Killer Flu Leaves Halls Empty
This flu took me out of commission for a week, which is very unlike me when I get sick,¨ said freshman Gavin Wells, one of the many victims of this season’s brutal influenza virus and a victim of both this year’s flu and the 2017 flu in February. As a victim of both viruses, Gavin Wells has stated that there was: “No comparison - this one was so bad, [although] my doctor prescribed me tamiflu, which is an antiviral drug that reduced my symptoms by half [and] allowed me to get up and going within a week.”
The flu has led to an unprecedented number of student absences. Lori Gieleghem, an English and Drama teacher, has stated that she has had: “Several long-term absences…by that I mean students out for two or three days, [which when taking into account Block Scheduling is] the equivalent of being out for a week”, and even had an English student unable to take his english final on time.
Although the Flu outbreak has shown some positive signs of subsiding, with 46 absences recorded in February and 94 by January 31, School Nurse Kathi Mooney is skeptical that this trend will last.“I usually see [flu] cases go all the way through March, because everything blooms in the spring”, and that she has, “…Seen more kids come in with what I think is the flu…this week than last week, and the week before even less. So I’ve seen it increase [from when] we first got back here [from Winter Break]. And I don’t see them all because I’m not here every period anymore. A lot of the times they go to the Wellness Center or they just go home.”
One major reason for the decline in reported absences is because students feel that they cannot take a sick leave, believing that their teachers would not excuse their late assignments. However, this belief is a false one. To quote Kathi Mooney, “Teachers always give time as long as you let them know you know why you were gone. They’re supposed to have at least 24 hours to make things up for every day that they missed.”
Although the flu is not wholly preventable, taking this year’s flu shot will lessen its symptoms and 10-30% of people who take the flu shot will be immune to the disease or otherwise experience very mild symptoms. Children younger than five years old and adults over 65 have the highest risk of developing flu-related complications, as do people with certain medical conditions such as asthma or heart disease. The flu’s most severe risks are pneumonia, sepsis, and bronchitis, although most people will get less severe, but nevertheless unpleasant, symptoms such as fevers, body aches, or a sore throat.
“...Do not attempt to go to school
if you suspect that you may have the flu,
as it puts yourself and others
around you at severe risk.”
Students that suspect that they have should see a doctor immediately. While individuals diagnosed that they have the flu may take Tamiflu, which reduces the flu’s symptoms, it does not eliminate the Flu in its entirety; individuals prescribed the drug should not attend school, as they will simply give the flu to other students. Do not attempt to go to school if you suspect that you may have the flu, as it puts yourself and others around you at severe risk.
Furthermore, Kathi Mooney recommends that students diagnosed with the flu should get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and take Advil, Tylenol or a fever reduction medication should they experience a high fever as one of their symptoms. Sepsis, the worst symptom of the flu, is caused by Hypovolemia, or dehydration; high rates of hydration are thus essential to minimizing the harm caused by the flu. Kathi Mooney also strongly recommends that individuals: “Stay away for dairy products, popsicles, and…cold liquids [and that] some people do really well with hot teas.”
All such recommendations, however, pale in comparison to the importance of staying home and thus not inadvertently spreading the flu and its scourge. While all can count themselves lucky that the flu has taken no lives of Las Lomas students and is not life-threatening to individuals aged 14-18, it is not to be ignored and it must be reiterated that students put themselves and others at a severe whenever they choose to attend school or other public areas.
