FEELINGS sniffly?
It is that point of yr once more when everybody seems to be riddled with hacking coughs and sore throats.
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What winter bug has obtained you feeling garbage this time? Is it a chilly, RSV, Covid – or might it’s the flu?
With flu season in full swing already, the virus is a powerful contender for what’s knocking you down.
Circumstances jumped by two-thirds in only one week, well being chiefs have warned.
The proportion of individuals in England experiencing signs and testing optimistic for the virus shot up by 67 per cent final week (the week ending November 24).
This has precipitated the variety of individuals in hospital with the bug to surge by 50 per cent, reaching 1.81 per 100,000 of the inhabitants, contemporary UK Well being Safety Company (UKHSA) surveillance information says.
Positivity charges climbed from a day by day common of three.9 per cent the earlier week to six.5 per cent, which means almost seven in each 100 exams have been optimistic.
On high of that, we’ve obtained rising ranges of RSV, bronchitis and norovirus, and let’s not overlook – Covid continues to be making the rounds too.
“Flu is the reason for the rise in winter sicknesses that we’ve seen prior to now week, with emergency division attendances additionally rising,” Dr Alexander Allen, advisor epidemiologist at UKHSA stated.
“In case you are exhibiting signs of flu or Covid-19 akin to a excessive temperature, cough, and feeling drained and achy, attempt to restrict your contact with others, particularly those that are susceptible.”
Flu instances may not be as excessive as final winter’s peak but, however they’re already greater than 3 times larger than this time final yr when solely two per cent of exams got here again optimistic.
That stated, present ranges are nonetheless decrease than they have been in 2022, when positivity charges hit 10 per cent by now – kicking off the worst flu season in 5 years.
For many individuals, having the flu will really feel like an exaggerated chilly.
The NHS states that flu signs can come on in a short time.
They embody:
An aching bodyA sudden excessive temperatureFeeling drained or exhaustedA dry coughA sore throatA headacheDifficulty sleepingLoss of appetiteDiarrhoea or tummy painFeeling sick and being sick
Within the UK, the flu vaccine is offered to those that are most in danger – that features the over 65s, pregnant girls, younger children, and folks with sure well being circumstances.
It is also free for frontline well being and social care employees
Covid
In the meantime, Covid appears to be easing, the identical information suggests.
The positivity price dropped by 10 per cent final week to three.5 per cent primarily based on lab exams.
However in actuality, an infection charges are most likely even decrease.
Nonetheless, this doesn’t suggest the nasty bug has gone away.
And with lateral move exams now not free, it may be onerous to know when you’ve got the bug
Signs of Covid regarded as the identical chilly or flu:
A excessive temperatureAchesTirednessA cough or sore throat
The Covid vaccine rollout within the UK continues to be ongoing, however now it is primarily being supplied to these most in danger.
This contains older adults, pregnant girls, and folks with sure well being circumstances.
Frontline employees and anybody at excessive threat also can get their booster photographs to maintain up their safety.
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RSV and bronchitis
As if these winter bugs weren’t sufficient, RSV is on the rise, with instances now circulating throughout all age teams, the brand new figures recommend.
RSV positivity has jumped barely to 13.8 per cent, up from 11.7 per cent final week.
It is a quite common bug, and nearly all kids are contaminated with it by the point they’re two years outdated.
However in some instances, it could possibly turn into bronchiolitis, which may trigger critical respiration difficulties that can should be handled in a hospital.
It is no shock then that hospital visits for acute bronchiolitis are additionally up, in response to the UKHSA information.
Signs of an RSV an infection often begin inside a couple of days of getting contaminated.
Most individuals solely get cold-like signs, akin to:
A runny or blocked nostril A coughSneezingTirednessA excessive temperature – indicators embody your again or chest feeling hotter than typical, sweatiness and shivering (chills)
Infants with RSV might also be irritable and feed lower than typical.
If RSV results in a extra critical an infection akin to bronchiolitis it could additionally trigger:
A cough that will get worseShortness of breathFaster respiration or lengthy gaps between breathsDifficulty feeding (in infants) or lack of appetiteNoisy respiration (wheezing)Confusion (in older adults)
For the primary time ever, thousands and thousands of individuals within the UK will be capable to obtain a free RSV vaccine on the NHS.
Anybody aged between 75 and 79 is eligible for one dose of Pfizer’s jab Abrysvo to sort out RSV.
All girls who’re no less than 28 weeks pregnant are additionally being invited for a shot to assist preserve themselves and their infants secure.
Which chilly and flu treatments truly work?
Solar Well being reporter Isabel Shaw put 9 well-known chilly and flu treatments when she was struck with a lurgy.
Over the course of every week, she tried merchandise focused in any respect signs related to chilly and flu, in addition to therapies that solely aimed to do away with particular points.
These included:
Scorching honey and lemonSteam inhalation and Vicks VaporubEchinaceaChicken soupA spicy curryBeechams All in One Oral SolutionStrepsilsLemsip MaxSudafed Blocked Nostril Spray
She took into consideration ache discount, and the way rapidly and for a way lengthy they labored.
Learn her full verdicts right here
A chilly
Rhinovirus, extra generally often called the widespread chilly, is a light viral an infection that circulates all yr lengthy.
Professor John Tregoning, of Imperial School London, beforehand advised The Solar that the bug often peaks in about October however “by no means actually goes away”.
It is regular for a kid to have eight or extra colds a yr, and adults two, official steering states.
The NHS says a widespread chilly may cause:
A blocked or runny noseA sore throatHeadachesMuscle achesCoughsSneezingA raised temperaturePressure in your ears and faceLoss of style and odor
The distinction between a chilly and the flu is {that a} chilly doesn’t usually trigger such a sudden spike in temperature.
Norovirus
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In the meantime, instances of a nasty bug inflicting violent bouts of diarrhoea and vomiting have surged by over 30 per cent in two weeks.
They issued an pressing ‘keep at house warning’ to anybody with telltale signs of the extremely contagious virus to keep away from spreading it additional.
Reviews of norovirus instances surged by 31.6 per cent between November 4 and 17 in comparison with the to weeks weeks prior, the UKHSA warned in a current report.
“Norovirus exercise is now rising once more throughout all age teams, with the most important improve in adults, significantly adults aged 65 years and over,” it stated.
Based on the well being watchdog, the rise in instances “has begun sooner than typical”.
The overall variety of instances reported was nearly double the quantity usually seen at the moment of yr, UKHSA added.
The principle signs of norovirus are:
Feeling sick (nausea)DiarrhoeaBeing sick (vomiting)A excessive temperatureA headacheAching arms and legsHigh temperature
The signs begin instantly inside one to 2 days of being contaminated.
Who’s eligible without cost Covid, flu and RSV vaccines?
In keeping with JCVI recommendation, these eligible for a flu vaccine this yr embody:
From October 3:
These aged 65 years and overThose aged 18 years to beneath 65 years in medical threat teams (as outlined by the Inexperienced E book)These at critical threat, together with these with a BMI over 40, diabetes, coronary heart and respiration conditionsThose in long-stay residential care homesCarers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those that are the primary carer of an aged or disabled personClose contacts of immunocompromised individualsFrontline employees in a social care setting with out an employer-led occupational well being scheme – together with these working for a registered residential care or nursing house, registered domiciliary care suppliers, voluntary managed hospice providersThose who obtain direct funds (private budgets) or Private Well being budgets, akin to Private Assistants.
From September 1:
Pregnant womenAll kids aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2024Primary school-aged kids (from Reception to Yr 6)Secondary school-aged kids (from Yr 7 to Yr 11)All kids in medical threat teams aged from 6 months to lower than 18 years
These eligible for an autumn Covid booster are:
Residents in a care house for older adultsAll adults aged 65 years and overPersons aged 6 months to 64 years in a medical threat group, as outlined within the Inexperienced E book, together with pregnant womenFrontline well being and social care employees and workers in care houses for older adults
These eligible for an RSV vaccine are:
Pregnant individuals from 28 weeks onwardsPeople aged 75 to 79
