Are Older Adults More Susceptible to Seasonal Flu?
Posted: Sunday, January 03, 2010
by Carolyn Tytler
Each year, 90% of flu-related deaths and more than half of flu-related hospitalizations occur in people age 65 and older. It is not necessarily that seniors are more susceptible to the virus than younger people, but they are more likely to develop serious or life-threatening complications.
However, a combination of circumstances, personal choices, and medical discoveries have converged to make it more difficult for older adults to become infected with seasonal flu in the first place. Among them are the following:
* Retirees have more time to watch T.V., read newspapers and listen to the radio. They will get media reports telling them when the virus is threatening their area, and how best to avoid it.
* Most seniors don't get out and mingle as much as younger people. They don't cope well with crowds, so they are not as likely to be exposed to dangerous viruses.
* Doctors are well aware of the threat that flu presents to their older patients. The conscientious practitioner will remind forgetful and careless seniors to come in for their vaccine. They will provide seniors who contract the flu with prudent and vigilent care.
* Most thoughtful adults, when they are ill, will take care to avoid elderly relatives and friends. Sometimes the flu can masquerade as a severe cold, and any infection at all will be more serious in an older person.
* Seniors themselves, more knowledgeable because of exposure to media reports, will avoid situations and people likely to pose a threat to their health. If you confide to an older friend or relative that you're not feeling too well at the moment, don't be surprised it he or she cancels an upcoming date or get-together, until you are feeling perfectly fine.
* One advantage of being middle-aged or older is that the person has already had many viral and bacterial infections during his or her lifetime. If a past virus which caused illness was related to a strain of flu which is presently threatening the community, the individual will have an immunity.
This phenomenon was evident during the swine flu pandemic of 2009. In 1957-58, there was an outbreak of "the Asian flu" which affected many young people. The viruses causing both illnesses were of a similar nature. Those who had suffered from the Asian flu many years ago have an immunity to the swine flu.
In summary, older adults, in the normal course of events, will be equally as susceptible to seasonal flu as younger people, but it will be more dangerous for them, since they are more likely to develop serious, even life-threatening complications.
Because of this, they should receive the vaccine early, but immunization alone does not guarantee complete safety. The CDC reports that for seniors, it provides between 30-70% effectiveness. Family and friends still need to cooperate in protecting seniors for these potentially deadly viruses.
This Article has been viewed 160 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.