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Flu - FAQs:
A vaccine, like any medicine, could possibly cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. The risk of a vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small.
Serious problems from influenza vaccine are very rare. The viruses in inactivated influenza vaccine have been killed, so you cannot get influenza from the vaccine.
Mild problems:
- soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
- hoarseness, sore or red eyes, cough, itchiness
- fever
- aches
If these problems occur, they usually begin soon after the shot and last 1 to 2 days.
Severe problems:
- Life-threatening allergic reactions from vaccines are very rare. If they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot.
- In 1976, a certain type of influenza (swine flu) vaccine was associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Since then, flu vaccines have not been clearly linked to GBS. However, if there is a risk of GBS from current flu vaccines, it would be no more than 1 or 2 cases per million people vaccinated. This is much lower than the risk of severe influenza, which can be prevented by vaccination.
The nasal spray vaccine is made from weakened live virus and does not cause influenza. The vaccine can cause mild symptoms in people who get it (see below).
Mild problems:
Some children and adolescents 2-17 years of age have reported mild reactions, including:
- runny nose, nasal congestion or cough
- headache and muscle aches
- fever
- wheezing
- abdominal pain or occasional vomiting or diarrhea
Some adults 18-49 years of age have reported:
- runny nose or nasal congestion
- sore throat
- cough, chills, tiredness/weakness
- headache
Severe problems:
- Life-threatening allergic reactions from vaccines are very rare. If they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot.
- If rare reactions occur with any product, they may not be identified until thousands, or millions, of people have used it. Millions of doses of the flu spray have been distributed since it was licensed, and no serious problems have been identified. Like all vaccines, the flu spray will continue to be monitored for unusual or severe problems.
Steps to prepare for flu season and limit the spread of the flu virus include some everyday actions that you and your family can take to stay healthy.
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Get vaccinated!
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Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. No tissue available? Cough into your sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
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Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective. (See our Handwashing Video.)
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Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
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Follow the advice of your local public health department regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other measures to reduce flu transmission.
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If you get sick, stay home. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
- Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
Families, students, and school staff can keep from getting sick with flu in three ways.
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Practicing good hand hygiene. Students and staff members should wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. (See the Handwashing Video.)
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Practicing respiratory "etiquette." The main way that the flu spreads is from person to person in the droplets produced by coughs and sneezes, so it’s important to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.
- Staying home if you’re sick. Keeping sick students and staff at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others at school.
Everyone must take personal responsibility for helping to slow the spread of flu viruses by practicing these steps.
Vaccines are usually given to prevent infections. Influenza vaccines are made from either pieces of the killed influenza virus or weakened versions of the live virus that will not lead to disease. When vaccinated, the body’s immune system makes antibodies which will fight off infection if exposure to the virus occurs.
Antivirals are drugs that can treat people who have already been infected by a virus. They also can be used to prevent infection when given before or shortly after exposure and before illness occurs. A key difference between a vaccine and antiviral drug is that the antiviral drug will prevent infection only when administered within a certain time frame before or after exposure and is effective during the time that the drug is being taken while a vaccine can be given long before exposure to the virus and can provide protection over a long period of time.
The CDC recommends that you wash your hands thoroughly with clean, running water and soap. Use warm water if it is available.
If clean, running water is not available use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy. Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Flu spreads mainly person-to-person through the coughing or sneezing of infected people. If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
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Be sure to continue taking your diabetes pills or insulin. Don’t stop taking them even if you can’t eat. Your health care provider may even advise you to take more insulin during sickness.
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Test your blood glucose every four hours, and keep track of the results.
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Drink extra (calorie-free) liquids, and try to eat as you normally would. If you can’t, try to have soft foods and liquids containing the equivalent amount of carbohydrates that you usually consume.
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Weigh yourself every day. Losing weight without trying is a sign of high blood glucose.
- Check your temperature every morning and evening. A fever may be a sign of infection.
Call your health care provider or go to an emergency room if any of the following happen to you:
- You feel too sick to eat normally and are unable to keep down food for more than 6 hours.
- You're having severe diarrhea.
- You lose 5 pounds or more.
- Your temperature is over 101 degrees F.
- Your blood glucose is lower than 60 mg/dL or remains over 300 mg/dL.
- You have moderate or large amounts of ketones in your urine.
- You're having trouble breathing.
- You feel sleepy or can't think clearly.
For more information, see:
- Diabetes and the Flu
- Taking Care of Your Diabetes at Special Times: When You Are Sick from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse fact sheet, Your Guide to Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.
In communities where flu is circulating, treatment with flu antiviral agents is recommended for all hospitalized patients with confirmed, probable or suspected seasonal flu and for outpatients who are at higher risk for flu-related complications. Treatment of hospitalized patients with invasive pneumonia or related disease should include both flu antiviral agents and appropriate antibiotics.
Flu.gov has a comprehensive list of questions and answers prepared by the US Department of Labor at http://answers.flu.gov/categories/284.
The workplace topics cover:
Flu.gov is the official U.S. government Web site for information on the Flu. Several types of flu can exist at once, including, seasonal, pandemic, H1N1, avian, H5N1, and swine flu. This site provides information from across Federal and State governments.
