The community paramedic - Essay Example

The Community Paramedic of The Community Paramedic Difference between Influenza and the Common Cold The common cold and the seasonal influenza are viral infections of the respiratory system. In other words, they affect the lungs, throat, and nose. An infected person infects spreads the virus to other people by coughing out or sneezing the virus through airborne droplets. In many instances, a person may contract the virus when they touch a contaminated surface, such as phones, countertops, and doorknobs among others, and then touches his or her eyes, mouth, or nose.

Both these diseases are, therefore, easily spread in overcrowded places. The influenza and the cold are, however, different diseases and have the following characteristics. Better known as “the flu,” influenza is a viral respiratory disease of the upper respiratory system (Lowen, Mubareka, Steel & Palese, 2007). If unchecked, it may develop into pneumonia or other serious conditions, especially in the case of pregnant women, younger children, older adults, and people suffering health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and asthma, which compromise the immune system.

It is seasonal, running from fall to spring and reaching its peak during winter. Influenza A, B, and C viruses cause the seasonal flu, which has virus strains that mutate every year. This necessitates development of a new flu vaccine every year. The symptoms for the seasonal flu include moderate-to-high fever; dry and hacking cough; shaking chills; sore throat; headache; severe body and muscle aches; profound fatigue; and runny/stuffy nose.The common cold is named as such because it infects far more people than the seasonal flu (Singh & Das, 2011).

The common cold, however, does not result in respiratory conditions, and its mild symptoms may take up to two weeks to subside. It can result from more than 100 varying viruses. Among the most common of these viruses is the highly contagious rhinovirus that causes sneezing and sniffling. Other viruses include respiratory syncytial viruses and coronaviruses. A majority of common colds occur in low humidity areas, especially during winter and fall months. The symptoms of the common cold include sore throat, stuffy/running nose, mild-to-moderate fever, sneezing, headache or body aches, cough, and mild fatigue.

Role of the Community Paramedic in Preventing Illnesses Such As Influenza through Vaccinations Community paramedics have an overall role of ensuring continual improvement of the healthcare system in a community. They assist in monitoring of influenza vaccination programs through assessment, whereby they ensure regular collection, collation, analysis and distribution of information on influenza vaccination programs (Fiore et al., 2010). Community paramedics are also involved in the process of policymaking with regard to influenza vaccination.

They do this by promoting advocating the use scientific knowledge when making decisions, such as selection of vaccination centers; setting priorities and determining needs; sourcing for funding and authority to implement vaccination plans; etc. Community paramedics play an important role in assurance, whereby they provide assurance to the members of the community that the vaccination services required to attain set goals are available. Community paramedics do this by placing pressure on private and public stakeholders to take the required action.

It has been determined that community paramedics are an underutilized resource in efforts to provide influenza vaccinations to a number of communities. The additional number of people that receive influenza vaccinations as a result of deployment of community paramedics is statistically significant, thereby highlighting the value of these healthcare service providers. This value emanates from their intimate knowledge of the communities and their practical experience working in the field.ReferencesFiore, A. E., Uyeki, T. M., Broder, K.

, Finelli, L., Euler, G. L., Singleton, J. A., . & Cox, N. J. (2010). Prevention and control of influenza with vaccines.MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep, 59, 1-62.Lowen, A. C., Mubareka, S., Steel, J., & Palese, P. (2007). Influenza virus transmission is dependent on relative humidity and temperature. PLoS pathogens, 3(10), e151.Singh, M., & Das, R. R. (2011). Zinc for the common cold. The Cochrane Library.