Self-Care Practices of Common Cold and Influenza among the Elderly in Alexandria, Egypt

Background Self-care is the most common and fundamental form of health care. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the self-care practices of cold and influenza among the elders. Subjects and methods A cross-sectional design was used over a period of three months (January-March 2014). Interviews were conducted with 192 elders recruited from all elderly clubs in Alexandria. Results Hot / cold fluids intake and administration of medications were the most common categories of self-care practices (97.9 % and 89.1 % respectively). The most commonly used medications were aspirin and analgesics (97.1 %), followed by antitussives (70.2 %) and antibiotics (48.5 %). Regarding seeking physician help, only one third of the elders (35.4 %) reported they would visit a physician. The most common criterion mentioned for seeking professional assistance was unusual patterns of symptoms (42.6 %) and increased severity of symptoms (39.8 %). The results also showed that the highest percentage of elders (63.0 %) used traditional medicine during their illness. While, only 7.8 % of the elders obtained influenza vaccine. Conclusion Elders were very active self-care agents, reporting both a large number and a variety of cold and influenza related self-care actions. Clearly, further research about general patterns and specific self-care actions taken by elderly in response to a variety of health deviations is needed.