Retail assistant at Central Pharmacy Jessie Tauiliili with some common cold and flu treatments. Photo / Andrew Warner
Retail assistant at Central Pharmacy Jessie Tauiliili with some common cold and flu treatments. Photo / Andrew Warner
Doctors are seeing fewer snotty noses and raspy throats as cold and flu numbers drop by close to 60 per cent.
After months of social distancing and increased hygiene practices, health professionals are noticing a quiet start to the cold and flu season.
The Lakes District Health Board had seen94 people present with cold and flu symptoms by this time last year. However, only 40 had this year.
In May alone last year, 41 people visited the Emergency Department with symptoms, compared to only four in the same month this year.
Three Lakes Clinic general practitioner Dr Cate Mills said she had seen a "dramatic" drop in the number of people presenting with cold and flu symptoms at the start of the winter season.
If hygiene practices, distancing and staying home from school and work continued, it could make a huge difference to this year's cold and flu season.
Rotorua Hospital's head of the emergency department, Dr Suzanne Moran, said the change of season was always a common time for cold and flu-related symptoms to climb for both adults and children.
She said numbers presenting at ED with these symptoms had dropped this year.
Graph showing extremely low levels of Influenza-like illness activity in New Zealand this year. Photo / Rotorua Lakes District Health Board
She said social distancing and hygiene practices had "certainly delayed the start of our usual flu season".
"We are not currently seeing the usual volume of seasonal illness and we feel this is probably due to lockdown."
But she said this did not mean it had gone away as they were expecting to see increased numbers of seasonal illness as the country moved out of level 2.
According to the National Immunisation Register since March 1, 2020, 20,650 people in the Lakes district had received a flu vaccination. This was an increase from previous years.
Co-director of Rotorua's Unichem Central Pharmacy David Honore said although they had not seen many people presenting with symptoms this early in the season, they were still expecting it later on.
"We have had a lot more people coming in to get their flu vaccines than ever before. But there are still plenty available."
He said they had high hopes that there would be less transmission than usual with the habits of hygiene and distancing learned from the Covid-19 outbreak.
Owner of Ranolf Pharmacy Charlotte Schimanski said they had an "increase in sales of over-the-counter products, which was understandable due to the uncertain and scary situation" before lockdown that left them without a lot of cold and flu stock.
Things such as Vitamin C and cold and flu products sold quickly and were hard to restock due to being out of stock worldwide, she said.
However, she had seen a big reduction in people needing the products at the tail-end of levels 3 and 4.
As a mother, she said her 3-year-old and 5-year-old did not get their normal change-of-season "snotty noses" either.
Owner of Ranolf Pharmacy Charlotte Schimanski. Photo / Andrew Warner
"Being aware of good hygiene practices, and keeping your distance if unwell, really does make a big difference."
BOPDHB's medical officer of health, Dr Phil Shoemack, said if people kept up Covid-19 habits it could signal a different future for respiratory infections in the country and help to reduce the spread.
He said there was still time to be immunised against influenza.
"The flu can affect anyone, regardless of their state of health. However, the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, of any age, are particularly susceptible.
"We should all be vaccinated against flu, with the added benefit of protecting those around us."
If a person has cold and flu symptoms, such as a cough or sore throat, they should stay home, contact their GP and organise to be swabbed for Covid-19.
Simple steps to reduce the risk of cold and flu:
• Regularly wash your hands (for at least 20 seconds with water and soap) and dry thoroughly. • Cough or sneeze into your elbow or by covering your mouth and nose with tissues. • Put used tissues in the bin or a bag immediately. • Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell. • Avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms. • Avoid hugging, kissing, shaking hands and greeting someone with a hongi. • Don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean.
