups of people with underlying medical conditions such as the elderly or special subjects such as pregnant women, people with immunodeficiency, people taking long-term medication...
According to Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung, most flu patients have symptoms of cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, of which fever and runny nose are the two main symptoms.
Doctor Nguyen Trong Hung is examining an inpatient with flu at the hospital. Photo: N.Mai
" When testing positive for flu, if the patient is in a group with underlying medical conditions, high-risk people, or patients undergoing long-term corticosteroid treatment... doctors will order the patient to be hospitalized for monitoring and treatment.
As for young people, people without underlying diseases or tests showing no damage to the lungs or other organs, they will be instructed to go home for care, monitoring and re-examination according to the doctor's appointment ," Dr. Hung informed.
Caution with high risk individuals
According to doctors, seasonal flu is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus. The disease occurs every year, usually in winter and spring. The disease is highly contagious through the respiratory tract, through small droplets of saliva or nasal secretions from sneezing and coughing.
Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung said that when having the flu, many people, including patients with underlying medical conditions, often consider the flu as a simple symptom, or according to folk beliefs "seasonal flu is easy to cure", so they do not go to the hospital and treat themselves at home. By the time they are hospitalized, they have severe lung damage, making diagnosis and subsequent treatment difficult. Some other patients follow unscientific folk remedies for treating the flu, leading to improper treatment, making the condition worse.
Therefore, Dr. Nguyen Trong Hung recommends that when having seasonal flu, people absolutely must not be subjective, especially those at high risk such as pregnant women, the elderly, people with underlying diseases, people with immunodeficiency, children... Because if not treated promptly and properly, the disease will easily progress, causing many dangerous complications such as influenza pneumonia, influenza myocarditis.
This expert gave an example, just last week, doctors received and treated 3 pregnant women with flu, one of whom had an underlying medical condition. Specifically, the female patient, PTL (28 years old, in Truong Dinh, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) had a history of congenital aortic valve stenosis, with no indication for surgery. The patient was 9 weeks pregnant, had a fever and felt very tired for 2 days, so her family took her to the hospital. The patient was admitted to the hospital with a high fever of nearly 40 degrees Celsius, a feeling of heaviness in the chest, and tested positive for influenza A.
Recognizing that the patient was at high risk, the doctors ordered the patient to be hospitalized for monitoring. The patient was treated with antiviral drugs. After 3 days of treatment, the patient's fever was completely gone. On the 5th day, the patient was basically stable, except for a sore throat. A pregnancy check-up showed no abnormalities, so he was discharged.
"For pregnant women with the flu, the risk of fetal malformations is low, but there is a risk of affecting the fetal heart when the mother has a high fever. Especially when the fever is higher than 39 degrees Celsius, it can cause the baby's heart rate in the womb to increase, sometimes causing fetal distress. Therefore, for pregnant women with the flu, doctors recommend monitoring the temperature and having regular prenatal check-ups to assess fetal distress," said Master, Doctor Nguyen Trong Hung.
Another case of influenza A is also being specially monitored at the Infectious Disease Unit, Thanh Nhan Hospital, Mr. TKT (male, 78 years old) with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The patient was admitted to the hospital on the second day of illness with symptoms of fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Here, the patient was diagnosed with an acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and hypertension. He was tested for influenza A, with positive results.
With active treatment from doctors, the patient's fever subsided, and his cough and phlegm production significantly decreased. The patient was discharged from the hospital to be monitored at home and continued to take medication as directed by the doctor.
Medical experts say that the symptoms of seasonal flu are very similar to other respiratory diseases such as covid. Therefore, all patients with symptoms of cough, fever, and respiratory tract infection should go to medical facilities for evaluation, diagnosis, and proper treatment. Because each disease has a different prognosis, doctors will have appropriate treatment instructions.
To prevent the risk of catching the flu at a time when respiratory viruses are circulating quite commonly like now, Dr. Hung recommends that people wear masks when going out, especially in crowded places, especially when in contact with people who are showing symptoms of cough and fever.
Wash your hands regularly with soap and clean water; clean your nose and throat daily; keep your body warm, eat nutritious food to improve your resistance. In addition, vaccinate children from 6 months of age against the flu. Adults and older children need to get a booster flu vaccine every year to prevent the risk of getting sick.
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