COVID 19 and Communicable Disease Prevention

• Continue your existing practices of handwashing, using hand sanitizer and wearing face masks when in an indoor public setting if you choose. Effective March 11, 2022 face coverings in indoor public spaces is not mandatory. Please note that wearing masks is still a personal choice for all students, employees and visitors on our campuses.  
• First and second shot vaccinations and boosters are recommended and available.
• Limit your social bubble and follow all restrictions by the Provincial Health Officer and Ministry of Health
• Stay home if you feel sick.
• Pay attention to your symptoms. Omicron symptoms often appear as a cough, fatigue or tiredness, congestion and runny nose, sore throat, and fever.
• According to the Provincial Health Office, if you have mild symptoms and no risk factors for severe illness, you do not need a COVID test. Learn when to get a COVID-19 test here: www.bccdc.ca
• Visit Interior Health for more information.

What are colds?

• Everyone gets a cold from time to time. Children get more colds than adults.
• Colds usually last 1 to 2 weeks. You can catch a cold at any time of year, but they are more common in late winter and early spring.
• There is no cure for a cold. Antibiotics will not cure a cold. If you catch a cold, treat the symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

Lots of different viruses cause colds, but the symptoms are usually the same:

• Runny nose and sneezing
• Red eyes
• Sore throat and cough
• Headaches and body aches

You will probably feel a cold come on over the course of a couple of days. As the cold gets worse, your nose may get stuffy with thicker mucus.

A cold is not the same as influenza (flu). Flu symptoms are worse and come on faster. If you have the flu, you may feel very tired. You may also have a fever and shaking chills, lots of aches and pains, a headache, and a cough.

If you feel like you have a cold all the time, or if cold symptoms last more than 2 weeks, you may have allergies or sinusitis. Call your doctor.

What can you do for a cold?

Good home treatment of a cold can help you feel better. When you get a cold:

• Get extra rest. Slow down just a little from your usual routine. You don’t need to stay home in bed, but try not to expose others to your cold.
• Drink plenty of fluids. This can help soothe a sore throat and thin the mucus in your nose and lungs. Hot fluids, such as hot water, tea, or soup with a lot of broth, help relieve a stuffy nose and head.
• Use a humidifier in your bedroom and take hot showers to relieve a stuffy nose and head. Saline drops may also help thick or dried mucus to drain.
• If you feel mucus in the back of your throat (post-nasal drip), gargle with warm water. This will help make your throat feel better.
• Use paper tissues, not handkerchiefs. This will help keep your cold from spreading.
• If your nose gets red and raw, put a dab of petroleum jelly on the sore area.

You may decide to try a cough, cold, or allergy medicine for your symptoms. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label. Don’t take cold medicine that uses several drugs to treat different symptoms. For example, don’t take medicine that contains both a decongestant for a stuffy nose and a cough medicine. Treat each symptom on its own.

• You can take acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) or ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) to relieve aches. If you give medicine to your child, follow what your doctor has told you about the amount to give.
• A decongestant can help with a stuffy nose. Don’t use the medicine longer than the label says. Overuse of a nasal decongestant can cause rebound congestion. It makes your mucous membranes swell up more than before you used the spray. Do not use medicated nasal sprays in children younger than 6 years old.
• Cough preparations can cause problems for people who have certain health problems, such as asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, or an enlarged prostate (BPH). Cough preparations may also interact with sedatives, certain antidepressants, and other medicines. Read the package carefully, or ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you choose. For more information, see Relieving a Cough.

Be careful with cough and cold medicines. Don’t give them to children younger than 6 years old, because they don’t work for children that age and can even be harmful. For children 6 years of age and older, always follow all the instructions carefully. Make sure you know how much medicine to give and how long to use it. And use the dosing device if one is included. If you are also giving medicine for fever or pain relief (ibuprofen or acetaminophen) make sure the cough and cold medicine does not contain the same ingredient. Your child could get too much medicine, which can be harmful. For more information, see Quick Tips: Giving Over-the-Counter Medicines to Children.

Alternative medicines or natural health products

Some people try natural health products to prevent colds or to shorten their cold symptoms. Before using any treatment for your cold symptoms, it is important to consider the risks and benefits of the treatment. For more information, see the topic Complementary Medicine. Some of the medicines being studied are:

• Echinacea. Study results differ about whether echinacea can keep you from getting a cold or can help you get better faster. Echinacea can cause severe allergic reactions in some people with a history of asthma, allergies, hay fever, or eczema.
• Vitamin C. Long-term daily use of vitamin C in large doses does not appear to keep you from getting a cold or help you get better faster. There may be a slight reduction in the length of time cold symptoms last when high doses are taken. Additional studies must be done to determine how much vitamin C is needed to reduce the length of time cold symptoms are present.

If you decide to use an alternative medicine or natural health products, follow these precautions:

• As with all conventional medicines and natural health products, it is important to follow the directions on the label.
• Do not exceed the maximum recommended dose.
• If you are or could be pregnant, talk with your doctor before taking any medicine or natural health product.
• If you have another health problem or take prescription medicines, talk with your doctor before taking an alternative medicine or natural health product.

When should you call a doctor?

Call your doctor if:

• You have trouble breathing.
• You have a fever of 40°C (104°F) or higher.
• You have new symptoms that are not part of a cold, like a stiff neck or shortness of breath.
• You cough up yellow, green, or bloody mucus.
• Mucus from your nose is thick like pus or is bloody.
• You have pain in your face, eyes, or teeth that does not get better with home treatment, or you have a red area on your face or around your eyes.
• Your cold seemed to be getting better after a few days but is now getting worse with new symptoms.

How can you prevent colds?

There are several things you can do to help prevent colds:

• Wash your hands often.
• Be extra careful in winter and when you are around people with colds.
• Keep your hands away from your face. Your nose, eyes, and mouth are the most likely places for germs to enter your body.
• Eat well, and get plenty of sleep and exercise. This keeps your body strong so it can fight colds.
• Do not smoke. Smoking makes it easier to get a cold and harder to get rid of one.

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The information found on this page has been shared from HealthLinkBC

What is influenza (flu)?

Influenza (flu) is a viral infection. People often use the term “flu” to describe any kind of mild illness, such as a cold or a stomach virus, that has symptoms like the flu. But the real flu is different. Flu symptoms are usually worse than a cold and last longer. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur, especially in children.

Most flu outbreaks happen in late fall and winter. Because symptoms may not start for a couple of days, you may pass influenza to someone before you know you have it.

What causes the flu?

The flu is usually caused by influenza viruses A and B. There are different strains of the flu virus every year.

What are the symptoms?

The flu causes a fever, body aches, a headache, a dry cough, and a sore or dry throat. You will probably feel tired and less hungry than usual. The symptoms usually are the worst for the first 3 or 4 days. But it can take 1 to 2 weeks to get completely better.

It usually takes 1 to 4 days to get symptoms of the flu after you have been around someone who has the virus.

Most people get better without problems. But sometimes the flu can lead to a bacterial infection, such as an ear infection, a sinus infection, or bronchitis. Less often, the flu may cause a more serious problem, such as pneumonia.

Certain people are at higher risk of problems from the flu. They include young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with long-term illnesses or with impaired immune systems that make it hard to fight infection.

How is the flu diagnosed?

Your doctor will ask you about your symptoms and examine you. This usually gives the doctor enough information to find out if you have the flu, especially if many cases of a similar illness have occurred in the area and the local health unit reports a flu outbreak.

In some cases, the doctor may do a blood test or take a sample of fluid from your nose or throat to find out what type of flu virus you have.

How is it treated?

Most people can treat flu symptoms at home. Home treatment includes resting, drinking plenty of fluids, and taking medicine to lower your fever. But some people need to go to the hospital for treatment. They may have severe symptoms or get pneumonia. Or the flu infection may make an existing health problem worse.

If you think you have the flu, your doctor may be able to give you medicine that can make the symptoms milder. It’s best to start taking it within 2 days of your first symptoms.

Can the flu be prevented?

You can help prevent the flu by getting the flu vaccine every year. It’s best to get the vaccine as soon as it’s available. It comes as a shot or in a spray that you breathe in through your nose.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that everyone 6 months old and older who does not have contraindications to the vaccine should get a flu vaccine. The vaccine is especially important for people who are at higher risk of problems from the flu, including:^{footnote 1}

• Adults age 65 and older.
• Adults and children who have long-term health problems or an impaired immune system.
• Children and 6 to 59 months of age.
• Women who will be pregnant during the flu season.
• Children and adolescents (age 6 months to 18 years) who use long-term aspirin treatment.
• People who are obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more.
• People who live in nursing homes or long-term care centres.
• Indigenous peoples.

The flu vaccine is also important for health care workers and other care providers in facilities and community settings, anyone who lives or works with a person who is at higher risk of problems from the flu, people who provide essential community services, and people who are in direct contact with poultry infected with avian influenza during culling operations.

The vaccine usually prevents most cases of the flu. But even if you do get the flu after you’ve had the vaccine, your symptoms will be milder and you’ll have less chance of problems from the flu. You cannot get the flu from the flu vaccine.

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The information found on this page has been shared from HealthLinkBC

What is COVID-19?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an illness caused by a coronavirus. COVID-19 has spread worldwide, including to British Columbia, and has been declared a global pandemic.

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COVID-19 Self-Assessment

Use the BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool to help determine if you or your family member need further assessment for COVID-19. The Self-Assessment Tool is available online or as an App from the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

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Symptoms of COVID-19

Symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to other respiratory illnesses including the flu and common cold. Symptoms may vary from person to person. Some people may experience mild symptoms, while others have more severe symptoms.

Key symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Loss of sense of smell or taste
• Difficulty breathing

Other symptoms may include:

• Sore throat
• Loss of appetite
• Extreme fatigue or tiredness
• Headache
• Body aches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Sometimes people with COVID-19 have mild illness, but their symptoms may suddenly worsen in a few days. Children have similar but milder symptoms to adults.

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The information found on this page has been shared from HealthLinkBC