Got an important presentation coming up?

Don’t want to miss an important date because of flu which everyone around you seems to have?

What can you do to beat the flu bug?

Antibiotics aren’t going to work on influenza as that is caused by a virus. Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses.

So what can you do to beat flu?

You best bet is to boost your immune system. In other words, take care of your health.

What do you eat? Do you get enough rest.

1. Sleep early every night.

I can’t overemphasize the importance of sleep. Notice how lousy you feel if you go without sleep. It is when you sleep that your body repairs itself. That’s when your body produces the white blood cells and everything else it needs to fend off invaders. That way, when confronted with the flu viruses, your body is in a better shape to defend itself.

2. Get your annual flu jab.

The young children and the elderly are most susceptible to flu, so youo might want to get the young ones and the elderly immunized. There are flu jabs available which must be taken every year if you want to keep the virus at bay. The flu virus mutates rapidly, so what works this year wouldn’t bother next year’s bug. The jabs won’t necessarily prevent flu, but at least if you do contract flu, if you have been immunized against it with a vaccine that is effective against that particular flu strain, that bout of flu would be less severe.

3. Stay away from crowds

Especially when the flu bug is in the air. The flu virus is extremely contagious. One sniff and lots of viruses are scattered in the air, waiting for the next victim. Maybe your body would fight it off and you wouldn’t sucuumb to the infection, but if you can minimize exposure to the bug better still. Avoid crowded places as far as possible.

4. Wash your hands before you eat.

Wash them thoroughly too with soap, for at least a minute, rubbing the soap all over the hands thoroughly, then rinsing it off. Have you any idea how many viruses your hands inevitably pick up as you go through the day. Opening the door, resting on a table.. things you barely notice you come into contact with everyday. Wash your hands before you eat so you don’t put more germs than necessary into your mouth.

5. Keep your hands off your face.

Throughout the day, avoid touching your nose and mouth with your hands as far as possible as that’s the surest way to get the germs from you hands where they can easily invade your body.

6. Exercise

Keep fit. Get active. A healthy body is less likely to fall sick so go for a walk, or a jog every single day. Ride a bike. Walk in the park. The exercise and fresh air will be good for you.

7. Carry an umbrella or raincoat with you.

Prevention is better than cure. Some people are more likely to succuumb to flu if they get soaked in the rain and stay wet for a long period of time. Are you one of them? If you get soaked, as soon as possible, take a hot shower or warm bath after that to warm up. If it rains, use the umbrella or wear a raincoat.

8. Take your vitamins.

Do you have a balanced diet? Are you getting all the nutrients you need in your food. Even if you eat plenty of veggies, would you have all the nutrients? Is the soil in which the veggies were grown depleted of the necessary nutrients? Vitamin supplements would help you ensure you get the necessary vitamins and minerals your diet might lack. Even then, that’s no excuse for eating junk. Take your vitamins. Eat fresh food, fresh fruits and vegetables and cut down oily, sugary snacks.

You see a lot of wild and crazy estimates for this. Yet, the truth is, there’s no simple answer. It depends on a lot of things — and the most important factors are still unknown.

First of all, I don’t put any stock in the simplistic estimates that are based on 1918. We’re living in a much different world. H5N1 is a different virus.

Some estimates are based on more sophisticated mathematical models. The only problem is, right now critical variables are still unknown.

First variable is known as the lethality rate. That is, what percentage of infected people will bird flu kill?

Right now, based on known victims, it’s consistently killing just over half. However, the numbers of patients are still quite small, so that may not be statistically accurate. Plus, many of those patients are receiving good medical care. It may kill a higher percentage of those who don’t make it to hospitals.

It’s also true that we probably don’t know the true number of infected people. Just a few days ago Indonesia announced that it just learned that a little girl who died there last year had bird flu, even though several of her family members were known to have died of it.

If a relatively advanced country isn’t getting around to testing an obviously suspect child patient until 8 months after her death — what’s happening in sub-Saharan Africa?

How many more victims are going undetected? That’s unknown. On the bright side, it’s possible that some or many victims are recovering without being tested so the actual lethality rate might be lower than we think.

If and when H5N1 mutates into a highly contagious form, its lethality rate could go lower. Until it actually happens, we just don’t know.

But it is frightening to compare H5N1 to the 1918 flu, because the 1918 flu had a lethality rate of 2.5% — so if contagious bird flu retains anything like its current apparent lethality rate, it could be much deadlier than 1918 flu. Which would make comparisons between them way over-optimistic.

To measure the spread of a disease, scientists use the contagion rate.

This is — how many other people on average does one infected person spread the flu to?

Partly this is based on the virus itself, so we just can’t know this until it does mutate. However, right now H5N1 is a tough virus — it can survive for hours outside a human body and in water. This means that you could be infected by an A/H5N1 virus left on a doorknob by someone who opened that door several hours before you.

Overall contagion rate must be affected by population density. Bird flu will infect more people in a crowded Calcutta slum than in rural Wyoming.

And here’s a great difference between now and 1918. The world’s population is over 6 times higher. But since some areas of the world are so densely crowded, it’s possible that chicken flu would spread through them very quickly and kill even more than 6 times as many people as in 1918.

Plus, in 1918 various areas of the world defended themselves by closing themselves off from the outside world. Some places can still do this, but most of the world is much less self-sufficient. Unless you’re on an island that supplies its own food and water, you can’t isolate yourself from other people.

And even if you can — there’s still the risk of contagion from animals. So your island better not be under a duck migration route. Because duck manure does contain the active virus.

Plus, the world’s population may be more susceptible to infection than in 1918. Everybody infected with HIV is at risk, for example.

Bird flu would likely travel around the world more quickly today because we have much more international travel. We go places by jet instead of steam ships.

There’s another advance in transportation — not usually mentioned — which will affect transmission of bird flu: the automobile. Only a very few people in 1918 had cars, and there was no system of highways.

Now cars and highways connect the entire developed world. And are common and widespread in the developing world.

Of course, riding alone in a car during a lethal flu pandemic is safer than riding in a bus, train or other mass transit vehicle with many other people. Yet if you’re the one infected, a car can help you spread the virus farther and faster than you could have in 1918.

There’s another risk of death the world’s population faces from A/H5N1, which is not being addressed.

That’s the risk of the consequences of the pandemic.

If the pandemic causes many deaths the world’s economy will be disrupted.

There’ll be shortages of food, water, medicine, energy and other necessities. This could last for a year or more, if agriculture is greatly affected.

In many places there’s likely to be problems with both law and order and civil unrest.

In a pandemic of any significant seriousness there will death caused by a large number of various groups seeking to take advantage of the situation: ordinary criminals, terrorists, organized crime, renegade groups of soldiers and police, ethnic/racial **** groups, political/religious extremists of all stripes — and just any old mob looking to loot and kill just because they can get away with it, or to scapegoat some other group for the pandemic.

In some cases there’s bound to be organized armed battles and wars between countries and between competing groups within countries.

My personal belief is that there’ll be great civil unrest but ultimately society as we know it will prevail — though the world’s map may change in many places.

With central governments weakened by deaths and lack of resources, many disaffected ethnic groups will seize the opportunity to become independent.

On the other hand, many ethnic majorities will seize the opportunity to blame ethnic minorities for the pandemic — and kill them in riots.

The severity of events will likely fall somewhere between the temporary default of law and order in New Orleans during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the total anarchy of Stephen King’s novel THE STAND.

How can anybody predict the number of dead from these events?

Surgery

If pneumonia gets complicated with empyema, abscess, then one might need surgical procedures such as: thoracotomy, thoracentesis. Chest tubes are needed to drain the infected fluid, they remain in place for 1-3 days and may perforate the diaphragm and accidentally injure the lung.

Pneumonia prevention

Avoid and treat colds and influenza as soon as possible and as efficiently as possible. Maintain a good hygiene of your hands, have a rich diet in dark-colored fruits and vegetables and fresh food, have an active socially life, take different zinc preparations because studies have shown that zinc has substantial benefits against colds, flus, allergies, pneumonia. Zinc has good effects on the inflammatory response and immune system, its action is unknownb but its effects are clear.

Side efeects included are: dry mouth, constipation, bad taste, in case of superdosage vomiting, dehydration, and restlessness address as quickly as possible a physician. Zinc may also produce allergies and interact with other medication, it reduces the absorption of certain antibiotics. Zinc absorption is reduced by high amounts of calcium or phosphorus. And if taken for a long time zinc causes copper deficiencies.

Vitamin C

Studies have shown that flu, cold are reduced by large doses of vitamin C. Vitamin C appears to have preventive effects and helps the infection to be cured more rapidly. But taking high doses of vitamin C determins headaches and intestinal and urinary problems and even kidney stones. Increases iron absorption so people with blood disorders shouldn’t take large doses of vitamin C.

Echinacea is a herbal remedy that prevents the onset and symptoms of a flu. But it hasn’t been determined exactly which type of Echinacea is usefull and if the whole plant or only the roots and herb are effective. What you should watch aut when taking

Echinacea is that there may appear allergic reactions such as: erythema nodosum with muscle and joint aches, and sore throat and fever. You shouldn’t take natural remedy without the doctor’s approuval.

Vaccines for Haemophilus Influenzae

All children should be vaccinated against Haemophilus influenzae, especially those under five years.

Pneumococcal Vaccines

People of all ages should be given pneumococcal vaccines to prevent flus and pneumonia. It has been demonstrated that this vaccine protects children in day care from serious respiratory infections. Those with high risk at the administration of the vaccine are: children with sickle-cell disease, adults or children who have immune deficiencies, patients with kidney disease or kidney transplants, patients with splin problems, alcoholics. Sometimes the vaccine protection lasts for over six years.

Antiviral Agents are used to treat and prevent influenza A, B. Amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine) are M2 inhibitors. They have the following benefits: offer protection against influenza A and prevent severe illness, lessen the severity of the flu but they may cause nausea, vomiting, and indigestion.

Neuraminidase Inhibitors such as: Zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu) are designed to block a key viral enzyme, neuraminidase, which is involved with viral replication. So, they are effective for treating and preventing A and B strains of influenza, they may even help reduce transmission of the virus, they may reduce complications of influenza.

You can find great content regarding pneumonia causes, pneumonia symptoms and many moreby visiting http://www.pneumonia-center.com/

Prevention of Spread of Swine Flu

Dr.Kedar Karki

In Mexico in April this year, a never-before heard strain of swine flu emerge, turning ill more than a thousand Mexicans and causing the death of 68. Swine flu has spread to other parts of the world such as the US and New Zealand when affected individuals (Mexicans or tourists to Mexico), traveled to those places. Swine flu has spread so far and wide that the World Health Organization fears it will bring about the next pandemic. A June 10, 2009 update by the U.N.’s World Health Organization (WHO) states that 74 countries have officially reported 27,737 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, including 141 deaths. In India till date 23 cases are being confirmed in city like Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi, and Jallandhar in Punjab. Government of India is now thinking about suspension of air flight to U.S.A as most of confirmed cases in India have been detected from the persons who had recently traveled to U.S cities and had returned from there. WHO’s decision to raise the pandemic alert level to Phase 6 is a reflection of the spread of the virus, not the severity of illness caused by the virus.

This is not the first time the world is threatened by swine flu. Swine flu, which is also referred to as pigfluenza, hog flu, pig flu, or swine influenza, typically affects pigs only. In 1918, an H1N1 virus caused flu pandemic in humans. Scientists speculated that H1N1 was created either when human influenza virus crossed specie boundary and affected pigs, or the other way around.

In 1930, a study confirmed that influenza virus caused the illnesses of pigs; the viral strain was identified as H1N1. Other past outbreaks in humans include the 1976 US outbreak (number of deaths: 5) and the 1988 Wisconsin outbreak (number of deaths: 1).

2009 Swine Flu Outbreak

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The strain that caused the swine outbreak in 2009, on the other hand, is different from other types of swine flu viruses before. It infects humans only. Pigs show no sign of infection. As such, scientists are having a difficult time establishing the origins of this new disease. The 2009 swine flu outbreak is caused by a strain that combines a single strain of human flu virus, a single strain of avian or bird flu virus, and two strains of swine flu virus.

Transmission

Swine flu virus in pig is transmitted when uninfected animals touch the nose or dried mucus of the infected pig.

Transmission of swine flu from pigs to humans occurs when a person touches an infected pig such as during animal transport or cleaning of pig pens. Swine flu is not acquired by eating pork.

Transmission of swine flu from human to human occurs when airborne viruses brought about by sneezing and coughing are inhaled by another person. Touching of contaminated surfaces and bringing one’s hand to one’s nose or mouth.

Symptoms

Symptoms of swine flu in humans are non-specific. They are quite similar to other types of influenza such as common flu and bird flu. People infected with swine flu often the following: Fever, chills, coughing and sneezing, sore throat, muscle pain, discomfort, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea.

In pigs, swine influenza virus cause:  fever, lethargy, decrease in appetite, abortion, sneezing, coughing, weight loss, poor growth. Difficulty breathing.

Because swine flu symptoms are non-specific, a laboratory taste of nose or throat swab is needed to confirm viral presence.

How to Prevent Spread of Swine Flu

Among swine: owners should implement facility management and management. Vaccinating the pigs may also help reduce the chances of spreading of the flu.

To prevent transmission of swine flu from pigs to humans, farmers, veterinarians, and other people who come in close contact with live pigs should wear masks and gloves when working with infected pigs.

Here are several steps to prevent the spread of the swine flu virus:

If you have flu symptoms, stay home from work or school to avoid spreading the disease. Do not return until two days after your symptoms are gone.

Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, and wash your hands frequently.

Go to the hospital if you have severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing. If your symptoms are mild, stay home to avoid spreading the virus to others at the hospital.

Masks may be recommended for health care workers, family members and others who come in close contact with swine flu patients, but there is no need for the general public to wear masks.

It is safe to eat properly handled pork. Cook it to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees.

At the moment, only Tamiflu and Relenza seem to work against swine flu. Many countries have a supply of these vaccines, though not enough to curb a pandemic if the current swine flu reaches that level.

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The world is facing a serious flu threat in the form of swine flu. Currently human cases of swine flu have been reported from Mexico and the US. Swine flu was first reported in Mexico, where several people have died from the new strain of the influenza virus, so health authorities have been put on a high alert to prevent a pandemic like situation from occurring.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease that is caused by influenza A (H1N1) virus. Its main symptoms are similar to that of a seasonal flu like fever, coughing, lack of appetite, runny nose, nausea, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Currently there is no vaccine available for the treatment of swine flu. However, doctors feel that popular anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza can prove useful for treatment as well as preventive purposes.

A popular prescription drug, Tamiflu, can help treat influenza type A infection, which includes swine flu. Not only this, it can also prevent the flu. The main ingredient in Tamiflu is oseltamivir, which stops the further spread of the virus in the body, providing it more immunity to fight back.

Another flu treatment called Relenza, contains the ingredients Zanamivir (5mg) and lactose (20 mg), which effectively treat influenza type A and B infections. This flu treatment comes in a powdered form, which is inhaled twice in a day for five days or at least once daily for up to 28 days.

Apart from taking any anti-viral medication, you can prevent swine flu infection by taking everyday preventive measures and by knowing about the common swine flu symptoms. First and foremost is to avoid a contact with an infected person. You should always try to keep a distance, and if he or she is your closest or dearest one, then use mask whenever you go nearer to that person.

The world is facing a serious flu threat in the form of swine flu. Currently human cases of swine flu have been reported from Mexico and the US. Swine flu was first reported in Mexico, where several people have died from the new strain of the influenza virus, so health authorities have been put on a high alert to prevent a pandemic like situation from occurring.

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