{"id":604969,"date":"2023-02-04T10:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T16:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/04\/an-action-plan-for-cold-or-flu-covid-19\/"},"modified":"2023-02-04T10:52:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T16:52:00","slug":"an-action-plan-for-cold-or-flu-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/04\/an-action-plan-for-cold-or-flu-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"An Action Plan for Cold or Flu + COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Respiratory viruses sometimes hit you in pairs, meaning you can catch a cold or the flu along with COVID-19. It\u2019s called \u201ccoinfection,\u201d but as far as scientists can tell right now, it doesn\u2019t happen very often. One review found that less than 1% of people with COVID-19 have also caught the flu at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020, Israeli scientists dubbed a flu-COVID coinfection as \u201cflurona.\u201d It\u2019s important to note that while the names are combined, the viruses are not. They\u2019re still two distinct viruses that you can catch at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s evidence that when you\u2019re infected with a virus, \u201cit can sometimes be harder to get a second viral infection on top of that,\u201d says Luci Leykum, MD, chief clinical officer at Harbor Health in Austin, TX.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are several reasons why this seems to be the case. Your cells may be a poorer environment for a second virus to take hold. Or proteins on the surface of the cell are expressed a little differently right after an infection. But we don\u2019t know yet whether this effect, called viral interference, works in the same way with the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the flu. Scientists are still doing research to find out.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a major drop in cold and flu illnesses at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by spring 2021, flu and other virus activity began to rebound. This means a higher chance of coinfection. If you do get sick, here are some expert tips on how to get well.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stay Home<\/h2>\n

You probably won\u2019t need to go to the hospital to heal from a respiratory virus. Instead, it\u2019s\u00a0best to stay at home and focus on getting better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to use common sense and wash our hands, stay home if we\u2019re sick, and wear masks in public if we\u2019re having symptoms,\u201d says Arti Madhavan, MD, specialist-in-chief of family medicine at Detroit Medical Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people around you may have a weaker immune system, so you\u2019ll need to be extra careful not to spread the virus to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Get Tested for Flu and COVID-19<\/h2>\n

If you start having cold-like symptoms, you should get tested for the flu and COVID-19. This is especially true if you\u2019re more likely to get really sick or die from these illnesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might get very sick from the flu or COVID-19 if you:<\/span><\/p>\n