Flu flourishes in February

MARENGO — Several respiratory infections are going around this month, and influenza A is at the top of the list.

“Influenza A is hitting hard right now,” said Haylee Johnson, a registered nurse who deals with infection prevention at Compass Memorial Healthcare.

Whether people see a doctor or become hospitalized due to the infection depends on the person, said Johnson last week. Compass hasn’t seen many hospitalizations from flu this month, she said, but people have come to see a doctor.

“We have a lot of people come in. They want to know what they are ill with,” said Johnson.

Patients are experiencing body aches, sinus pain, cough and fever, said Johnson. If people have shortness of breath or chest pains or are passing out, they should see a doctor, she said.

Otherwise, patients with the flu should rest and stay hydrated, Johnson said.

To keep from spreading the virus, people who is sick should wash their hands, cover their mouths when they cough and stay home from work or school until they are no longer contagious, said Johnson.

Williamsburg Superintendent Chad Garber said the school district has seen a rise in the number of sick students this month.

“We’ve seen increased numbers of students who have been absent, so it’s definitely had an affect on kids at both buildings.”

Flu season is a little worse this year at Mary Welsh Elementary School, said school nurse Jenna Sherman.

“We’ve had a lot more kids ill this year,” said Sherman. Many children feel better after a couple of day but then relapse and miss a week or more, she said.

Students should stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever goes down without the help of Tylenol, Sherman said.

Mary Welsh Elementary has been close to 10% absences due to illness a few times in the last month, said Sherman. “I would really love for parents to encourage good cough etiquette,” she said, and to encourage hand washing.

Iowa Valley and North English Community School Districts had a much higher rate of flu absences.

Attendance was down 30% at North English and almost 30% at Iowa Valley, said Curt Rheingans, superintendent for both districts.

Iowa Valley canceled school Feb. 12 because of snow, but it also canceled classes for Feb. 13. The district was “at that bubble number” that would have canceled school due to illness with or without snow, Rheingans said, so the district gave students an additional day off.

The health department says that closing for two days will clear out the germs, Rheingans said.

Fever tips

Brittany Lowing, school nurse at Williamsburg Junior-Senior High School publishes "Nursing News" for students each month. This month’s newsletter addressed one flu symptom — fever.

A body temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher is considered a fever, the newsletter says.

“Recent studies have suggested that not reducing your fever may actually improve your outcomes and get back on your feet quicker,” the publication says.

“Kids get more frequent and higher fevers than adults …. Children are still creating pyrogens to each new infection they encounter.”

Fevers are helpful because they are the body’s acute phase response, says Lowing in the newsletter. It’s a natural line of defense when we’re sick.

A fever increases stress on the pathogenic cells and infected cells directly by using body temperature.

“If you are experiencing a fever with symptoms such as body aches, pains and a headache with a fever of 102 F or greater, consider Tylenol,” the newsletter says.

People who have fevers of 102 degrees or less and who have no other severe symptoms should consider letting their bodies’ immune systems work as they are meant to.

A fever will not keep rising if it is untreated, “Nursing News” says.