Every year, an epidemic of viral diseases rolls across the country, and according to statistics, you can observe a mutation of the virus, its transformation. Virus-based therapeutic vaccines are formed. But for some reason, we mostly ignore preventive vaccinations and begin to regret it during infection. To avoid the massive spread of the virus, you need to know how many days the flu patient is contagious.
First symptoms
The disease sneaks up unnoticed and plays on human inattention, therefore, during the period of infection, a person does not feel worse than usual. You don’t even remember how and where you caught a cold. Maybe a cold person was riding next to the bus. Or you have been in the wind for a long time. Be that as it may, a runny nose and cough appear. Perhaps the temperature is rising. Sometimes it lays in the ears and a sore throat. It is not always possible to quarantine influenza on time in Russia, so the disease manages to reach a large number of people. After spending several days in bed, the patient feels better, so he again returns to a healthy life. But such a decision would be erroneous.
So how many days is a flu patient contagious? Up to seven days after infection, the flu can be transmitted by airborne droplets. If a person has a weakened immune system, then this period may be longer. If the patient does not live alone, then most likely he will become a distributor of the virus, and his family will be at risk. A strong and healthy person is usually sick for less than two weeks, but the activity of the symptoms is not the same. If weakness and well-being do not go away within this period, then you should consult a doctor, as there is a risk of developing a secondary infection or complications from a disease on your legs.
House arrest
When a certain percentage of workers become ill at the enterprise or in any institution, they are quarantined for influenza, but this percentage is determined subjectively, as a rule, by management. Sometimes employees of large companies tend to work for wear and tear, especially if they are executed under a GPC agreement, and not on a labor basis. For such people, periods of flu can become a time of lack of money, since sick leave is not paid. But it is necessary to wait out the epidemic in comfort, because otherwise the person may be hospitalized. Bed rest is prescribed until the temperature stabilizes and normal appetite appears. If a person on his feet will carry the flu, the infectious period can last. In a day, you can infect more than three thousand people. It is difficult to protect yourself from the flu, so prevention is the only way out.
What is flu?
Why is flu so dangerous? The infectious period of this infection lasts long enough, as the lungs and respiratory tract are affected. The virus itself is constantly changing, but with it, the human body also mutates, so an ill person is immune to infection. Influenza outbreaks occur during the cold season, but with a frequency of once every ten years, new varieties appear that most of the country's population cannot resist. Then the flu pandemic begins, which is characterized by a large number of cases, a severe course of the disease, complications and irrelevance of known antiviral agents. A pandemic affects people of all ages, and it’s hard to say how long a person with the flu is infected in such a situation.
Types of virus
In total, three types of viruses are distinguished: A, B, C. They have some differences between themselves and are transferred by the body in different ways.
So, type A virus can be called the most severe, and stable immunity to it is not formed. Most often it is he who leads to a pandemic. Virus B is characterized by a milder course of the disease and less prone to mutations. If you catch it, then the risk of re-infection is greatly reduced. Type C virus, in fact, is a common SARS, therefore it is considered a mild form of the disease.
How many days is a person with the flu contagious, depending on the type of virus? I must say that the duration of this period varies only slightly from the severity of the disease. On average, a sick person should refrain from contact with healthy people for 4-7 days. Type A virus has several subtypes and transmission routes.
How does infection happen?
The virus is insidious and penetrates the human body in different ways, although it multiplies exclusively in the respiratory system. You can catch flu bacilli when someone else coughs, comes into contact with infected objects, uses a towel in a public place, or comes into contact with bills.
Why does the virus spread in the winter time? It's just that this is the period of the greatest crowding of people in a confined space. In addition, in cold conditions, the virus soars longer in the air. Already a day before the first symptoms, a person becomes infectious and remains so for another five days. During this period, temperature, muscle pain, dry cough appear. General weakness may be observed. There will not necessarily be all the symptoms, they can occur together or separately.
A medical examination allows you to identify the period of the disease, but the doctor himself must be careful, at the reception, attention should be paid to his approach to the case. A doctor with gloves and a protective mask? Then he insures himself against the virus. He will probably examine the tonsils, listen to wheezing in the chest, after which he will traditionally prescribe a course of antibiotics and heating.
Prevention
It is impossible to say with precision how many days a person with the flu is contagious, but the whole body remains weakened, so drink plenty of water, heat and consume vitamins. To confirm the diagnosis, tests may be required.
On their basis, the doctor makes an overall picture of the disease. Left untreated, the flu can develop into pneumonia. In order to bring down the temperature, it is recommended to take the drug "Paracetamol" or "Ibuprofen". Previously, everyone was prescribed Aspirin, but now it is limited by the age of 18 years. Many drugs have side effects, so they are not allowed for use by people with poor health. Such are the drugs "Rimantadine", "Ingavirin" and others. Of course, the easiest way to carry out year-round prevention is to avoid infection. In particular, vaccinations should be given once a season. Other important measures will be personal hygiene, vitamins, eating citrus, a healthy diet and hardening.