Doctors encourage flu shots

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) - Doctors are encouraging people to get flu shots to protect against the strain that is circulating.

But what if you're already showing symptoms? When should you go see the doctor?

The first challenge is determining if you have the flu.

Call your doctor first if you display some of the common symptoms: fever, headache, cough, sore throat or muscle pain.

The sooner you call the better. Your doctor might think medication that can help shorten how long you're sick.

When the flu hits, it's fast, furious and fueled with fever.

Sandra Pruitt had a fever of 103.

“I was shivering. I couldn't get warm. I had tons of blankets all over me,” she said during his visit to St. Francis Immediate Care Center in Greenwood. “I feel miserable. I can't cough because it hurts to bad. I need to get it up because it gets stuck in my throat and I can't breathe.”

Greenwood resident Katherine Clark is trying to avoid feeling like Pruitt. Wednesday she paid a visit to Greenwood Physicians Associates where her primary care physician is located.

“I am going to get a flu shot and pneumonia shot so that, hopefully, I won't get sick with the flu,” she said, noting she has been paying close attention to reports of the widespread outbreak.

But if you experience symptoms, should you see your primary care physician or a doctor at an immediate care facility?

“We would always recommend you go see your primary care physician unless they are not available or they (direct) you to go to an immediate care facility.”

Turns out, Pruitt said she didn’t have time to wait.

“It happened so fast,” Pruitt said moments after her exam. “I can't always get into my doctor immediately so I knew I could come here and they would treat me. They are great.”

Pruitt is one step closer to recovery.

Dr. Miller told her “you have the influenza or are in the midst of that.”

Pruitt walked away with an anti-viral medication that should clear up her symptoms.