過敏、感冒、流感和COVID-19：如何為秋季做最好的準(zhǔn)備

過敏、感冒、流感和COVID-19：如何為秋季做最好的準(zhǔn)備

Is that sneezing or coughing fit a sign of allergies, a cold, the flu or COVID-19? If you also have a fever — a temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit — those symptoms probably signal infection and not just allergies acting up. (Wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking to get an accurate measurement.)

打噴嚏或咳嗽是過敏、感冒、流感或COVID-19的征兆嗎?如果你還發(fā)燒——體溫超過100.4華氏度(約為38攝氏度)——這些癥狀很可能是感染的信號，而不僅僅是過敏。(進食或飲酒后等待30分鐘，才能獲得準(zhǔn)確的測量結(jié)果。)

You might have hoped the pandemic would cancel what we doctors usually think of as "sick season," but as cool weather signals the annual arrival of autumn allergies, colds and flu in the U.S., sick season is still right on schedule.

你可能希望這次流行病會取消我們醫(yī)生通常認為的“疾病季節(jié)”，但涼爽的天氣預(yù)示著美國每年秋季過敏癥、感冒和流感的到來，疾病季節(jié)仍然如期而至。

In my clinic, that means a flurry of visits and calls from patients worried about their runny noses, coughs and sore throats.

在我的診所里，這意味著病人們會接二連三地來就診和打電話，擔(dān)心他們的流鼻涕、咳嗽和喉嚨痛。

Before COVID-19, it was already tough for patients to know how seriously to take those common symptoms. Allergies and colds are mostly just a nuisance, but a severe case of the flu can kill.

在COVID-19出現(xiàn)之前，患者已經(jīng)很難知道如何嚴肅對待這些常見癥狀。過敏和感冒大多是令人討厭的，但嚴重的流感可以致命。

The flu routinely kills between 12,000 and 61,000 people in America each year, and COVID-19 has already killed more than 200,000, just since February.

在美國，每年死于這種流感的人數(shù)通常在1.2萬到6.1萬人之間，而自今年2月以來，COVID-19已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致20多萬人死亡。

Those big combined numbers of deaths can be scary, especially if you've skipped or postponed your usual health routines and check-ins with a doctor this year. Now's the time to get back in gear: Here are a few steps to improve your chances of staying healthy, even in "sick season."

這些巨大的死亡數(shù)字加在一起可能會很可怕，尤其是如果你今年已經(jīng)取消或推遲了你的常規(guī)健康程序和醫(yī)生檢查。現(xiàn)在是時候恢復(fù)正常了：這里有一些步驟可以讓你即使在“疾病季節(jié)”也能保持健康。

Establish a relationship with a primary care provider before you get sick

在你生病之前，與初級保健提供者建立關(guān)系

Do this now. Having a clinician who already knows your medical history when you call helps, too — they may feel more comfortable making certain treatment recommendations online or over the phone and to know when it's better to have you come in for a physical exam because you have certain risk factors.

現(xiàn)在就做。當(dāng)你打電話時，有一個已經(jīng)知道你的病史的臨床醫(yī)生也有幫助——他們可能會覺得在網(wǎng)上或電話上提出某些治療建議會更舒服，并且知道什么時候讓你來做體檢比較好，因為你有某些風(fēng)險因素。

Keep your vaccinations up to date

及時接種疫苗

Primary care providers, as well as pharmacists, can help track whatever vaccinations you need – and those immunizations are especially important during a pandemic. This fall, as every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccines against influenza for pretty much everyone older than 6 months, including pregnant women and the elderly.

初級保健提供者和藥劑師可以幫助跟蹤你需要的任何疫苗接種——而這些免疫接種在流行病期間尤其重要。和往年一樣，今年秋天，美國疾病控制與預(yù)防中心建議幾乎所有6個月以上的人都接種流感疫苗，包括孕婦和老年人。

Got seasonal allergies that flare in the fall? Nip symptoms in the bud with early treatment

在秋天患上季節(jié)性過敏?通過早期治療將癥狀消滅在萌芽狀態(tài)

While vaccines can help keep some respiratory infections away, they don't prevent ragweed, pollen, dust or mold in the air from triggering symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, itchy or watering eyes, headache and even fatigue. If you know you struggle with airborne allergens this time of year, start your usual medicines before symptoms develop, or at the first sign, to prevent or help stop the inflammation that makes symptoms escalate.

雖然疫苗可以防止一些呼吸道感染，但它們不能防止豚草、花粉、灰塵或空氣中的霉菌引發(fā)流鼻涕、打噴嚏、眼睛發(fā)癢或流淚、頭痛甚至疲勞等癥狀。如果你知道在一年中的這個時候你正在與空氣傳播的過敏原斗爭，那么在癥狀出現(xiàn)之前或第一次出現(xiàn)癥狀時就開始服用常規(guī)藥物，以防止或幫助阻止導(dǎo)致癥狀升級的炎癥。

And, speaking of fever, be ready to check for one

說到發(fā)燒，準(zhǔn)備好檢查一下

Keep a thermometer in your home, since checking your temperature is a good place to start distinguishing allergies from an infection if you're feeling unwell. Just remember the definition of true fever – a temperature at or above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degree Celsius.

在家里放一支溫度計，因為如果你感覺不舒服，通過測量體溫可以很好地區(qū)分過敏和感染。只要記住真正發(fā)燒的定義——溫度在或高于100.4華氏度，或38攝氏度。