I’m coughing. My throat hurts, and I have gone through more Kleenex boxes in the past week than should be humanly possible. In other words, I’m sick. So is my roommate. In fact, so are all my neighbors down the halls of my dorm. While perusing online newspapers for column topics, I noticed an alarming trend — many people around the nation seem to be sick too.
Flu outbreaks in many Southern states are causing schools to close because of the volume of students falling ill. Not just students, but adults also, in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa and Mississippi all are staying home because of the virulent virus.
Although prisons and jails always have been a little less than sanitary, a new drug-resistant Staphylococcus bacteria is infecting inmates and threatening their lives. Measures are being taken to combat the spread of the bacteria, but it is difficult to tell how widespread the outbreak actually might be.
Then, there is our own serious disease attack hitting close to home. David Cheney’s diagnosis of Louisiana’s first case of Meningococcal Septicemia ever terrifies me. To find out this strain is not even covered by the vaccine I thought would keep me meningitis-free is a shock, to say the least.
And what about last year’s cruise ship sickness fiasco, where the Centers for Disease Control reported 23 outbreaks of the Norwalk virus, which causes gastrointestinal disorders. All in all, 1,228 passengers and crewmembers fell ill with the virus in November and December of last year, according to the CDC.
All of this is enough to make a person grab a can of Lysol disinfectant spray and never leave the house again. Everyone seems worried about the tense situations in Iraq and Korea, but I think we should be more worried about the vicious attacks on our immune systems happening at home!
Could recent warnings by the Food and Drug Administration shed light on what seems to be the attacks of the killer strains of disease? According to an Associated Press story, the FDA says antibiotics now will be carrying warnings that their overuse will render them less effective because of the alarming rates at which viruses and bacteria are becoming immune to current treatments. In fact, the more you use antibiotics, the more resilient the disease becomes to it, until the antibiotic, and you, are left helpless against it.
Unfortunately, doctors too often prescribe antibiotics when they are not needed. For example, the influenza virus is difficult to diagnose, and antibiotics have no effect on it. Sometimes, doctors prescribe antibiotics for illnesses that could go away on their own, also producing strains of bacteria and viruses that are stronger than before.
According to the CDC, those infected with the flu virus should try to get plenty of rest, drink a lot of liquids, avoid using alcohol and tobacco and take medication to relieve the symptoms of flu. It also suggests getting the flu vaccine, and while I always have stood in opposition of the flu shot, after this particularly rough bout with the disease, I might reconsider next year.
So should you seek medical treatment for your ailments this flu season and your doctor prescribes antibiotics, make sure you really need them. Buying some extra cans of Lysol can’t hurt either.