Get vaccinated. Wash your hands. Know the symptoms of flu and you can better treat it—or avoid it altogether. That was the message from a panel of doctors as Adventist HealthCare kicked off its fourth annual Help Stop the Flu campaign on Monday at the Universities at Shady Grove.

The panel of experts in emergency medicine, primary care, pharmacology and community health are part of an effort to increase awareness and make flu shots and information readily available.  

Flu season begins in November, with the peak at the start of February.

“The best way to prevent the spread of the flu is to get vaccinated and to wash your hands,” said moderator Dr. Gaurov Dayal, a pediatrician and chief medical officer for Adventist HealthCare.  

The flu vaccines this year are identical to the flu vaccines last year, said Lauren B. Angelo, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. But it's still necessary to receive a shot this year to ensure your immunity. The theory is that immunity “wanes after about a year,” she said.

There are several forms of the vaccine available this year. They include a new high-potency form recommended for those age 65 and older whose immune systems may need additional antigens to form an immunity to the virus.

A nasal mist contains a live, cold-treated form of the virus, and is not recommended for those who are pregnant or whose immune systems are compromised by oral steroids or other underlying conditions.

A new intradermal flu vaccine, given under the skin, is recommended for those age 18 to 64. The standard flu vaccine, given in the arm, is recommended anyone older than 6 months and younger than 65 years old.

Knowing the difference between flu symptoms and the common cold also is important, said Dr. Vincent Hayes, an emergency medicine physician at Washington Adventist Hospital. A fever is not likely with a cold, but fevers up to 104 degrees are common with the flu, Hayes said. People with the flu are likely to have a headache from the start, whereas those with a cold are more likely to have a cough that leads to a headache, he said. The cough is different, too. A cold is accompanied by a dry cough, while the flu would have a more “productive” cough that produces phlegm or mucus.

Feeling tired and body aches are symptoms of both a cold and the flu. With the flu it would be “extreme exhaustion and lots of body aches and pains,” Hayes said. With children, “vomiting and diarrhea are possible with the flu,” Hayes said. “They’re not likely with a cold.”

Part of the panel discussion focused on reasons people do not get the flu vaccine. The belief that it will give them the flu is still strong.

"It's theoretically impossible to get the flu from the vaccine," Angelo said. Because the vaccine contains dead forms of the virus and the nasal mist is cold-treated to only replicate within the temperatures found inside the nasal cavities, it's more likely that a person was exposed and became ill within the "one to two weeks it takes to develop immunity.  Also," said Angelo, "no vaccine is 100 percent effective and as an individual ages it gets less effective."

So why bother with the flu shot at all?  If for no other reason than so you don't become a "vector," doctors said. Vectors pass the flu on to someone else who is not able to receive the vaccination because of an underlying health condition.

The more people immunized, the fewer cases that will occur overall, doctors said.

Check with your doctor to see which form of the flu vaccine is right for you. You can find a flu clinic online or call 311 for information about upcoming clinics in Montgomery County. You also can make an appointment for your vaccination to avoid waiting in long lines.