Fever for 2 – 3 days is… “death or death”

This is a type of seasonal flu with symptoms similar to regular flu but complications are more dangerous if not treated promptly and properly.

“Influenza A prone to complications of respiratory failure, pneumonia, otitis media, encephalitis, myocarditis, croup, secondary infections… and risk of death” – Dr. Pham Van Phuc, Deputy Head of the Department of Homatology positive energy, said the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital.

Fever for 2 – 3 days is… “death or death”

Mrs. H., 57 years old (Hanoi), after 1 day of a common cold with the following symptoms: fever, sneezing, runny nose, felt chest tightness and difficulty breathing. On the third day of her illness, she was taken to the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital in a state of respiratory failure requiring oxygen. Two days after being admitted to the hospital, her respiratory failure progressed seriously, she fell into a state of “death and death”, septic shock, her lungs turned white… the prognosis was very serious.

Similarly, Mr. H. (69 years old, Hanoi) had symptoms appear after only 4 days flu symptoms Had to have a ventilator installed because of severe respiratory failure. The patient has white lungs on X-ray, 50-60% lung damage and diffuse damage on both sides… The patient’s history has many underlying diseases such as chronic kidney failure, high blood pressure, diabetes. sugar, complications of stroke. In addition to mechanical ventilation, patients must undergo dialysis….

According to Dr. Pham Van Phuc, Deputy Head of the Department of Intensive Care, Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, in the past month, the number of influenza A cases entering the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital has increased rapidly. Currently, the facility is treating more than 15 severe influenza A patients requiring mechanical ventilation, of which 8 patients have underlying medical conditions.

PV survey Life science shows that influenza A is breaking out in the Northern provinces, many whole families are infected.

At the National Children’s Hospital, every day about 100 – 150 cases are tested for influenza, mainly influenza A. Of these, 15% of severe cases require hospitalization. The Tropical Disease Center alone is treating more than 70 cases, accounting for nearly half of the pediatric patients here. Most children had complications from pneumonia and had to breathe oxygen. There were 2 cases of respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation due to influenza infection on the background of heart disease and pulmonary embolism. In addition, some have otitis media, even meningitis, myocarditis…

Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, Deputy Head of the Infectious Disease Control Department, Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said that according to the infectious disease surveillance system, the flu situation in our country in recent weeks despite the increased but not abnormal because it is the time of winter-spring transition.

The influenza virus strains currently circulating in our country are still virus strains that cause seasonal flu, mainly influenza A(H1N1), A(H3N2) and influenza B strains, with no other strains recorded yet. Highly virulent influenza viruses transmitted from poultry to humans such as influenza A(H5N1), A(H5N6) or A(H7N9). No genetic mutations have been detected in these strains.

Caring for children infected with influenza A at the National Children’s Hospital.

According to Dr. Phuc, two people at high risk of severe complications when infected with influenza A are children and the elderly with underlying medical conditions. Cause: People with underlying diseases such as obesity, diabetes, blood pressure… directly related to respiration are cardiovascular (high blood pressure, coronary artery disease…) and lungs (bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). properties…) so when influenza A progresses very quickly, especially damage to the lungs.

Normally, children with influenza A Usually mild, recovers after 5-7 days, however, for children under 5 years old or with chronic diseases of the heart, lungs, kidneys, metabolic diseases, anemia or immunodeficiency… influenza A can occur. Severe progression, causing dangerous complications such as: respiratory failure, pneumonia, otitis media, encephalitis, myocarditis, croup, sepsis, multiple organ failure… and increases the risk dead.

Do not arbitrarily use medicine

MSc. Nguyen Hong Ha, Former Deputy Director of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, emphasized that for healthy people, the disease will go away without treatment after 3-5 days. Buying antibiotics to treat this disease yourself will be ineffective and even harmful to the body. Because antibiotics do not kill the flu virus, they make the disease worse and increase drug resistance.

The most important thing in preventing and treating flu is to maintain health and increase resistance because the flu virus cannot reproduce on its own but must rely on the genetic machinery of the patient’s body cells. Therefore, the reproduction of viruses cannot be prevented with western medicine, but the immune system must be enhanced to fight it. The best way is to eat a balanced diet, live with work and rest in harmony with entertainment…

People with influenza A often feel tired and lose appetite. This condition can have certain effects on health and make the patient’s recovery process much longer. Therefore, in addition to following the doctor’s instructions, patients need to ensure nutritional supplementation according to the following rules: Eat enough nutrients; Eat foods that are easy to digest; Supplement vitamins from vegetables and fruits; Drink a lot of water.

People with influenza A should supplement foods rich in vitamins and minerals to help the body strengthen resistance such as: Dark green vegetables and fruits, including kale, spinach, broccoli, and eggplant. carrots, pumpkin, gac, tomatoes,…

Foods containing lots of vitamin C and antioxidants help immune cells work more effectively, helping to improve disease symptoms quickly and prevent disease complications such as: Guava, strawberries, grapes, kiwi, oranges , tangerines, bananas, pears, apples, bell peppers, broccoli, etc. Foods that contain lots of zinc to strengthen the immune system and fight infections effectively such as: Lean meats, clams, oysters, shrimp, crab, fish, eggs, milk, etc. In addition, you should increase spices that are effective against the disease such as: Garlic, ginger, honey.

Absolutely do not eat hard foods, fast foods, high-fat foods… to avoid getting worse. You should eat light, easy-to-digest foods. You can drink unsweetened milk, cold-relieving porridge (rice, green beans, fish, eel, or dried shrimp cooked well with a lot of crushed onions). Eat hot. Be careful not to use a lot of rice and green beans to make the porridge thin.