While the rest of the world is delighting in the last goodness of summer freedom, you are bundled on the couch, washcloth on forehead, thermometer hanging from your mouth and a mountain of used tissues at your side. “What did I ever do to deserve this?” you implore.
The good news is, you have likely done nothing to deserve this, and more good news: You are not alone. The bad news is, well, having a summer cold or flu is bad news enough.
As you well know, the mainland gets by with a relatively short cold and flu season, about 33 weeks running from October to mid-May. Here in Hawaii the flu season is 52 weeks long. Yes, year round, and there are a number of reasons for this. One reason is, as they say in real estate: location, location, location. Since we are a hub for international and mainland flights, many different types of virus come through, as well as a vast amount of travelers due to tourism. There is also evidence that points to our climate, more specifically humidity as a contributor, allowing viruses to linger longer on surfaces and in airborne droplets.
How do we get this information? Volunteer health care providers report weekly the number of patients and age groups who come in with likely flu due to symptoms of fever, and cough or sore throat. Laboratories also report results of specimens that test positive for flu and some undergo sub-typing so we can determine the type of virus.
For example, influenza H1N1 virus has been the only H1 virus detected in Hawaii since 2010. Because of these reports, we also get to know how many people in each age group are tested and how many of those tests come back positive.
In addition, we can track flu duration, clusters, peaks or incidents and deaths. Vaccines are altered each year from this information. For example, the flu vaccine for 2016-2017 showed to be 34 percent effective against the influenza A(H3N2) and 56 percent effective against influenza B viruses. If you find these kinds of statistics as interesting as I do, visit Health.Hawaii.gov for more information.
So what to do about that awful cold that has you in the dumps? Employ all of the treatments you are already familiar with, whether it be immune support, diet, supplements, restorative interventions (aka bundle up on the couch), or tutu’s chicken soup.
I can leave you with an overlooked, yet important story that may make your symptoms feel better: A study published earlier this year in the journal Health Psychology, gave 213 subjects nose drops containing a cold virus called rhinovirus 39 and then quarantined them for five days. What the researchers found was that participants who scored higher on a loneliness scale reported that they had worse symptoms. Their perceived loneliness was the only detail that correlated with their reported severity of illness and pain, no matter how many friends or family they had, nor their age or any other factor.
So, reach across that pile of tissues and call a trusted friend or family member to help you know you are not alone. You never know, you might just feel a little better.
Of course, as always, know when to visit your health care provider if symptoms worsen, especially if you are part of a high-risk group, such as those with HIV infection, asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, people with disabilities, health care workers, pregnant women or women six weeks post-partum, the elderly, or infants.