Swine Flu, What Precautions To Take And What Treatments Are Available
Posted on Tuesday Aug 25, 2009 Under New IdeasWe are today (more and more|more} vulnerable from the various strains of the flu virus. initially we had scares over the bird flu virus, and recently swine flu has become the major concern. Swine flu is of more concern than bird flu ever was. It was a worry that bird flu could mutate into a form that would infect humans, but for a handful of cases, this has not materialized. Swine flu is a bigger concern, it has the ability to spread from human to human making swine flu a dangerous threat.
Swine flu, or to be more correct influenza A (H1N1), is a respiratory disease that infects pigs and is caused by a flu virus. Swine flu outbreaks in pigs is not uncommon but is rarely fatal. In the past, swine flu has not normally infected humans, but it can happen occasionally.
Swine flu is extremely dangerous because it is a new type of virus. The problem is no one has been in contact with this particular strain before, therefore no one has built up any immunity to this type of flu. It is our immunity that prevents diseases from becoming life threatening, with no inbuilt immunity to this strain of the virus we are at the mercy of the virus. Everyone is vulnerable, this includes healthy adults and teenagers as well as young children and the elderly.
The real worry is what will happen when winter arrives. It is then when the flu virus may quickly spread causing a flu pandemic with possibly over half the population being affected.
Swine flu symptoms are similar to the symptoms of ordinary flu. These include a sudden,sudden onset of a fever, cough or a shortness of breath. Other symptoms that may present themselves include headache, sore throat, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, a runny nose, appetite loss and tiredness.
Precautions to take Anyone with the symptoms of a cold or flu should to take a few easy, but very important precautions. The virus is passed between humans by the droplets from the nose and mouth when someone sneezes or coughs. This is how viruses such as swine flu are spread from person to person. Holding your face with your hands when you cough or sneeze is not enough. The virus simply sit on your hands, then everything you touch afterwards becomes contaminated. Anyone then touching the same place as you will pick up the flu virus and then risks becoming infected themselves. Therefore, always use a handkerchief or tissue. A tissue is far better, this should be disposed of as soon as you can, and always use a fresh tissue if you cough or sneeze again.
There are currently no vaccinations to prevent anyone catching the swine flu virus. Swine flu is a new strain of virus and isn’t the same as ordinary flu. Therefore the annual vaccination against the normal seasonal flu is not effective against the swine flu virus. Once the strain of flu virus causing swine flu is identified, it will take many months to manufacture. By which time, it may well have mutated into a different strain.
The only real effective precaution against the swine flu virus is Tamiflu. Tamiflu is not guaranteed to stop flu, but when someone has been exposed to another person who has the swine flu virus, it can help to stop the virus making a person ill. If Tamiflu is taken within 2 days of developing flu, it can help stop the virus spreading throughout the body, thereby reducing the symptoms and risk associated. Governments are stockpiling Tamiflu, the supplies will first be used to treat important workers and individuals before the general population.
You can buy Tamiflu online, if the situation arises you can protect yourself and your family. Although it can’t be emphasized enough, Tamiflu needs to be taken as early as possible to be effective, delays in treating the virus will greatly reduce the effectiveness of Tamiflu. If you are at a increased risk due to your situation, such as For example living in a busy city with a large population or working in a busy open plan office, then it may be wise to buy Tamiflu before the flu season starts. If you live in the country and don’t have a close contact with many people then of course there will be less chance of getting the flu virus.
Also, remember that swine flu is a worldwide problem. If a pandemic outbreak becomes global it is possible that supplies of Tamiflu may be diminished and may not be great enough to meet a huge global demand.
Until a vaccine is discovered and manufactured in the large quantities needed, Tamiflu is the most effective treatment for the swine flu virus.
Disclaimer: This posting is based on information that is freely available in the press and medical journals concerned with swine flu. Nothing in this post is intended to be or should be taken to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice you are advised to consult with your own doctor.