Flu cases clogging doctors' offices around the country
By: Nikki Henderson
Updated: January 10, 2013
Health experts say this could be a record setting flu season. NBC's Erika Edwards has this report.
Thousands across
the country are sick right now with the flu, and hospitals are inundated with patients.
Public transportation workers in Boston are wiping down heavily touched
surfaces.
Restaurants are doing the same, wiping down tables with hand sanitizer.
Everyone is trying to avoid what's becoming one of the biggest flu seasons on
record.
In one Wisconsin school district one out of about every five students is out
sick with flu symptoms.
Some hospitals in Milwaukee are so overrun that patients are being diverted to
other medical centers.
Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston has been forced to line up patient beds
in the hallway.
The sickest are being admitted, but doctors say the majority of people should
recover on their own.
"Generally there's not much we can do other than give home remedies,"
says Dr. Todd Arbiture.
Keep hydrated, rest and quarantine yourself.
"Don't go to school. Don't go to work," advises Dr. Ross Sanford.
Even churches are changing the way they worship, foregoing wine during
communion and hand-shaking and hugs during services.
For many doctors, faith lies in the flu vaccine, which is still available
nationwide.
It's unclear if we've seen the peak of flu season yet, which typically lasts
until spring.
