What precautions do people with CLL need to take?
CLL affects a person’s ability to fight infection and precautions must be taken to prevent infection. The number one way to prevent infection is through hand washing, both the patient and those they come into contact with. Avoiding large crowds, like a shopping mall the day before Christmas! The lack of a properly functioning immune system means that the common cold, flu or pneumonia can spell real trouble, and can even be life threatening, for a person with CLL. Unfortunately, the same dysfunction in the immune system makes vaccines, such as the flu vaccine, much less effective in people with CLL. Patients should discuss the need for vaccines and when to receive them (in relation to treatments) with their healthcare team. Some studies have shown that giving the pneumococcal vaccine (protects against the most common type of pneumonia) early in CLL may improve its effectiveness. People with low hemoglobin counts (also called anemia) can experience fatigue, shortness of breath or appear
