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Flu
(Influenza)

Medical Author:
Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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It's possible to get the flu even if you are vaccinated.

What to Do if You Get the Flu

Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Influenza, or the "flu," is a illness of the breathing system (respiratory system) and muscles caused by a virus. While a vaccine is available to prevent the flu, its effectiveness varies according to the degree of match between the viral strains used to prepare the vaccine and those strains actually in circulation in a given year. Not everyone receives the flu vaccine, and even some of those who do can develop symptoms of the flu.

Mild cases of the flu may seem like common colds. But most cases of the flu can be distinguished from colds because the symptoms (cough, muscle aches and pains, sore throat, fatigue, and headache) are more severe than those of the common cold. Flu symptoms also tend to occur suddenly and include high fevers (temperatures of 101 degrees F or more).

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Flu (influenza, conventional, and H1N1) facts

  • Influenza, commonly called "the flu," is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract.
  • Influenza viruses are divided into three types, designated A, B, and C, with A types usually causing the most problems in humans.
  • Most people who get the conventional or seasonal flu recover completely in one to two weeks, but some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical complications, such as pneumonia.
  • Much of the illness and death caused by conventional or seasonal influenza can be prevented by annual influenza vaccination.
  • Influenza A undergoes frequent antigenic changes that require new vaccines to be developed and people to obtain a new vaccination every year. New vaccine technology is being developed.
  • In April 2009, a new flu virus termed novel H1N1 swine flu developed in Mexico, rapidly spread worldwide, and caused the WHO to declare a flu pandemic. Eventually, the WHO declared the pandemic over in 2010. In 2012, a new type of flu strain developed, H3N2v, but has not developed into any epidemic situations currently.
  • Like the influenza virus, drug treatments are constantly changing and improving, but currently, timely vaccination is still considered to be the best defense against the flu. However, the CDC considers antivirals an important adjunct to flu vaccine in the control of the disease process.
  • People should be aware that flu pandemics can cause severe flu symptoms and sometimes death in many individuals who may be more susceptible to the pandemic flu than the conventional flu; however the previous pandemic flu virus (H1N1) has been available in vaccines and is considered part of the conventional circulating flu viruses.
  • Individuals should check with their doctors to determine if they are considered to be at higher risk of getting severe flu symptoms than the normally healthy population.


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Flu (Influenza)

Eustachian Tube Problems (Problems Clearing Your Ears) »

What is the Eustachian tube?

The Eustachian tube is a tube that originates in the back of the nose, runs a slightly uphill course, and ends in the middle ear space. The middle ear space is the hollowed out portion of the skull bone that contains the hearing apparatus and is covered on one side by the eardrum. In adults, the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm long (1.3 inches) and approximately 3 mm in diameter (less than 1/10 inch). Cartilage provides the supporting structure for the first two-thirds of the Eustachian tube, with the last third (the part closest to the middle ear space) being made of bone.

The tissue that lines the Eustachian tube is similar to that inside the nasal cavity and may respond the same way (swelling) when presented with similar stimuli. The Eustachian tube was named in honor of the 16th century Italian anatomiast Eustachius. Sources credit Almaceon of Sparta as the first to describe the structure in approximately 400 BC...

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