FLU HELP LINES

The Isle of Man is currently not operating a dedicated Flu Help Line Service to the general public.

If you wish to receive antiviral medication for flu symptoms please contact your local GP (within 48 hours of start of symptoms) for further advice. If your symptoms fit the criteria to receive antiviral medication, your GP will then refer to you a Public Health Nurse who will contact you to discuss prescribing antiviral medication to treat your symptoms.

For further information read the Swine Flu pages on Antiviral Treatment . A link can be found to the left hand side of this page.

If you become ill after 6 pm we recommend you contact contact your normal GP who will provide you with the Out of Hours Service telephone number for MEDS.

Please note that the MEDS Service has temporarily been relocated from Nobles Hospital, Strang, Braddan to the Central Community Health Centre (Dental and Podiatry Services), Westmoreland Road, Douglas.

If you suddenly get much worse you should seek medical advice immediately.

You may have Swine Flu (H1N1), if you experience:

• a sudden fever
• a cough
• shortness of breath
• have a headache
• sore throat
• tiredness
• aching muscles
• chills
• sneezing
• runny nose
• or loss of appetite

For most people this is a mild illness and you should start to feel better after a few days. The best thing you can do is stay at home, rest, drink plenty of fluids and take over-the-counter flu remedies to help relieve the symptoms. If there are no signs of improvement after 5 days, contact your GP by telephone for advice

What are the possible complications from flu?

A secondary bacterial chest infection, which develops in addition to the viral infection, is the most common complication of flu. This can develop into pneumonia and become serious. A course of antibiotics will usually cure this. Not all complications of flu respond to antibiotic treatment.

Rarely, severe bronchitis or pneumonia can be caused by the flu infection itself and antibiotics will not help.

The risk of complications and serious illness is higher among the following groups of people:

• babies and very young children
• pregnant women
• those aged 65 years and older
• people with other long-term medical conditions (eg asthma, chest, heart or kidney disease or diabetes)
• and those with a weakened immune system due to treatment or disease.