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COPD and Influenza
COPD is not an isolated disease and can often make the body susceptible to other contagions. In addition, some abnormal complications occur when COPD and other illnesses coincide. Such is the case with the flu, a common enemy of COPD sufferers.
Influenza ("flu") is caused by influenza viruses, and contraction results in illness ranging from mild to severe. Symptoms of flu include fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. Influenza viruses are spread from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes.
The flu season spells trouble for anyone with COPD. The primary fear associated with the flu and COPD is pneumonia (a filling of the lungs with liquid). Sufferers of COPD, whose lungs are already damaged, are very susceptible to pneumonia.
It is most wise for COPD patients to stay away from people with colds and the flu. Each year a flu shot is released that can be used to prevent influenza infection. A pneumonia vaccine (Pneumovax) is also available. It is important to remember that getting these shots might prevent visits to the hospital, where the flu and pneumonia are particularly rampant.
In addition, new evidence states that the flu vaccine may be beneficial to COPD sufferers. A study in Thailand suggests as much. "Influenza vaccination is highly effective in the prevention of influenza-related ARI [Acute Respiratory Tract Illness] regardless of the severity of COPDÉInfluenza vaccination should be recommended to all patients with COPD," says the researchers at Iriraj Hospital at Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. To read more about this study, please visit the Medscape article.
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