Wednesday, January 14, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Science club Sisters getting sick, but mostly not with flu
that protection from the flu symptoms and for as long as vomiting… The real-deal flu
takes on topic By Jim Cornelius
shot “should knock the symp- 10 days after symptoms dis- doesn’t cause those unpleas-
toms down, even if it doesn’t sipate. By contrast, adults are ant symptoms.
of global
S o m e t h i n g i s g o i n g prevent the flu.”
usually contagious for just a
“A lot of people refer to
around in Sisters Country that
He also notes that there day before they get laid low.
the stomach flu, but that’s a
feels an awful lot like the flu tends to be two peaks to flu
Avoiding spreading the flu misnomer,” said Dr. Fan.
warming
— but in most cases it’s not.
season, so it’s still timely to is a simple matter of staying
Whatever the bug is that
News Editor
Sisters Science Club will
host three free symposia on
the topic of global warming
this winter and spring.
On Tuesday, January 20,
the speaker series at The
Belfry welcomes nuclear
engineer Mike Cappiello,
who will talk about what is
being done to develop tech-
nologies to deal with the
impacts and costs of global
warming.
Constance I. Millar, PhD,
senior research ecologist
with the Forest Service, will
discuss the effects of historic
climate change on subalpine
meadows and forests in a talk
on February 17.
Later on, on April 21,
chemical engineer Sam
Davis will address the ques-
tion “Gas Shortages: Reality
or Myth?”
For each event, doors open
at 6 p.m. for food and bever-
age and the program kicks off
at 7 p.m.
“Climate change is here,
scientifically, but there’s con-
troversy about it,” said Sisters
Science Club co-founder Bob
Collins. “So we thought, why
don’t we just bring this to the
public ear?”
Collins noted that skep-
tics are more than welcome
to bring their questions
for a question-and-answer
period.
“The speakers love that,”
he said.
The Belfry is located at
302 E. Main Ave. in Sisters.
Year-round
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Healthcare providers in
the area report many cases
coming in with sore throats,
fevers, aches and pains,
sometimes accompanied by
stomach upset. But when
tested for influenza, most of
these patients are coming up
negative.
That’s good news in the
sense that this season’s flu
in other parts of the coun-
try has been pretty severe,
and in some cases deadly.
And though it’s been widely
reported that the flu shot is
less effective than hoped
against this year’s strain,
Sisters healthcare providers
universally urge people to
get one anyway. Local clinics
have the vaccine available.
“They predicted the right
strain, but the strain from last
year mutated and you can’t
predict mutation,” said Dr.
Soni Andreini of St. Charles
Family Care.
The vaccine still offers
some protection.
If you’re playing the
odds, you’re still better
off getting the flu shot.
— Dr. Andreini
“If you’re playing the
odds, you’re still better off
getting the flu shot,” Dr.
Andreini said.
Dr. Eric Wattenburg of
Your Care in Redmond notes
try to ward it off in that sec-
ond surge.
Dr. May Fan of Bend
Memorial Clinic in Sisters
reported that, as of last week,
the clinic had sent 62 samples
to the lab and come back
with 11 testing positive for
Influenza A.
“What that says is there’s
a lot of people who have flu-
like illness (that is not the
flu),” she said.
That’s consistent with
other clinics, though Your
Care in Redmond is report-
ing that their testing is “about
50/50.”
Dr. Wattenburg of Your
Care says he’s seeing “flu and
something else that looks like
flu but it keeps testing nega-
tive. About a week before
Christmas, it started showing
up in earnest.”
That, of course, makes for
ripe conditions for contagion:
Lots of people traveling and
spending the holiday season
in close proximity, spread-
ing Christmas cheer — and
germs.
Kids are the culprits
in spreading the flu virus,
because they’re conta-
gious long before they show
symptoms.
“The kids are the ones
who generally get the flu
and spread it,” said Dr. Fan.
“So it helps if the kids are
immunized.”
Dr. Fan reported data
saying that children can
be contagious for as many
as six days before onset of
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away from others.
Dr. Eden Miller of
High Lakes Health Care is
“reminding people not to go
to work when you have a
fever.”
That’s better for your
recovery and considerate of
your co-workers who don’t
want what you’re giving.
Dr. Miller also urges
people to see their health-
care provider as soon as they
start showing symptoms.
That gives anti-viral medica-
tions like Tamiflu a chance to
cut back the length of time
you’re down.
“The longer you wait, the
less likely the medication will
work,” she said.
Dr. Andreini does not
much favor the use of anti-
viral medications, which can
sometimes have side-effects
like nausea and vomiting.
“We still offer it for people
who are at high risk for com-
plications if they get the flu,”
she said. “If I had the flu, I
don’t know if I would take it.
I don’t know if it’s worth it
for most people.”
Speaking of nausea and
people think is the flu is pro-
ducing those nasty symp-
toms, however.
“We’re seeing some gas-
troenteritis, some nausea and
vomiting with that one,” said
Dr. Wattenburg.
The kids are the ones
who generally get the flu
and spread it. So it helps
if the kids are immunized.
— Dr. may fan
You can increase your
odds of avoiding the flu — or
a bug that looks like it — by
employing good health prac-
tices. Wash your hands thor-
oughly and often, using hot,
soapy water. Avoid touching
your eyes and mouth. Get
plenty of rest and eat right to
help keep your immune sys-
tem firing on all cylinders,
and, obviously, avoid contact
with people you know are
sick.
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