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Cold and Flu
Questions and answers about the "Common Cold"; symptoms in the upper respiratory tract like sneezing, scratchy throat, and runny nose, but adults don't typically have fevers. Colds are usually caused by the rhinovirus (up to 40% of colds), or Coronaviruses (about 20%), but there are more than 200 viruses that can cause the common cold. Also questions about the seasonal flu, also called "regular flu", caused mostly by Type A and Type B Influenza viruses. Flu starts with similar symptoms as a cold only it hits faster and harder and usually includes fever in adults. Although the "stomach flu" is a common term, it is not a real diagnosis. The proper medical term for stomach flu is gastroenteritis (an intestinal disease, sometimes viral but also bacterial), it is often mistaken for influenza because the flu can sometimes include vomiting and diarrhea.
4,331 Questions
What ICD-9 code is used for the flu shot?
For an inpatient claim for reimbursement, the ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes would be V04.81 for the reason for an influenza vaccination (need for prophylactic vaccination against influenza) and V03.82 (need for prophylactic vaccination against streptococcus pneumoniae, aka pneumococcal pneumonia) for the pneumonia vaccination. The ICD-9-CM procedure codes would be 99.55, Prophylactic administration of vaccine against disease, for the pneumococcal vaccine and 99.52, Prophylactic vaccination against influenza, for the flu vaccination.
Outpatient claims are coded differently with more complex specificity related to patient demographics, etc. than the inpatient ICD-9-CM codes. For a quick reference to the proper coding for these for an outpatient episode of care, see the related link below to the official CMS information for CPTand pharmaceutical codes and additional guidelines for coding for Medicare.
How do you treat a sulfa sensitive patient for cold?
Sulfa drugs are usually used to treat bacterial infections, not viral infections like a cold. So no sulfa drugs are needed for sulfa-sensitive patients with viral infections like the common cold or flu. There is no equivalent to antibiotics that are used to kill bacteria that are for treating viruses. Bacteria can be killed and antibiotics, like sulfa drugs, are what can do that. Viruses are not living organisms, so they can't be killed. They can be made inactive, but that is possible only when your immune system attacks and gets rid of them, there are no drugs to do that. See the related question below for more information about treating a cold.
Is there an immunization schedule for the Swine Flu?
Flu vaccines are given annually because the flu viruses are able to mutate rapidly into new forms that last year's flu vaccine may not be able to combat. So the schedule would be annually about a month prior to the start of the local flu season.
Flu season is in the time of the US fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and in the time of the US spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
A one time vaccination is all that is needed for the swine flu (this vaccine is contained in the 2011-2012 annual seasonal flu vaccine, a separate immunization is not required for swine flu any more) in adults who are healthy.
Children under 10 will need two vaccinations to be fully protected since their immune systems are not robust enough to provide immunity after a single dose of vaccine. These two vaccinations are given a month apart and after another 3 to 4 weeks from the second immunization, immunity should have been achieved.
Infants under 6 months can not be vaccinated at all for the flu since their immune systems are too immature to introduce any infectious organisms.
People with suppressed immune systems from diseases or from medicines like transplant anti-rejection medications may not have a proper response to vaccines at all and they should not use live vaccines like are in the flu intranasal vaccines, they should have the injections of the vaccines made with "dead" viruses.
What kills germs faster freezing or boiling?
neither just go onto bed for 1 day after finding out you have a fever
Can you get the flu shot when wheezing?
It is usually good to not bombard your immune system with too many things at once, so it is commonly recommended that you not get a flu shot if you have a fever. The fever indicates that your body is already fighting something, and then it is best to wait until your are fever-free to get the vaccination. If you don't have a fever, then you can probably get the vaccination, but tell the clinician who will be giving you the vaccination about your breathing symptoms and they will decide if there is any reason not to give it to you.
If your wheezing is severe or you have not yet had it evaluated by a physician, it might be better to also wait to get the flu shot until after you have consulted with a health care professional about the wheeze and then to also ask about getting a flu shot.
When is flu season in the southern hemisphere?
It is usually said that the Southern Hemisphere has the flu season from April through September. It is October through March (some say May) in the Nothern Hemisphere.
Assuming the question is asking about H5N1, the highly pathogenic virus that can infect humans by transmission from infected birds, and that it is asking if that specific pathogen can be transmitted to humans in this way, the following applies. The term "waterborne" in relation to the transmission of pathogens is a method of transmission that is characterized and defined by their ability to transmit to humans when contaminated water is consumed. To date, there are no known cases of influenza A-H5N1 (the highly pathogenic form of Avian flu that results in death in over 50% of humans infected) spreading through human consumption of contaminated water. Therefore, international researchers, epidemiologists, and the World Health Organization (WHO), that monitor the transmission and occurrences of infectious diseases, including H5N1 Avian flu in humans, have not characterized this type of flu as waterborne.
All birds are known to be capable of hosting all subtypes of Type A influenza, the Type that includes the subtype of H5N1 viruses.
The only currently known and proven methods of transmission of this specific form of influenza to humans, however, are: direct contact with infected birds (or the feces, saliva or nasal discharges deposited by the infected birds onto environmental surfaces); direct contact with other contaminated environments (such as poultry coops and operations); through intermediate hosts such as pigs; or extremely rare isolated cases of human to human transmission in people who live in very close contact with each other (i.e., in the same households).
There are no known cases of Avian flu having occurred in humans as a result of transmission from wild waterfowl or wild wading/shore birds. These types of birds can be infected by the H5N1 virus and do transmit it to other birds, however, no humans have been found to have had this as the method of transmission so far. Most all cases in humans have been determined to be the result of direct contact with infected, sick or dead poultry, but not from wild birds.
Your concern about potential transmission from migratory waterfowl through the Arctic and northern lakes on their migration routes is valid. Various international governmental health agencies and infectious disease monitoring entities are watching this closely as a potential threat to humans. And, it would be feasible for the viruses to reassort (or mutate) into subtypes capable of this method of transmission (as there are known types of viruses that can be waterborne), although Type A H5N1 influenza is not among them to date.
There is also monitoring due to concern that Arctic lakes melting from global climate change and warming Arctic temperatures might release ancient influenza viruses to the environment. Present human populations are not expected to be immune to these ancient forms of influenza. However, the first identification and documentation of H5N1 in humans was in Asia in 1997. Therefore, while possible, it is a form influenza virus that is unlikely to be found frozen in Arctic lakes from thousands of years ago.
Another Answer:
There seems to be information in the article from National Institutes of Health below in the related links section that would indicate that avian flu can be waterborne. Obviously a child swiming in our Great Lakes or St. Lawrence river swallowing bird feces moved by birds or infected ballast water might contract influenza virus A. It is, therefore, not consistent, and not understood why they will not say it is waterborne.
What should you do when your cough goes on for months and it sounds really bad?
Any persistent cough that lasts longer than a couple of weeks should be evaluated by a health care professional. If this has been bad for months, then you should consult a physician for an examination and evaluation as soon as possible.
What alcohol is good for when you have a cough and cold?
A shot of Bourbon with some warm water, a dash of honey and a slice of lemon.
Can you get strep from being in contact with a person with the flu?
You can catch the flu from being around someone with the flu. You can only get strep from someone infected with the Streptococcus bacteria.
Do homeless people spread contagious flus?
All people can spread the flu since it usually is an easily transmitted virus, one exception to this is the Avian "Bird" Flu which is rare and doesn't transmit easily from person to person.
Many homeless people do have a challenge with hygiene, since they don't have their own bathrooms and sinks, so if they are unable to wash their hands often enough, they can spread it to more people. Those who are lucky enough to find a shelter do not have this same problem.
Some homeless people are mentally challenged, have severe depression, are in poor health because of their circumstances or are in their circumstances due to poor health, and/or are addicts or alcoholics which can make them less aware of or less concerned with sanitation and proper hygiene. But this is not true of many unfortunate people who have lost their jobs and end up without a home, which is happening all too often in the economy of the US today.
However, there are people with homes who are just as careless about hygiene, are substance abusers, and mentally challenged, too. It is doubtful the spread by homeless people is much, if any, greater than by everyone else and especially if you consider that many are reclusive or choose to avoid other people and crowds, so they are in less contact to get and give communicable diseases.
How do you get rid of a stuffy noses?
well i recommend i lot of things.
1. keep a hot wet rag on your face
2.get some cough and cold medicine normally it will say stuffy nose if not then don't take it.
3.if its only one nostril then plug the other one and blow as hard as u can into a tissue. p.s it can make your eyes water. and is will start to poor if u blow hard enough.
and i guess that's is all i can say. hope u feel better!
Why is being cold bad for you?
It really isn't unless you get to the point of hypothermia, frost bite, or other tissue damage from exposure. There is a longstanding and widespread belief that getting cold, like going outside without a coat or being in the rain, etc., can make you catch the common cold, pneumonia, or other infectious disease.
However, many scientifically controlled university studies have been conducted to determine if feeling cold or being wet and cold increases your risk of becoming infected with a cold or flu virus, or with viral or bacterial pneumonia. Although you have probably heard that said over and over, the results of the studies have been reproduced, analyzed, and tested. There is no scientific proof that getting cold can cause you to have an infection, unless hypothermia and its consequences and related conditions exist.
It is thought by some that this belief in a connection between the colds and flu and cold weather began long ago before there was any knowledge of the existence of pathogens/germs. Because the cold and flu viruses tend to be commonly around during the "flu season" in the colder months (likely an environmental preference), and not as frequently at the other times of year, people made the assumption that it was the cold weather that made them sick. Now it is known that these are infectious diseases caused by germs and that exposure to cold does not make you ill, just uncomfortable (except as mentioned above).
Having the results of studies like these has not stopped the belief from continuing, however. The sayings, "Button up your coat so you don't get sick," "Don't go to bed (or outside) with wet hair or you will catch a cold," "I was out all day working in the cold weather, so I got the flu," "The weather has been changeable from hot to cold and cold to hot and so I am sick," "Shut that drafty window or you will catch your death of cold," etc. are all from long before we had the current scientific information and will no doubt continue to be said and believed. Besides, it is a nice tradition to let us show our concern for each other and their health.
To prevent colds and influenza, use proper hand washing, avoid those with symptoms (especially if they are coughing and sneezing and stay 6 feet away, if at all possible), and get flu vaccinations.
See also the related questions below for more information.
Do you separate people who are sick with swine flu or put them together?
Separate them. The lab tests to determine the type of flu someone has are not specific enough to know if they actually do have the same exact flu or just another flu virus of the same flu Type. The field tests only determine the Type of flu, such as a Type A, B, or C influenza.
Unless the specimen is sent off to the CDC to test for the specifics, the local lab will not be able to let the doctors know if you and the others with flu symptoms are infected with the same virus. If you are not, then you both can give each other a second infection. The different flu viruses usually don't infect a person at the same time, but exposure at the end of one infection can allow a person to begin incubating the new virus before fully recovering from the first.
Does smoking while on your period make you cramp worse?
Women that smoke are more likely to get cramps so I'm pretty sure that if you smoke during your cramping it can make it worse well at least it does for me
Why does it take you several days to experience symptoms of flu when exposed to the Influenza virus?
Well most of the time it is because you are in the stage of the sickness called "incubation". During this phase, in certain types of virus, including the flu, you can pass it along to others even though you don't have any symptoms yet yourself. You won't have symptoms until the virus has begun to reproduce in your cells and destroys the cells when the virus particles burst them open to release the new virus particles. That damage to your cells and the fact that your cells are busy making viruses instead of doing their normal jobs are what cause you to notice symptoms. See the related question below for more about the flu incubation periods.
Can fever cause feet and hands to feel cold?
yes, it can. it is called chills. Chills (shivering) may occur at the beginning of an infection and are usually associated with a fever. Chills are caused by rapid muscle contraction and relaxation. They are the body's way of producing heat when it feels cold. Chills often predict the coming of a fever or an increase in the body's core temperature. Chills are an important symptom with certain diseases such as malaria.
Has anybody developed Dystonia after receiving the Swine Flu Vaccination?
The 2009 "Swine Flu" H1N1/09 vaccinations have proven to be very similarly as safe as the seasonal flu vaccines. There are reports of some serious adverse events after immunizations, as is true with all medications. However these have been in a very small percentage of vaccinations according to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) that has been actively monitoring and reporting these effects.
A quote from that data:
VAERS data indicated 82 adverse event reports per 1 million H1N1 vaccine doses distributed, compared with 47 reports per 1 million seasonal influenza vaccine doses distributed. However, no substantial differences between H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines were noted in the proportion or types of seriousadverse events reported. No increase in any adverse events under surveillance has been seen in VSD data. Many agencies are using multiple systems to monitor H1N1 vaccine safety.
The increased numbers of reports for the more minor H1N1/09 effects is attributed to the wide media coverage and fears of the public over the disease and the vaccine against it.
See the related questions below and related links for more information about specific reported adverse effects.
