It’s been said that “nurses are the heartbeat of the health care system”. Without them, the system cannot survive. Sometimes, however, in their dedication to care for others, nurses may forget to take care of themselves. This can significantly burden the healthcare system, especially when nurses catch the flu.

Statistics show that fewer than half (41.8%) of all US health care workers were vaccinated against the flu during the 2005-2006 influenza season. In an era of nursing staff shortages and mandatory over-time, nurses may be heaping additional responsibilities on their co-workers when stricken with the flu and are unable to work.

But there is a quick and easy fix for this problem: a flu vaccine. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend that all health care professionals who work directly with patients get an annual influenza vaccination. Because flu is caused by influenza viruses that change constantly and the vaccine is updated every year, annual vaccination is needed for protection to remain current.

So why aren’t nurses and other health care professionals protecting themselves?

It may be bacause even within the medical community, research indicates there’s a great deal of misinformation about the flu vaccine. Despite the well-known benefits of the influenza vaccine, common misconceptions persist.

The influenza vaccine can cause the flu.

This is untrue. The flu shot contains inactivated viruses and the nasal spray contains weakened strains that are too insignificant to cause flu illness. Many studies confirm this. If a person had been exposed to virus at least 3-5 days prior to showing symptoms. It can take up to two weeks from the time the vaccine is administered for immunity to kick in.

Another fiction. Nurses are immune to influenza or have stronger immune systems because they work around sick people everyday.

The fact is because influenza viruses are constantly changing, past exposure does not provide protection against new virus strains.

The vaccine’s side effect are worse than getting the flu itself.

Fact…. The most common side effects are redness and mild soreness at the injection site. These symptoms usually resolve themselves in 1-2 days. People who opt for the nasal vaccine can avoid these injection-related problems, but can have nasal congestion or a runny nose for a day or two. The most serious side effect is an allergic reaction by those who have a severe allergy to eggs (the vaccine viruses are grown in eggs). For this reason, getting an influenza vaccination is not advised for people with egg allergy. But egg allergies are rare and severe allergic reactions are even rarer.

When there is a good match between circulating influenza virus strains and those in the vaccine, effectiveness rates are as high as 70-90% in healthy adults. Although the vaccine does not prevent everyone from getting ill, vaccination can make your illness milder. Plus, the vaccine greatly reduces the chances of hospitalization and death.

Although influenza is mainly spread by droplet transmission, the virus can also infect others by remaining infectious on contaminated objects such as door knobs, telephone receivers, food utensils and trays, beds and medical equipments for hours. Also, people can spread the flu for a day or so before they even develop symptoms.

The period when an infected person is most likely to transmit the virus to others is during the first three days of illness. The chance of transmission wanes over 5-7 days in otherwise healthy adults. Influenza usually starts suddenly and may include the following symptoms:

1. Fever
2. Headache
3. Lethargy
4. Cough
5. Sore throat
6. Runny or stuffy nose
7. Body aches
8. Diarrhoea or vomiting

General treatment for influenza includes bed rest, drinking plenty of fluids and taking over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen. Children suspected of having influenza should not be given aspirin, as this may increase the risk of a complication known as Reye’s syndrome.

In addition, there are prescription anti-viral medicines that can help prevent influenza infection and when used within the first 48 hours, can reduce the duration and severity of the illness. The role that nurse and other health care workers play in helping prevent influenza related illness and death – especially in at-risk elderly patients and young children cannot be underestimated.

Patients of nurses and health care workers who are at the greatest risk for influenza-related complications include people 65 or older; individuals with chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular conditions; people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, cancer, AIDS/HIV and asthma; pregnant women, infants, children aged six months to five years, residents of nursing homes and other chronic care facilities.

In addition to high-risk groups, the CDC recommends vaccination for all children aged six months to 18 years and peope aged 50 or older and all healthcare workers.

The influenza vaccination is the best way for nurses and others to protect themselves, their families and their patients during a flu epidemic. All they need to do is choose the method of delivery.

Intra-muscular influenza vaccination is recommended for all health care professionals, regardless of any special conditions such as pregnancy, HIV infection, severe immuno-suppression, renal failure, asplenia ( absence of spleen function due to severe infection, diabetes and alcoholism or alcoholic cirrhosis.

Live intra-nasal influenza vaccine is a live vaccine that is approved for use in healthy persons aged 5-49 years who are not pregnant and do not provide care for severely immuno-compromised people when they are in a marrow transplant unit. Most healthcare workers who are younger than 50 years of age can receive the intra-nasal vaccine if they choose to.

The role that nurses play in helping others is well known. Now, it’s time for nurses to consider how protecting themselves against the flu will also help them in their mission to protect others.