Holiday Season Brings More Than Good Cheer
Blue Care Network Offers Advice on Seasonal Viruses

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Blue Care Network reports that its affiliated physician practices and medical centers are seeing an influx of Michigan residents with cold weather illnesses. While Blue Care Network does not keep data on illness trends, the HMO's doctors are seeing a high incidence of members with respiratory infections, gastrointestinal illnesses and sinus discomforts. This is expected to continue through the holidays, predicts Blue Care Network-Health Central medical director G. Dale Rice, DO.

"We all need to remember to take care of ourselves during the holidays," said Dr. Rice recently. "Good lifestyle habits can pay off in avoiding illnesses."

Dr. Rice offers these tips on how to stay healthy during the cold and flu season:

1. Wash hands frequently and thoroughly. Hand contact is known to be the number one cause of becoming infected with a virus.
   
   
2. Be aware of crowded public places as breeding grounds for germs. After you have touched the grocery cart handle or the mall rest room door, see number one above.
   
   
3. Take care of yourself. Enjoy holiday revelry, but get plenty of rest. In addition to holiday sweets, eat a balanced diet. Fruits and vegetables are thought to boost the body's natural immune system.
   
   
4. Humidify your home. Dryness caused by home heating systems can cause irritation to delicate linings of nose and sinus areas.
   
   

If you do become ill with a viral infection such as a cold, flu or stomach flu, you should:

• Get plenty of rest. Skip the day at the mall, and stay in bed.
• Drink plenty of noncaffeinated beverages.
• Stop eating and drinking for two to three hours after onset of vomiting: begin liquids slowly, suck on ice chips, then start a clear liquid diet.
• Take acetaminophen for pain and aches.

Call your doctor if you experience:

• Persistent fever
• Labored, shallow, rapid breathing with shortness of breath
• Ear pain that lasts more than 24 hours
• Localized sinus pain that persists more than two to four days
• Sore throat that lasts longer than two to three days
• Dehydration is a serious side effect of many viral infections. Call your doctor if vomiting lasts longer than 24 hours or if you begin to feel light-headed or dizzy; children should see their doctor if they are unusually lethargic or continue vomiting longer than 24 hours.

An affiliate of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Care Network is Michigan's only statewide managed care network. Combined, the four HMOs that comprise Blue Care Network provide health coverage to more than 500,000 Michigan residents.

CONTACT: Sheila Wright of Blue Care Network, 517-322-8079

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Dec. 12, 1996