Watching out for that sudden cloudy feeling

Manila, Philippines—It is supposed to be the beginning of the hot and dry months. And yet, our capricious weather could play tricks on us, bringing sudden rains that often leave a lot of people surprised and soaking wet.

Such unexpected change in weather often send scores of people to the doctor. Why so?

The most common explanation would be our immune system that might have taken a little while to adjust, resulting in a body that is momentarily vulnerable to viruses and other infectious agents that may lurk around.

But health experts are quick to clarify that while the sudden weather change itself does not make one sick, although it does encourage behaviors that increase an individual’s exposure to these infectious agents.

During the rainy months and even in moments of sudden downpour, a lot of people would get cooped up inside enclosed places.

“This increases the chance of being infected because viruses and other infectious agents could now be spread much more easily. When a person who has influenza, for example, coughs or sneezes, he or she could propel numerous influenza viruses onto the surrounding air which the people around could breathe in. Infection could also be spread when these people touched items or objects—where there are viruses on it—and then touched their eyes, nose or mouth,” explained Dr. Ruby Mendoza-Dizon, medical director of Sanofi Pasteur, which offers a range of vaccines that provide protection against bacterial and viral diseases.

The doctor made this reminder in the midst of a possibility that flu infection could happen anytime.

She reminded that flu virus could live for days on items that was touched or got hit by respiratory droplets (from sneezing or coughing) from an infected person.

“If there is one virus we should be watching out for, it should be the one that causes the flu as it is highly contagious and is easily transmitted through contact with droplets from an infected person who is coughing and sneezing,” Dizon said.

She added that since many of the symptoms of flu are similar to that of a common cold, many people would often make incorrect diagnosis.

More serious

While both the common cold and flu are caused by viruses, the flu is more serious since it could affect the lungs more severely than a cold.

“Influenza is a serious illness that can lead to pneumonia. Seasonal flu in itself causes 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide every year so that annual flu vaccination with or without the threat of a pandemic is always of utmost importance, particularly in groups recommended to receive the vaccine like those aged 60 years and above, adults and children with risk factors like chronic cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, chronic metabolic disease (diabetes mellitus),” Dizon said.

According to her, a flu shot is recommended as this act not only protects the person but also those around them.

“By avoiding the flu, you avoid giving it to friends and family,” she reminded.

With over 40 years of experience in fighting flu, Sanofi Pasteur not only supplies seasonal flu vaccines (the current one already protects against three strains of flu, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic) but also made innovations including the placement of a device—called Heatmarker—in the vaccine packaging that could monitor the temperature exposure over time.

The Heatmarker provides assurance to both doctors and patients that the vaccine has not been damaged by heat at the time of administration. This is because even if the vaccine’s expiry has not passed, exposure to heat could render a vaccine ineffective as well as risky, health-wise.