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WINTER IS COMING… or is pretty much here already, sadly, and along with the spate of colds that have cropped up, the dreaded flu is making the rounds, too.
To help you stay as flu-free as possible, we’ve compiled a guide to the flu: how to avoid it, how you know you have it, what to do if you have it and whether you should get the vaccine.
Flu is a respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus which is highly contagious. There tends to be an outbreak every year, usually during winter.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference between a cold and the flu. However, flu symptoms tend to come on much more rapidly, and are usually accompanied by muscle aches and extreme exhaustion.
Colds usually develop more slowly with a stuffy nose, sneezing and a mild to moderate cough.
Flu is highly infectious and is often spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. A person with the virus can transmit it for one or two days before symptoms occur, and for up to a week after first getting symptoms.
The only pre-emptive measure against the flu is the flu vaccine. (This year’s vaccine is expected to be around 60% effective.)
Most healthy people manage to get over the flu within a week, some even more quickly.
However, severe cases can cause serious illness or even death – particularly if you are very young, elderly, or otherwise in an at-risk category. Between 200 and 500 people die from influenza in Ireland each winter.
If you have severe flu symptoms, or are in a high-risk group, you should contact your GP by phone. For most people with mild to moderate symptoms, the best thing is to stay at home and rest. Don’t go to work, school or college while sick.
Drink plenty of fluids, use tissues and wash your hands regularly to help avoid spreading flu to others.
If you’re in one of the following at-risk groups, vaccination is strongly recommended:
The vaccine helps a person’s immune system to produce antibodies to the flu virus – meaning when you come into contact with the virus, the antibodies will attack it.
This year’s flu vaccine contains three strains of flu that are likely to be the most common this season, as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These are:
Flu vaccines have been in operation for 60 years, and millions of people have received them. Reactions to the flu vaccine tend to be mild and serious side effects are very rare.
Nope – the vaccine contains killed or inactive viruses, so you can’t get the flu from it. It will take between 10 and 14 days to start protecting against the flu though.
If you’re over 18 you can go to your GP or pharmacist. If you’re under 18 you should go to your GP.
The vaccine is free for anyone in an at-risk group. Those without a Medical Card or GP Visit Card may be charged a consultation fee for the administration of the vaccine.
If you’re over 65, pregnant, have a chronic illness or are part of any other at-risk group you should speak to your GP or pharmacist about getting the flu vaccine. You can find out more at the HSE Flu Vaccination website.
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Heinz ketchup pours quicker from the glass bottle then the plastic one.
Tastes better from the glass one too.
A human head weighs 8 pounds
More importantly, store it in the fridge or the press?
Really I leave mine on the floor next to my chair.
8lbs? Maybe in Brazil. More like 11-12lbs (4.5-5kg) in the rest of the world.
I have a 4 minute walk to work. I literally have no excuse.
A 1 minute drive you mean!
But by Christ you pack in those extra 800 calories in that 4 minute walk
I hate Dublin Bus..
Unbearable some mornings. Especially before the oul caffeine injection.
3 weeks ago i started walking to work. It takes an hour but I’ve already lost a stone in weight
Respect. Well done.
I might ask my boss to give me an extra day off so to make up for them calories.
Are we now paying scientists to tell things we already know???
No if you’d read the article you’d have found out that the UK taxpayers are….
If people are spending a few hours a day commuting…they have to eat…maybe we should have spin bikes at our desks…there has to be a healthy balance but that’s not always possible if you have a work / family life to balance
Or how about cycling to work?
Yep or you could just spray yerself with shite instead
Eh…? Mudguards?
I cycle 10.3 km to work everyday and 10.3 km home. There are a few steepish gradients. It was exhausting to start with but I’m now managing. I’m losing weight. I burn fat, not oil.
Of course, I’m lucky only to have to travel 10.3 km. I know a person who travels 47 km each way by bike.
The point is that either an ordinary bike or an e-bike can provide an exercise option.,
Be careful up on that pedestal you don’t fall off.
It’s not a pedestal; it’s a Trek.
LOL!!!!
Ha! I’ve just read this article after I ate a doughnut at 7am on my commute to work. Definitely need to ask for more days off work!!
Poor commenting fare today…..
Well we’re not allowed to comment on half the articles.
Alan…thats what i was thinking…..its mostly fluff like this article….no solid traveller, race, political or atrocity story to draw out the islamaphobic, racist, homophobic and xenophobic consumers like yours truly…..
There’ll always be an anti-Catholic or pro-abortion story though.
Three weeks since we had a story about Paul Kelly of Console fame. That was well buried.
Very pertinent….and true…
You could just eat a banana on the train instead of prepacked food just because you commute or travel as part of your job doesn’t excuse a bad diet .
That was the most boring journal day EVER……..prousse k only poked me once….to no avail as usual but thats not the point….
Why is the journal printing a Daily Mail article, use your own research and make it relevant to the Irish way of life
Real cutting edge news from the journal,we know all this without scientists having to tell us,wait though,why don’t we just move everyone beside their work place,now that would b great crack altogether. Some of these so called scientists probably never commuted in their life.
Maybe this is the solution: http://homejobs.ie
have your say