NW Navy News

Simple steps can help you avoid getting the flu and spreading it around this year. That's the message Navy medicine officials want to convey as they prepare for an influx of patients with symptoms from seasonal flu and the much-talked-about H1N1 strain, also known as swine flu.
"The thing we want people to do is take sort of a collective breath," said Capt. Dan Frederick, a regional public health emergency officer at Naval Hospital Bremerton.
He shared a handout being distributed at the hospital that lists four Cs to remember:
 
1. Clean your hands frequently
2. Cover your cough, using your arm or a tissue, not your hands
3. Confine yourself — stay home if you're sick
4. Avoid crowds during flu outbreaks
 
"Those are things we should be doing all the time anyways," Frederick said, but they're especially important now. "Even if you're not sick, you should just follow all those rules."
Most people who get the flu won't need to see a doctor or take any medicine. Symptoms from the seasonal flu and swine flu so far have been mild in most cases, Frederick said. 
People in high-risk groups, like pregnant women, children and anyone with chronic health conditions, are encouraged to get flu shots. The risks for the H1N1 strain are slightly different than the seasonal flu when it comes to older people. Some people above a certain age may have some immunity due to previous exposure to a similar virus.
The seasonal flu vaccine is available now and the H1N1 vaccine is expected to arrive at Navy clinics here sometime in mid- to late-October.
The Defense Department is requiring active duty service members to get the H1N1 vaccine. Arrangements for that will be made through the same channels as the required seasonal flu shots, Frederick said.
He recommends people check online with the CDC and the naval hospital for the latest updates and advice about the flu. The hospital also has set up a flu hotline at 360-315-4469.
 
Online resources:
Centers for Disease Control flu page: http://cdc.gov/flu/
Naval Hospital Bremerton Web site: http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nhbrem/pages/default.aspx
Dot Mil Docs podcast on seasonal flu and H1N1: http://health.mil/dotmildocs/Default.aspx?id=621&currentPg=1
Washington State Department of Health flu page: http://www.doh.wa.gov/h1n1/