The days are growing shorter, temperatures are slowly coming down and the kids are back in school – can it really be September? With school season comes the inevitable sicknesses caused by piling groups of students together into small areas. Flu, coughs, colds, allergies, rashes etc. will be coming your way in droves. Hopefully you’ve pre-ordered your flu vaccines and have a healthy stock of remedies on hand to deal with all of the acute ailments that announce the changing of the seasons.
As you prepare for the season, the CDC always has some good suggestions: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/1011season.htm Clinics providing medication dispensing services have an opportunity to treat many of these seasonal ailments conveniently within the office environment.
For an interesting perspective on flu trends, check out Google’s Flue Trend page. This page tracks the trends based on the use of search terms that Google has identified as being indicators of flu activity in a geographic area. Right now, Google says intensity is low but past trends indicate a burst of activity in October and then again towards February.
In addition to the usual suspects, this year also presents the issue of bed bugs. Though we don’t offer services for treating bed bugs, we do support the clinics that may see patients due to discomfort or lesions from bed bug bites. Treatment is normally focused on reducing allergic reactions and inflammation from repeated bed bug bites. Click on http://identify.us.com/bed-bugs/frequently-asked-questions-/do-bed-bugs-cause-harm-or-s.html to learn more about these pests. Concerned student health centers should make sure they have antihistamines and corticosteroids on hand to address allergic reactions.
It’s crazy out there! Good luck to all of our clinics on the front line!
