Health officials warn to heed signs that the flu could turn deadly
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The death of an otherwise healthy young woman in her 20s from the flu is urging health officials to remind people to seek medical treatment in a timely fashion.
Last week, 26-year-old Katie McQuestion of Wisconsin died from complications of the flu. She reportedly started feeling sick on Monday, and by Friday she was dead of Sepsis.
It's a stark reminder that anyone can get the flu, and anyone can die from it. Health professionals still say your best bet to protect yourself is to get the flu shot. And if you do get the flu, it's crucial you seek medical treatment, especially if you exhibit any of these signs:
- If you can't catch your breath or breathing becomes painful.
- If you can't keep down fluids.
- If there's blood in the phlegm you're coughing up.
- If you can't think clearly and your speech is slurred.
- If you're too weak to stand.
And even if you don't have any of these warning signs, you should still see a doctor immediately if you have an underlying medical condition, are very young, or very old. Health professionals warn that people not in these groups might resist seeking treatment right away, thinking their body can fight the flu off on its own. And while it's true most people can, in a small percentage of cases you can come down with a severe or life-threatening illness and complication, as happened with McQuestion.
That's because while your body is fighting the flu, your immune system becomes compromised and you can contract a secondary infection such as pneumonia or get a staph or strep infection which then gets into the blood and causes sepsis.
As a reminder, if you do seek medical treatment for an anti-viral, you only have 48 hours from the onset of symptoms for that to be effective.
