Swine Flu Symptoms
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The Swine Flu – Can you catch it? Yes you can, which is why you need to know the signs and symptoms of Swine Flu. The Swine Flu virus spreads in the same way ordinary colds and influenza spreads – through the germs that come out of the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes.
If someone coughs or sneezes into their hand(s) the droplets containing the germs transfer to any surface they touch – think about it – computer keyboards, door handles, phones, etc., and when you touch that surface, voila, you can become contaminated.
Most people are infectious soon after they start to develop symptoms, and they can carry (spread) the virus for up to five days. For this reason, if you feel that you may have the flu (swine flu or otherwise) you should stay home!
Here are some symptoms:
Fever, Chills
Unusual tiredness or exhaustion
Headache
Congestion
Runny Nose
Sore Throat
Cough
Shortness of Breath
Body Aches
Diarrhea
Vomiting
As you can see, the symptoms are similar to the seasonal colds, viruses and influenza often seen after school starts and in the fall and winter months. Treatment for swine flu is basically the same as the “regular flu” even though it is a different strain – bed rest, clear liquids, and pain reliever/fever reducers.
Antiviral drugs like Tamiflu aren’t usually recommended unless the patient falls into a certain high-risk category. The reason for this is because of the potential side effects and the possibility of the flu strain growing resistant.
The Center for Disease Control recommends the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine for at-risk people such as pregnant women, health and emergency workers with direct patient contact, people who care for infants under 6 months old and people 24 to 64 with chronic diseases.
Should I Be Worried About the Swine Flu?
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With all of the recent news about the possibility of a Swine Flu Pandemic, we thought that we would give you the basics about this strain of influenza.
First of all, what is it?
Well, basically it’s a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that is responsible for outbreaks of the flu virus in pigs. They become very sick, but it is not deadly. Most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months, as in the human flu season.
Can humans catch this form of influenza?
Not normally, but random human infections with swine flu have happened. They mostly happen in persons with direct exposure to pigs. There have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms are basically the same as the flu virus humans normally get – fever, tiredness, nausea, diarrhea, sore throat, lack of appetite and coughing.
How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be spread directly from pigs to people and vise versa. Human infections with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur where people are in close contact with infected pigs. For example livestock workers, farms, and fair workers. People to people transmission of swine flu can also happen. Just like with cold germs, coughing or sneezing from infected persons can spread the virus.
How is Swine Flu diagnosed?
Well, a respiratory specimen would need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of the illness .
What type of medicine is used to treat Swine Flu?
A variety of antiviral drugs are licensed for use in the US and at this time, the Center for Disease Control recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.
I remember the swine flu outbreak among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused 1 death and all of the patients were healthy before the infection. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. They say the virus circulated for about a month and then disappeared. The origin was never discovered.
How to Cure GERDs
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Heartburn, named for the burning feeling experienced near the heart, actually to do with the heart. Its cause is stomach acid that has moved up into the esophagus. This happens when the valve located between the stomach and the esophagus relaxes at the wrong time, thereby creating the burning sensation in the chest or throat associated with heart burn.
Much attention has been focused on helping heartburn patients and many theories as to the root of heartburn have been put forth. The most likely perpetrator to activate heartburn is typically considered to be specific foods or beverages, although which food triggers the problem can be different for each individual sufferer. On average, approximately 10 percent of the total population and up to 25 percent of the pregnant population, experiences heartburn on any given day.
Frequent, recurring heartburn is referred to as acid reflux or Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Stomach acid was intended to remain in the stomach to aid in digestion. The lining of the esophagus is not able to withstand stomach acid, causing as many as ten to fifteen percent of diagnosed GERD victims more extensive however, and may even include such things as asthma, hoarseness, chronic cough, laryngitis or even non-cardiac chest pain.
Still the effects of heartburn may not be quite as blush. Only about seven percent of those diagnosed with GERD suffer bouts of heartburn every day and need treatment daily. About 30 to 40 percent of the remaining acid reflux disease patients suffer from heartburn only about once a month. This second group really does not need daily treatments for acid reflux disease but should instead use them on an as-needed basis, thus saving themselves the expense of daily treatment regimen of taking medicine every day.
The typical prescribed for heartburn and GERD sufferers includes some old stand-bys like over the counter antacids and newer medications including H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors (PPI). Other self-help treatments are still used by many including taking an antacid or other medication prior to eating a meal suspected to be a heartburn initiator, thus heading off heartburn before it has time to even begin. Raising the head of the bed to prevent stomach acid from moving up the esophagus appears to help some heartburn patients, as does simply eating smaller meals and reducing weight to relieve pressure on the stomach and esophagus.
An old reliable treatment, however, may still be the easiest at relieving heartburn and when taken on a regular schedule may even be helpful in curing the damage that stomach acid may have inflicted on the esophagus. That treatment, particularly good for pregnant heartburn sufferers, is simply consuming milk every day. Easy to come by and fairly cheap, easy to use, a great source of calcium for your bones and pleasant to drink, consuming milk could be the best advice for many of the heartburn sufferers out there.
Learn more about chronic illness remedies at www.ChronicIllnessCures.com
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