Misunderstandings about the flu

Influenza is a respiratory infection caused by a virus and easily spread through droplets. It is also a highly contagious disease and for certain groups of people, such as the elderly and young children, can lead to serious complications, especially if not treated promptly.

Believe in common misconceptions about flu that can put yourself and your loved ones at risk. Experts have recently debunked misunderstandings about this common disease:

Flu is just a severe cold

One of the most common misconceptions is that the flu and the common cold are the same disease. This is confirmed to be completely wrong. While the common cold eventually resolves itself, the flu is more serious.

Colds are usually mild, causing the sick person to have a runny nose, sore throat or cough for a short time. However, the symptoms of the flu are often worse, including high fever, cough, headache, body aches and stuffy nose. This is because the flu virus attacks the patient's body by invading the upper respiratory tract or the lower respiratory tract. Therefore, it is best to seek timely treatment if you have flu symptoms.

Washing only water is enough to clean your hands

One of the simplest but effective ways to prevent influenza is to eliminate the virus in your hand. You are perfectly right to think that washing your hands with water can be enough to remove visible dirt, but for invisible pathogens before human eyes, you need soap and water to remove them. .

The advice of experts is: To clean hands with water and soap most effectively, you should wash your hands before and after meals, before handling food, before taking care of the elderly and young children, after using the toilet, after blowing your nose and after touching contact-sharing surfaces such as countertops, door knobs, handrails, .

If you don't have soap and water, you can use a dry hand cleaner instead.

Healthy people do not need to be vaccinated

Experts recommend that healthy people should get a flu shot because the flu virus is now able to change and become more dangerous, while our immune system is not always "updated." ". Therefore, annual flu vaccination will provide us with certain protection against unexpected pathogens.

Pregnant women, health workers and travelers can also benefit from the flu shot. In particular, travelers are advised to vaccinate for 2 weeks before leaving their country.

People with influenza do not need to go to the doctor because they can cure themselves at home

Flu can lead to serious complications, including a high risk of pneumonia, if left untreated, especially for the elderly and young children. Think about your family, relatives and friends. We all have a responsibility to help them avoid spreading the flu from us by controlling symptoms early. It is best to see your doctor and find a treatment right away when you experience flu-like symptoms. After that, you can rest at home and wear a mask until you recover.

Flu is not easily spread

This illusion is the reason why people still go to work or participate in crowded gatherings when they are unwell. Few people realize that they are at risk of spreading the flu to others because flu is easy to spread. There are two main ways for the flu virus to spread from person to person: first, breathe air droplets that carry the flu virus that people "drop" into space when coughing, talking or sneezing; The second is touching the surface of the infection, such as a table top or door fist.

In crowded environments such as schools, offices and even at home, flu viruses can easily spread without you knowing. Even if you feel well, most adults infected with influenza viruses are able to infect others even before symptoms appear and up to 7 days after becoming sick. For flu, children can "incubate" for more than 7 days.

Therefore, you should implement the following two civilized habits to prevent infection or transmission of the flu:

- If you feel unwell, take a break at home, avoid crowded places to prevent spreading the virus to others.

- If you have flu-like symptoms, always wear a mask and cover your mouth and nose when they are sneezing or sneezing.