Southwest Florida battles the Flu

Flu cases are skyrocketing in Southwest Florida, making this busy season even more challenging.

Lee Health reported nearly 1,300 positive cases, but the actual number might be even higher since not everyone gets tested.

If it wasn’t for walking his dog Penny, Gregory Caxton-Smith might be home in bed. He’s one of the thousands in Southwest Florida suffering from the flu.

“I’m feeling the symptoms: lethargic, fatigue, sore throat, etc.,” said Caxton-Smith. “You might want to take a step back.”

Lee Health is reporting the number of flu cases is much higher than usual for this time of year.

“We are about three times higher than what we see in December and January. We expect the numbers to go up after the holidays, but we really took a hard hit early on,” said Dr. Mary Beth Saunders, Medical Director of infection prevention at Lee Health.

Anytime you’re around people, you’re at risk of getting their germs, and they may not even know you’re sick.

The flu virus can be in their system before symptoms even begin, and the duration of that contagious period is important to slow the spread.

“Your period of infectiousness is in the first five days,” said Saunders. “After the first five days of your illness, your ability to infect others diminishes greatly.”

The dominant flu strain is influenza A, which brings symptoms such as high fevers, sore throat, aches, cough and congestion.

It’s a heavy-weight of flu virus.

“Associated with more comorbidities and having problems with hospitalization and people just being sicker in general,” said Saunders.

Updated CDC guidelines allow people to go back to normal activity after being fever-free for 24 hours without medication. Although you may feel a hangover of symptoms.

“Your body may still have some problems with the inflammation that the virus caused and a persistent cough and, you know, congestion, runny nose, etc.,” said Saunders.

Creating a soundtrack for the new year.

“I can hear people coughing when you go out,” said Caxton-Smith.

It pays to be diligent; flu season peaks in February.

Experts say there’s still time to get a flu shot.

This year’s vaccine is a decent match for the flu strains currently in circulation and can help protect you from getting seriously sick.

Remember to wash your hands often and stay home if you’re feeling unwell.