The medical director of Howard County General Hospital issued his own warning last week to those who think they have contracted swine flu.
"Don't panic," said Dr. Walter Atha. "Just because we've labeled it the swine flu, it's usually not any different than the regular flu."
County and hospital officials held a news conference Thursday in hopes of cutting down the number of people coming to the emergency room because of flu symptoms.
Atha said that since the end of the summer, the number of pediatric flu cases being seen in the emergency room has doubled to more than 100 a month. Atha said the hospital is also treating more patients in their 20s who are complaining of flu-like symptoms.
"These are the highest numbers we have ever seen," Atha said. "It hasn't overwhelmed us yet, but it could get there in a heartbeat."
It has created a bit of logjam for available space to treat emergency room patients.
"Just because the flu season is here doesn't mean that people are not having heart attacks," said hospital spokeswoman Sharon Sopp.
Atha said the symptoms of swine flu and seasonal flu "are pretty much indistinguishable." Among the symptoms are cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea.
Atha has simple advice for those suffering from the flu.
"Come to the emergency room if there is an emergency," he said "Most people should call their doctor. The vast majority of people will just be in bed for a week."
For more information on swine flu, people are urged to contact the Howard County Health Department (hchealth.org) or go to the Web sites for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov/h1n1flu) and the state of Maryland (dhmh.md.gov/swineflu/index.html).
