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   McNadoMD (mcnado@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 04:54:46 JST McNadoMD

   “It’s just the seasonal flu, why are hospitals filling up?”

   Influenza is a cold for some people, a week of misery for many, and deadly for others. It can, just by itself, kill your heart, cause your lung tissue to die, and kill your kidneys, but that is rare with the current influenza A. What is not rare is people who are already medically fragile getting worse when they get flu. 1/4

   • Rich Felker repeated this.
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     McNadoMD (mcnado@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 04:54:45 JST McNadoMD

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     2/4
     For people with lung disease like asthma or COPD, the inflammation from flu can cause lethal trapping of carbon dioxide as well as low oxygen levels. For folks who require dialysis, being too sick to go for a few days can cause fatal potassium levels. Patients with severe heart failure at baseline can’t keep up with the demand on their heart from running a fever and having bronchitis, and build up fluid in their lungs.

     So you see, even a pretty mild strain of flu can quickly fill hospitals

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     McNadoMD (mcnado@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 04:55:05 JST McNadoMD

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     3/4
     Finally, influenza is one of many viral illnesses that increases risk of stroke and heart attack. The exact reasons aren’t fully known (although some pieces to the puzzle are), but the inflammation from the influenza infection increases the risk of having an artery in your heart or brain block off. Of course, flu causes headaches, weakness, chest pain, and shortness of breath, so people often wait to come in, and end up in the ICU or dead.

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     McNadoMD (mcnado@mstdn.social)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 04:55:06 JST McNadoMD

     in reply to

     4/4 What can be done to not overload hospitals?
     1. Get the flu shot every single fall (usually the new one is out in September/October). This dramatically drops your risk of ending up hospitalized even if you get the flu.
     2. Avoid public gatherings when ill. No sense in spreading disease.
     3. Wear a mask. Yep, they sure do keep you safe from flu.
     4. If you have to go to the ER during flu season, mask up while you’re there, and use the hand sanitizer so you don’t get sick from someone else.

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     BedastGPT (bedast@beige.party)'s status on Monday, 06-Jan-2025 09:00:32 JST BedastGPT

     in reply to

     @mcnado My dad was healthy when he caught the flu and it irreparably damaged his heart. He was on a transplant list for years after that, but did not survive. He did not see the age of 40 because of the flu.

     This year will mark 30 years since his passing. I’m in my 40s now.

     This is why I hate “it’s just the flu” and why I get vaccinated.