INFORMATIONAL ESSAY
You wake up coughing with a sore throat. Your muscles are sore. Your head aches. You sniffle and sneeze. Sweat drips down your body. You try to crawl out of bed, but
fatigue gets the best of you. This sounds like a case of the flu. These symptoms may last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. We have all heard about the flu - millions of
people are infected each year – but what really happens when you catch it?
Sneezing is often a symptom of the flu. The flu, short for influenza, is a virus that comes in three different versions, called strains: A, B, and C. Influenza A is the most common, and unfortunately also the most harsh.
However, each strain works the same way. The virus finds its way into our respiratory system and makes copies of itself inside our cells.
Our immune system does not recognize these virus-infected cells so it begins to
attack. Once a cell dies, the virus moves on to infect other cells. With all the work the immune system has to do to fend off the damage of this virus, it is often left weakened.
This makes it hard to fight off even minor infections.
The flu is an airborne illness. This means it can be transmitted from one person to another by droplets of fluid from coughs and sneezes traveling through the air. This could either infect a person directly, or it could cause contamination of a surface. Touching a contaminated surface before touching one’s mouth or eyes is a common means of catching the flu.
Although contagious, the flu can usually be prevented by getting
vaccinated each year, which is especially recommended for kids, senior
citizens, and those with health problems that could be complicated by the flu. However, the simplest way to prevent the flu is with frequent hand-washing.
fatigue gets the best of you. This sounds like a case of the flu. These symptoms may last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. We have all heard about the flu - millions of
people are infected each year – but what really happens when you catch it?
Sneezing is often a symptom of the flu. The flu, short for influenza, is a virus that comes in three different versions, called strains: A, B, and C. Influenza A is the most common, and unfortunately also the most harsh.
However, each strain works the same way. The virus finds its way into our respiratory system and makes copies of itself inside our cells.
Our immune system does not recognize these virus-infected cells so it begins to
attack. Once a cell dies, the virus moves on to infect other cells. With all the work the immune system has to do to fend off the damage of this virus, it is often left weakened.
This makes it hard to fight off even minor infections.
The flu is an airborne illness. This means it can be transmitted from one person to another by droplets of fluid from coughs and sneezes traveling through the air. This could either infect a person directly, or it could cause contamination of a surface. Touching a contaminated surface before touching one’s mouth or eyes is a common means of catching the flu.
Although contagious, the flu can usually be prevented by getting
vaccinated each year, which is especially recommended for kids, senior
citizens, and those with health problems that could be complicated by the flu. However, the simplest way to prevent the flu is with frequent hand-washing.