What are the symptoms of influenza A?
Influenza A mainly infects patients and mainly spreads among people. Infection is mainly transmitted through respiratory tract through droplets or aerosols, or through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes such as mouth, nose and eyes. Contact with respiratory secretions, body fluids or contaminated items of patients may also lead to transmission.
The early symptoms of influenza A are similar to common influenza, including fever, cough, sore throat, headache, body pain, chills and fatigue. Some patients also have symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting, muscle pain or fatigue, and red eye. Some patients may progress rapidly, have fierce attacks, suddenly have high fever, and their body temperature exceeds 39℃, and then severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary hemorrhage, pleural effusion, pancytopenia, renal failure, sepsis, shock and Raynaud's syndrome, respiratory failure, multiple organ injury and even death occur. The patient's original underlying disease can also be aggravated.
Among the found infection cases,1children under 3 years old account for a high proportion and are seriously ill, belonging to the susceptible population. The four groups of people who are most susceptible to influenza are the elderly, patients with chronic diseases such as liver, kidney and heart, and medical staff and children who are often exposed to influenza. The mortality rate of influenza A (H 1N 1) is 6.77%, which is higher than that of common influenza. There are two main reasons for its high mortality: first, the virus is fierce; Second, people didn't pay attention to this new disease at first, thinking it was a common cold. Many people took some medicine casually and missed the best treatment period of 72 hours at the beginning of the disease.
The difference between influenza A and the common cold
Recently, due to the large temperature difference between morning and evening, the number of patients who went to the hospital for medical treatment due to symptoms such as fever, runny nose and cough suddenly increased. Many people know that people will die when the flu is severe, but it is difficult to tell whether they have the flu or the common cold. So, how to distinguish the flu from the common cold?
The first difference is that the common cold will not be popular. The common cold, also known as "cold", is a common respiratory disease caused by many viruses, a considerable part of which is caused by a certain serotype of rhinovirus.
The common cold can occur in any season of the year, especially in winter and spring. Most common colds are sporadic and do not cause epidemics. Influenza, referred to as influenza for short, is a disease caused by influenza virus, which is highly contagious and can spread among a wide range of people in a short time. Influenza is common in winter and spring. Influenza viruses include three types, namely type A, type B and type C, among which influenza A virus infection is more common.
The second difference is the difference in symptoms. The common cold is more serious. Early symptoms include dry throat, itching or burning sensation, sneezing, stuffy nose and runny nose, which starts as clear water-like nose and thickens after 2 ~ 3 days. May be accompanied by sore throat; Generally, there is no fever and systemic symptoms, or only low fever and headache. If there is no bacterial infection, the course of the disease will generally be cured in 5 ~ 7 days. The incubation period of influenza is usually 1 ~ 3 days, and the onset is very urgent. I have a fever at first, and my temperature can be as high as 39℃ ~ 40℃. You have chills, general malaise, dizziness, headache, sore limbs, sneezing and a runny nose. After 3 ~ 5 days of high fever, systemic symptoms were relieved, and respiratory symptoms such as cough were gradually aggravated.
According to clinical manifestations and severity of illness, influenza can be divided into four types: simple type, pneumonia type, poisoning type and gastrointestinal type. The patients with mild illness can recover in 2 ~ 3 days, those with severe illness 1 ~ 2 weeks, and some patients with longer course of disease 1 month. Common complications of influenza include pneumonia, viral myocarditis and nervous system complications.
The third difference is the different handling methods. For most patients with common cold infected by virus, there is no effective antiviral drug to directly kill the virus. The effective way is to rely on the human immune system to produce specific immunity to the virus, so the cold should be mainly supported, paying special attention to rest, drinking more water and eating lightly. A cold can be secondary to bacterial infection, and antibiotics can be used for treatment at this time.
The same type of influenza virus can mutate in nature and form new virus subtypes. People are not naturally infected or vaccinated with effective influenza vaccine, but they generally lack resistance to these mutated influenza virus subtypes and are easily infected, which is why influenza pandemics occur every few years.
Is influenza A serious in children?
Experts from Children's Hospital said that children are at high risk of influenza and should pay attention to prevention. If the children at home have symptoms such as fever, cough and sore throat, they should stay in bed at home. If children are neglected, the harm it causes is very terrible.
The harm of swine flu in children is that it may lead to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory failure and other serious complications, leading to death.
During the epidemic period of influenza A, it is not excluded that there may be concentrated fever caused by influenza in schools, kindergartens, collective units and crowded places, and there may also be severe cases or deaths caused by influenza.
Early symptoms are similar to common flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, body pain, headache, chills and fatigue, and some may also have diarrhea or vomiting, muscle pain or fatigue and red eye.
Some patients can progress rapidly, with violent attacks, sudden high fever, body temperature exceeding 39℃, and even severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary hemorrhage, pleural effusion, pancytopenia, renal failure, sepsis, shock and Raynaud's syndrome, respiratory failure and multiple organ injury, leading to death.
How is influenza A infected?
First of all, of course, it is spread through the source of infection. The main source of infection of influenza A is people, even asymptomatic infected people can infect it, but there is no evidence that animals infect people. Therefore, in the season of influenza outbreak, try not to go to crowded places and try to avoid contact with influenza patients.
Influenza A is mainly transmitted through respiratory tract through droplets, and can also be directly or indirectly transmitted through oral cavity, eyes and nasal mucosa. At the same time, patients' respiratory secretions, body fluids, or other contact items can cause infection, so if there are flu patients around, it is best to isolate them. If contact cannot be avoided, preventive measures must be taken and masks or other protective equipment must be worn when contacting patients.
Finally, some people with weak systems. Such as pregnant women, children, the elderly and the disabled. They are the high-risk population of influenza A (H 1N 1) with relatively poor physical fitness, so this kind of population should pay more attention to prevention when influenza breaks out. It is best to exercise moderately at ordinary times to enhance physical fitness and prevent some flu.
The difference between the common cold and the flu.
Every year during the flu season, once the baby has symptoms of fever, sneezing or runny nose, parents are extremely nervous for fear that the baby will be recruited. Because many parents don't know if their baby has a cold or flu, and don't know what to do, they can only be "scared."
First, the common cold vs flu: the symptoms are obviously different.
The common cold and mild flu are mostly similar in clinical symptoms, such as stuffy nose and runny nose, which are often difficult to distinguish. However, parents can find clues through some clues.
Pay attention to fever
The common cold usually has no fever or mild to moderate fever, and the fever lasts only 1~2 days without chills. Influenza is usually sudden high fever at 39~40℃, which lasts for 3~5 days and may be accompanied by chills.
Pay attention to systemic symptoms
The common cold has few or no systemic symptoms, such as headache, sore throat, muscle pain, extreme fatigue and loss of appetite. But these are typical symptoms of influenza. Parents should pay attention to whether the baby is uncomfortable in these aspects.
Pay attention to the onset time
The course of the common cold is not long, basically around 1~3 days, and the onset is not seasonal, and it may be caught in spring, summer, autumn and winter. The course of influenza is relatively long, lasting for 5~ 10 days, mostly in winter and spring. If the baby has symptoms of suspected flu in this season, parents must take the baby to the hospital for testing and treatment as soon as possible.
Second, the nasal cavity and throat secretions can be diagnosed, and severe cases can be treated directly.
Influenza is generally diagnosed by detecting nasopharyngeal secretions, rather than routine blood tests. If the test result is positive, it can be diagnosed as influenza. However, the sensitivity of this detection is not 100%, and the detection result is false negative. At this time, the doctor will combine the baby's performance and clinical experience to make corresponding treatment measures, and parents don't need to worry too much.
It should be noted that if the baby is a high-risk group or a severe case of severe influenza, anti-influenza virus treatment must be carried out as soon as possible (within 48 hours of onset), and there is no need to wait for the virus test results.
Babies who meet the following conditions belong to the high-risk group of influenza:
Obesity;
Suffering from immune deficiency;
Long-term aspirin therapy;
Under 5 years old, especially under 2 years old;
Suffering from chronic respiratory, heart, kidney, liver, endocrine, blood and nervous system diseases.
Infants with the following symptoms are severe cases of influenza:
High fever for more than 3 days, taking antipyretic drugs is ineffective;
Severe cough, coughing up purulent blood sputum;
Symptoms such as purple lips, chest pain, accelerated breathing rate, and difficulty breathing;
Slow response, drowsiness;
Fidgeting or twitching;
Severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration;
The symptoms of the original basic diseases are obviously aggravated.
Every year during the flu season, mothers should not take it lightly. In addition to getting the flu vaccine in advance, we should take our baby to crowded places as little as possible and pay attention to food hygiene. Prevention is the key. If your baby has flu-like symptoms, don't panic and take your baby to see a doctor in time.