On behalf of CFHC I would like to welcome you to our web page and to our medical facilities in Atwater, and Winton.

As the medical director, I work with our compassionate experienced providers to ensure the delivery of excellent health services. We continuously strive to meet the needs of our community and we are proud to be serving it for the last several years.

In this edition, I wanted to focus on an illness that is looming upon us, as the Flu season knocks on our doors, I think we should have a better understanding of the disease, its symptoms, pattern of spread, and last but not least how to prevent it.

General information:
This is an illness that has a wide variety of symptoms and presentations, and can be a fairly mild one, or it can present as a critically serious condition under certain circumstances.

It is a contagious respiratory illness, caused by the flu virus. It is a preventable disease, and the best known way to prevent it is the yearly vaccination.

Each year, over 200,000 people are hospitalized from the flu complications across the US, and about 36000 people die from the illness.

Older people, young children and certain health conditions are at a higher risk for serious complications.

SYMPTOMS:
Fever
Headaches
Fatigue
Cough
Sore throat
Runny nose
Body aches
Stomach symptoms like Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are more common in the pediatric population.

How does it spread?

Mainly from person to person, through coughing, sneezing or contaminated surfaces with the virus.
Patients are infectious 1 day before the illness, and up to 5 days after becoming sick.

Preventing the flu:

1) Universal precautions: This basically comes down to washing your hands.
2) The Flu shot: it is a killed virus; it is recommended for all age groups starting 6 months and older.
3) Nasal spray Flu vaccine: it is a live weakened virus (doesn't cause flu). It is recommended for age groups 2 – 49 years of age. It is not for pregnant women.

The protection rendered by the vaccines has an average start time of 2 weeks.

It is not going to stop Flu like viral illnesses.

CFHC is offering the Flu vaccine through out our facilities and including Urgent-Care.

Hope to see you soon in good health.

Tareq Elquosy, MD

American board of Internal medicine
American board of Pediatrics