Don't be subjective with seasonal flu

Dangerous complications

The family of Mr. Le Van Khanh in Binh Han Ward (Hai Duong City) just had an unhappy Tet holiday because all 4 members of the family were infected with influenza A. In the first days of spring, only Mr. Khanh returned to work, while his wife and 2 young children still had to take time off from work and school because their health had not improved.

Mr. Khanh said he was the first person in the family to show flu symptoms, but because he was subjective and thought it was just a minor illness, he did not take medicine. When his cough and stuffy nose persisted and did not improve, the rest of the family members were infected with the flu. “On December 27, when everyone was busy shopping and returning to their hometowns to celebrate Tet, my family was hospitalized again because of the flu. My two children still had a high fever, and the youngest child was fussy and had difficulty breathing and needed the support of a ventilator. Luckily, we did not have to celebrate Tet in the hospital, but the whole family still had to take medicine as prescribed by the doctor and did not leave the house for fear of spreading the flu to relatives,” Mr. Khanh lamented.

On February 4, Do Manh Hung, 19 years old, from Viet Hoa ward (Hai Duong city) had to be hospitalized for treatment of flu complications that turned into pneumonia. Hung had flu symptoms since before Tet. However, thinking that he would recover in just a few days, he did not take any medicine at first.

Unlike other times he had the flu, this time Mr. Hung had a persistent cough and a high fever. He bought medicine to take at home but it did not stop the cough and fever, so he went to the Provincial General Hospital for examination and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Mr. Hung said: “When I had flu symptoms, I thought I was young and had high resistance so the disease would go away on its own. I did not expect the disease to progress and affect my lungs. Just because I did not pay attention to health care when I had the flu, now I have to spend more time and money on treatment.”

The incident happened a few years ago, but until now, Mr. PQS's family in Hong Du commune (Ninh Giang) is still shocked and regretful when his wife, Ms. HTN (born in 1988), passed away forever just because of not treating the flu in time. Ms. N. had the flu but because she was raising a small child, she did not take antibiotics or go to the doctor for advice. When she felt tired and uncomfortable for a long time, Ms. N. went to the doctor and discovered pneumonia. During the time of treating pneumonia, the disease became more complicated and the complications became more severe. In the end, Ms. N. did not survive, at that time her child was only 4 months old.

Available all year round

Seasonal flu is a common infectious disease that tends to spread rapidly into an epidemic in winter and spring due to the humid, monsoon climate. However, with the increase in environmental pollution, flu is no longer seasonal but appears all year round. Although it is a common disease, if treatment is neglected, it will lead to unfortunate consequences.

In January 2025, Hai Duong Children's Hospital treated 275 children with influenza A, a sharp increase compared to previous months. All hospitalized cases had high fever, cough, wheezing, headache, vomiting, etc.

According to Master, Doctor Tran Thi Thanh Nhan, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, seasonal flu is usually benign, so people often have a subjective mentality and buy medicine to treat it themselves. Parents often take their children to medical facilities for examination when self-medication does not help. At this point, the child's condition has progressed severely, so treatment will be more complicated and difficult.

As of February 4, the Department of Infectious Diseases, Hai Duong General Hospital recorded 91 cases of hospitalization due to influenza. Of these, 1 case had to be transferred to intensive care and 1 case was transferred to a higher level due to severe and critical illness.

Master, Doctor Hoang Thach Quyen, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Provincial General Hospital, said that inpatient flu cases have all developed dangerous complications, mainly pneumonia. For young children, the elderly and people with underlying diseases, the complications are even more severe with a high risk of death. In fact, recently, the department has received treatment for a number of young people with lung damage due to not treating the flu in time. Therefore, we cannot be subjective with seasonal flu, but we should not panic but proactively prevent it by getting vaccinated and implementing 2K (mask, hand disinfection). When there are suspected flu symptoms, we must go to a medical facility for diagnosis, determine the condition of the disease for timely treatment, and avoid dangerous complications caused by seasonal flu.