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Does it seem like everyone is sick these days? That’s because it’s cold and flu season, the time of year when the weather drives everyone indoors. Respiratory viruses love this atmosphere. They float around from one person to another, turning into respiratory tract infections that can really put a damper on your week.
Labcorp defines a respiratory tract infection as “an infection of the lungs, airways, sinuses, or throat.” While you can get a respiratory infection even in the dog days of summer, the cases of infection go up significantly in the fall and winter, when people are indoors and in close quarters.1
Respiratory viruses are highly contagious. You can be infected for several days and not show any symptoms, but during that time, you can spread the virus to others. This lack of showing symptoms during the first few days is a big reason why these infections can spread like wildfire!
When you do get sick, figuring out which virus or respiratory problem you have ensures you can receive the proper treatment. In some cases, that means supportive care to help you get through the worst of it. But in other cases, prescription medications can help reduce the severity and length of the illness.
Many illnesses have a few symptoms in common, such as a cough, sneezing, runny nose, and congestion. You will likely also experience headaches.
The symptoms above and beyond these, as well as testing by your doctor, can help determine if it’s anything from the common cold to more serious RSV or COVID infections. Here’s what seniors and elderly adults need to know about each one.
The Common Cold
With a common cold, you’re almost guaranteed to have a sore throat, aches, and fatigue. However, none of these are bad enough to knock you flat. While resting your body is good, you can likely continue on with your normal activities, though you might feel exhausted and generally unwell for a day or two.
You might rarely develop fever, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. You might also lose your sense of taste or smell – but that could occur from being unable to breathe through a stuffed-up nose!
Treatment for the common cold is pretty simple: Rest up and stay hydrated. Antihistamines can make you feel better. If the cold doesn’t improve after a few days, you might be facing some other sort of respiratory illness.
Influenza
When you get the flu, it very quickly becomes apparent that this is not a run-of-the-mill cold. The flu will quickly progress from what appears to be a cold, turning into significant aches and pains, major fatigue, and a fever that will sometimes go startlingly high rather quickly. Dizziness and even fainting can occur when the flu is at its worst. These symptoms can keep you in bed, unable to do much of anything other than sleep.
You might also experience a sore throat, though this isn’t common. Other rare symptoms include wheezing and difficulty breathing. If you do experience trouble drawing a breath, it’s an emergency situation – you need medical attention right away. If you have an alert for elderly adults and seniors, now is the time to use it!
If your symptoms remain mild enough, treatment for the flu includes a lot of hydration, rest, and taking steps to reduce fever. You can also speak to your doctor about getting a prescription for Tamiflu. This medication has been shown to reduce both the severity of symptoms as well as the time spent sick as long as it is taken early on in the infection, so make sure to see your doctor right away if you think you have the flu.
Getting vaccinated every year can help ensure that you’re protected against the dominant strain of the flu that season. If you do get the flu after you’ve been vaccinated, the odds are that your symptoms will be mild and you can avoid the more serious consequences of this virus.
COVID
Though there are many emerging strains of COVID, the symptoms tend to be generally the same among them. For many, COVID symptoms can be much more severe than what you would feel with the flu. That’s especially true for those who have not been vaccinated.
COVID can bring serious fatigue, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, and sometimes difficulty breathing. That trouble with breathing can be what sends someone to the hospital. You might feel as though you have a very severe sinus infection, and you might have body aches and fever, both of which can become severe. You may also experience a loss of taste or smell. Much more rarely, you might experience wheezing.
Treatment for COVID often includes supportive care. Most vaccinated people will get through COVID at home, with plenty of rest and fluids to keep them hydrated. If symptoms are mild to moderate, seniors and elderly adults can ask their doctors to prescribe Paxlovid as an effective treatment for COVID. It both reduces the severity of symptoms and shortens the duration of illness. It must be taken within the first five days of developing symptoms. According to Yale Medicine, Paxlovid is 89% effective in reducing the risk of death and hospitalization among those at high risk for severe disease, including those who are unvaccinated.2 Some people can’t take Paxlovid depending on their medical conditions and prescriptions, but there are alternative medications that doctors can prescribe that are designed to work in the same way.
Keep in mind, if you have any trouble breathing at all, get medical assistance right away. This means that if you have a medical alarm at your fingertips, you need to use it. Don’t hesitate! The breathing problems that come along with COVID can become life-threatening if you don’t get to the hospital immediately.
RSV
The respiratory syncytial virus can be quite frightening because it very quickly affects your ability to breathe. Wheezing is a top symptom of RSV and can be the catalyst to send someone to the doctor for treatment. Fever is also a very common symptom with this virus.
However, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases reports that you will only rarely experience some of the other symptoms common with respiratory viruses. It’s rather unusual for someone with RSV to experience aches, fatigue, sore throat, or a loss of taste or smell, though it does sometimes happen.3
Any situation that makes it tough to breathe can quickly turn into a medical emergency. Never hesitate to call for help if you are unable to breathe. An emergency button alert from Alert1 can provide peace of mind. If you press the button but you don’t have the energy to speak to the trained professional at the monitoring center, they will still know what to do to help you. They will send help to your location while they stay on the line with you.
Most RSV infections last for a week or two, but a cough can linger for several months afterward, especially among seniors, elderly adults, and those who already had a compromised immune system. Some antiviral medications might reduce the severity of the illness and help you get over it faster.
Many people just need some supportive care. Even if hospitalized, the top-line treatment includes extra hydration and supplemental oxygen. Getting vaccinated against RSV can help you avoid getting it in the first place.
Sinus Infection
Sometimes, a cold doesn’t get better. In fact, you might begin to feel even worse. That’s often because the cold has become sinusitis, or an infection in the sinuses in your head. That infection is usually bacterial, which means it can be treated with antibiotics and isn’t contagious.
Sinusitis can be acute, lasting for only a few weeks, or it can be chronic, which means it can last for many months or keep coming back even after what appears to be successful treatment.
A sinus infection often shows up with pressure and pain in the sinuses. You might also feel pain behind the eyes or pressure in your ears. Even your teeth and jaw might ache and your face may feel tender to the touch. That pressure can led to a serious headache.
Other symptoms of a sinus infection include fatigue and general malaise, a cough that usually worsens at night, fever and chills, a stuffy nose as well as nasal discharge, and a sore throat. Some less common symptoms include bad breath and a loss of smell.
Many sinus infections can be treated at home without medical intervention. Using decongestants can help, as can plenty of rest and fluids. Nasal saline rinses can flush your sinuses and provide gentle, temporary relief.
An infection that lasts longer than a week or so is often reason for further treatment. Your doctor might prescribe antibiotics to treat the bacterial infection or a steroid spray to help clear up the nasal cavity.
Can You Have More than One Infection at the Same Time?
Unfortunately, yes. Having more than one virus at a time can increase the severity of all the symptoms you might feel, and that can lead to a dangerous situation for seniors and elderly adults. That’s why your doctor might want to test you for RSV, COVID, and the flu at the same time if you’re showing more severe symptoms of any of them.
Doctors call this a co-infection and it can be much tougher to treat. In fact, many people who have more than one virus will wind up hospitalized while the body fights overtime to recover.
You can also have viruses back-to-back. This can be tough for seniors, as you can still be recovering from one virus when another one swoops in for more winter misery. Being weakened by one virus can make it more difficult to fight another. And since there is more than one strain of each of these viruses, you could even get COVID or the flu more than once in a season.
Protect yourself by getting vaccinated, as this can lead to milder symptoms if you do get a virus. Visit the doctor if you feel that you’re dealing with more than the common cold; they can prescribe medications and follow up with you in the hopes that you can recuperate at home and your symptoms will be less severe.
If you begin to worry about the symptoms you are feeling, reach out for help – and if you have a medical alert device from Alert1, that becomes much easier to do. Simply press the button and wait for the friendly voice on the line. Those at the monitoring center will assess the situation and send the help you need while staying on the line with you until assistance arrives. It’s a priceless peace of mind in the midst of virus season and all year long.
