ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240032
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HEALTH NOTES
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
Pope John Paul II had to cut short his Vatican Christmas address because of it. Tenor Luciano Pavarotti canceled an appearance in a PBS telecast and missed a show at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Boris Becker was beaten in an $800,000 tennis match because he couldn't shrug it off.
"It," by now you've guessed, is the flu.
Some version of the influenza virus is as much a fixture of the season as falling leaves and a lot tougher to deal with. If you're healthy, flu still can keep you down for a week or two. The flu season starts around December and goes through March, so early October to mid-November is the best time to get a flu vaccination.
Catching the flu is especially serious for older people or those with chronic illnesses such as lung or heart disease or diabetes or for people with compromised immune systems
In an average year, flu is associated with about 20,000 deaths nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which advocates flu shots for everyone who can take them.
The people who should not take the shots are: children under 3; some pregnant women; people allergic to eggs, chicken or chicken feathers; people sensitive to thimerosal (a mercury compound that is antiseptic and germicidal); people who have an active neurological disorder; people who have gotten another type of vaccine during the past 14 days; people with a fever, acute respiration condition or other active infections or illnesses.
If you're not in one of the above categories, then you are a candidate for the flu vaccine. In addition to the usual places you get the shots - work, your doctor's office, a medical clinic - two pharmacies in the area also will hold flu shot clinics.
The Medicine Shoppe on Broad Street in Dublin and The Medicine Shoppe in Boones Mill will have shot days sponsored by Medicine Shoppe Pharmacies, a chain of independently owned drugstores. Medicare recipients who have Part B medical coverage and aren't enrolled in an HMO can get the shots free when they present their card. The cost of a flu shot to everyone else will be $10.
The Dublin store will offer the vaccinations on Oct. 26 and Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Boones Mill shop will offer them only on Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
And, yes. Sometimes the flu shot doesn't work. But no, it can't give you the flu, experts say. However, some people run a fever or feel generally ill for a day or so after getting a flu shot.
Deaf awareness
Sometimes companies are leery of hiring deaf workers, but they needn't be is the message Deaf at Work: PAH!! wants to send at lunchtime Wednesday in Roanoke.
Six Roanoke Valley workers who also happen to have hearing problems are scheduled as special guests from 12:40 to 1:35 p.m. at Patrick Henry High School's Library Audiovisual room. Guests can munch on veggies and nachos and talk with the workers about their careers.
It's an ideal time to learn more about deafness and the needs of a deaf person.
The Patrick Henry gathering is one of several events planned by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Center to acknowledge Deaf Awareness Week, which is this week.
You can hear about deaf culture Wednesday 7-8 p.m. at the Roanoke County Parks and Recreation Center on Brambleton Avenue, watch storytelling in sign language Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at Virginia Heights Elementary School cafeteria and hear a talk on whether there is a "deaf culture" Saturday at 4 p.m. also at the county recreation center.
Managing life as a deaf person is something more families need to understand because many senior citizens become deaf.
Parent stress
"All Stressed Up: Now Where Do I Go?" is the theme of the annual Parent-Child Seminar, which is planned Oct. 2 at the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibition Hall. Sessions will be held on managing anger, dealing with teens, learning disabilities, adolescent depression and stress, behavioral problems and the general stress of parenting.
The $25 event is sponsored by Mental Health Association of Roanoke Valley and Columbia Lewis-Gale Medical Center for Behavioral Health. For information, call (540) 344-0931.
You can reach Sandra Brown Kelly at (800) 346-1234, x393, or 981-3393 or through e-mail at biznew@roanoke.infi.net
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