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Wave of illness and shortage of medication: How to get through the holidays healthy

2022-12-23T05:42:50.878Z


Germany is experiencing a historical level of sickness, and pharmacies are also missing important medicines. So how do you get through Christmas well taken care of? A general practitioner gives tips.


AreaRead the transcript here

“I just have the pills with me.

The granules?”

"Exactly exactly."

'Unfortunately not there.

At the moment it is very difficult to get hold of the goods.«

The holidays are approaching and Germany is experiencing historic sick leave.

It's not the corona virus this time: other viruses and colds are currently pushing the healthcare system to its limits.

We asked around in a pharmacy and a general practitioner: what should you do if you get sick or if you want to prevent it if possible?

And how do the experts assess the current situation in pharmacies and hospitals?

René Fahrenheim, pharmaceutical-technical assistant:


"We are currently having massive difficulties with the fever syrups - we are glad that we have something there - and also pain suppositories.

Otherwise it runs through all spectrums, with antibiotics, various antibiotics, with cough medicine, beta blockers for blood pressure, psychotropic drugs now also a few and insulin, that’s where it gets difficult.«

This year there are significantly more respiratory infections before the holidays than in previous years.

The numbers are currently falling slightly again, but according to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute, around 9 million Germans suffer from respiratory diseases.

More than one in ten people is currently ill, and the demand for medicines is correspondingly high.

This unsettles many customers.

Should they stock up on common cold remedies now?

René Fahrenheim, pharmaceutical-technical assistant:


»At the moment it is very difficult to get hold of goods.

It's not ideal then to hoard the medicines or to have the packs written down twice or three times or to buy them when you don't need them at all.

This is then missing elsewhere when something is needed - currently for children, especially when they have a fever or are in pain.

And unfortunately it is not available because others buy everything empty.«

The President of the German Medical Association recently suggested that the population could exchange scarce medicines.

The proposal for a "neighborhood flea market for medicines" met with much resistance.

René Fahrenheim, pharmaceutical technical assistant:


“Because you don't know what the other patient or the customer is taking.

Then there can be interactions.

And that has to be clarified with the doctor whether it can be taken, especially with prescription drugs.

With the children, with the juices or suppositories, you can maybe help out if you are in need, but please not with the prescription drugs.«

In which cases should patients take medication at all?

The general practitioner Prof. Dr.

Scherer warns of resistance if antibiotics are administered too frequently.

Martin Scherer, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf:


»Not every fever needs an immediate reduction.

Not every infection, and certainly not viral respiratory infections, need antibiotic treatment.

That means working very hard on your own expectations and, of course, a very precise indication from the medical side.«

The question still arises: why do so many people get sick in the first place?

Many currently see the measures against the corona pandemic as the reason for a weakened immune system - and call it "immune debt".

However, according to experts such as Scherer, the term is completely misleading.

The immune system itself does not suffer from masks and the like, it currently has too little information about rampant viruses.

Martin Scherer, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf:


»Due to the lockdowns, the closure of schools and daycare centers, infections, especially RS infections, are caught up.

What does catch up mean?

That means the immune system needs constant exposure, constant training effect, constant antigen presentation in order to learn.

Basically what vaccinations do.

Now of course there are so many viral infections, over 200 viral pathogens that can cause cold or flu symptoms.

You can't vaccinate everyone against them and that's why the immune system also needs regular antigen presentation, as we call it.

That means exposure and the opportunity to train.«

An untrained immune system, full medical practices and bottlenecks in medication - the best thing would be not to get sick at all.

How can we strengthen our own immune system?

Martin Scherer, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf:


»The simple answer to that: it would be enough not to weaken it.

Not weakening it through insufficient sleep, through excessive alcohol consumption, through an unbalanced diet, through excessive stress.

If you cut everything out and you don't have any underlying immune disorders, you don't have chemotherapy or you don't have an immune deficiency and you shut down or cut out all those harmful things, then you can assume that you have a strong immune system."

Source: spiegel

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