Allen County’s top health official urged those with the flu to stay home and not flood emergency rooms.
The county’s hospitals are reporting a spike in the number of patients with flu-like symptoms seeking treatment in emergency rooms.
But unless patients are experiencing severe symptoms, they should stay home and call their doctor for advice, said Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County health commissioner.
County health officials also announced Monday that the county has run out of H1N1 vaccine, and no clinics will be scheduled until more vaccine arrives. Another shipment could arrive by the end of the week.
Parkview Health System’s two emergency rooms are seeing a 20 percent increase in the number of patients with flu-like illness, officials said last week.
And Lutheran Health Network’s three acute care hospitals are seeing a 20 percent to 40 percent increase in patients reporting flu-like symptoms compared with the same period last year, spokesman Geoff Thomas said.
“It’s out of the ordinary to have so many patients presenting flu-like illness,” Thomas said.
General symptoms of the H1N1 flu include a fever higher than 100 degrees, cough, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Some may experience diarrhea and vomiting.
Because many maladies come with flu-like symptoms, officials don’t know how many of those patients actually have the H1N1 flu, Thomas said.
For patients who are generally healthy but with mild flu symptoms, it’s not necessary to drive to the hospital.
Those patients are better off riding out the bug at home or calling their doctor, he said
That will free up doctors and nurses to treat those with more severe symptoms as well as those with non-flu-related illnesses or injuries, Thomas said.
The health department is also encouraging those with a high risk of complications from the flu to also stay home and call a doctor.
Patients in that high-risk category include children younger than 5, pregnant women, adults 65 and older, plus people with chronic health conditions like diabetes, heart disease or asthma.
However, health officials urge anyone experiencing severe symptoms to go to the emergency room. Severe symptoms include shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; vomiting for more than four hours; severe neck stiffness; drowsiness, confusion or disorientation; convulsions; no urination for more than 12 hours; or a fever of 100.2 degrees or higher in a child less than 3 months, according to the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health.
Last week, both local hospital systems began restricting the age and number of visitors to hospital patients in an effort to protect both staff and patients from the virus.
All of Parkview’s local and regional campuses are enforcing the temporary policy.
In addition to Lutheran’s local hospitals, Bluffton Regional Medical Center has a similar policy in effect. Kosciusko Community Hospital plans to implement a similar plan in the next day or so.
In general, children younger than 18 are not welcome to visit waiting rooms or patients. No more than two adults may visit a patient at a time.
Children are at higher risk of becoming sick from the virus, and local officials have focused on vaccinating them first.
On Monday more than 900 children and pregnant women received the injection form of the vaccine during another daylong clinic at Carew Medical Park, 1818 Carew St.
So many people showed up that wait times were about four hours – prompting officials to close the line at 1:30 p.m., the health department said.
Supplies were expected to run out by the end of the daylong clinic.
The health department depleted its supply of the nasal spray last week.
The clinic will remain closed until more vaccine arrives, the health department said.
