Symptoms of Swine Flu

Swine flu appears to be rather hard hitting this year in the Carolina’s, A few days ago it was reported that a prison was pretty much quarantined; now it is a hospital in North Carolina having troubles with the pesky H1N1 virus.

The Transylvania Regional Hospital is asking for limited visits from outsiders in an attempt to limit the spread of the Swine Flu virus. As infection rates spike in the eastern US everyone wants to keep those that are already most prone to illness safe.

So they are asking you to limit your visits and leave the kids at home. That makes good sense. It will also protect your children from all the nasty things they can catch at hospitals.

Also as you should do multiple times throughout the day anyway, they ask that you wash your hands before and after you visit your friends and family staying in the hospital.

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If you were one of the lucky people to both catch and survive the Swine Flu during the 2009-2010 pandemic, the according to a new study, your immune system may have become supercharged. It seems that the Swine Flu virus was totally unknown to many that caught it and the body did not know how to cure it.

Somewhere in the vicinity of 60 million people came down with the Swine Flu last year, and even though death by flu was much lighter than in prior years, there were still around 18,000 deaths from the disease. What is surprising is what comes to the survivors is a type of super immunity. They seem to have antibodies that are capable to kill any type of flu virus and not just the swine flu.

Research has shown that survivors of the H1N1 virus have an amazing immune response. The researchers say that five of the antibodies they have identified are capable of fighting off all known seasonal flu’s, the Spanish flu virus that killed around 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic and even the bird flu variant H5N1.

The researchers feel that it is how unique the Swine Flu was that triggered that kind of reaction from the immune system. Since the body did not know what the exact invasion was, it began to create antibodies for everything taking hints from every flu virus it had encountered to date. By the time a person had completely recovered they seemed to be immune to every type of flu around. Researchers are unsure if the H1N1 vaccine will give the same type of immunity that actually having the swine flu will give. More research is needed.

Now onto the really interesting part, An Oxford University Virus expert Dr. Sarah Gilbert is feeling that this immunity from swine flu survivors in the relatively near future could lead to a super vaccine. This vaccine could give you immunity to every type of flu, a universal influenza vaccine.

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Most experts  from the CDC and Yahoo!Health are expecting this year to be pretty average in terms of flu. They see little cause to believe that the Pandemic levels of H1N1influenza from last year will be repeated this year. While that is of comfort to those that are not in danger of coming down with the flu, it does little to make you feel too good if you are in a high risk group.

So who is in a high risk group? Generally those that are under 12 or over 60. Also included are those that have any type of compromised immune system or breathing disorders like COPD.  If you fall into one of these high risk groups, the CDC will recommend that you get a flu vaccine for the year.

I might also recommend that you greatly increase your intake of vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is made by your body naturally if you are out in the sunshine, for most of us though in the winter time you will need more vitamin D3 than you can manufacture naturally so you should look at getting a supplement to get you through the winter flu season.

And remember to wash your hands thoroughly and often when out in public and as soon as you return home.

If you would like to read more about what the CDC has to say about this years flu, check out this story from Vaccine News Daily.

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Yet more news on the swine flu front that leaves questions about the effectiveness of the flu jab. In this story from the from the Daily Mail, the Story of Eleanor Carruthers is told.

“A grandmother-of-three thought she was safe from swine flu after she had the vaccine months ago.But Eleanor Carruthers, 68, from Merseyside became the latest victim of the outbreak on Saturday.

Mrs Carruthers was seriously ill with emphysema and lung cancer, but had had the flu vaccination in October to protect her from the illness.

Despite the step, she was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital last week and later died. H1N1 (swine flu) was recorded as one of the main causes of her death.”

We are repeatedly told to get the flu jab and it will keep us safe, this clearly was not true in the case of Eleanor Carruthers. Now they are blaming the vaccine shortage on healthy people getting the flu jab as well. First they tell everyone they should be required and even that they have a duty to get the jab in order to protect public safety. Now they blame the healthy getting shots for causing a shortage that will lead for further illness and death. The case of Mrs. Carruthers brings into question if there might not be better methods to protect ourselves from the flu as well.

“She said: ‘What we don’t understand is that mum had the vaccine in October, because she was in an at risk group.

‘And even though she was ill, she had been OK until her breathing worsened very quickly on Saturday morning.”

‘It was such a sudden thing, she died that night.”

Now a family is left grieving when they had taken the steps that they were promised would protect them from just such an occurrence coming and causing trouble within their lives. Perhaps you should look into exactly what the jab will do for you and see if you might be able to find better methods to protect yourself from Flu.

There are many things you can do. To start be certain to wash your hands often and correctly. Be certain to get plenty of rest and take your vitamins.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1347171/Swine-flu-Merseyside-Grandmother-Eleanor-Carruthers-dies-AFTER-jab.html#ixzz1BSbFyw7v

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For those in the medical field this is high season. The phone is ringing constantly with people thinking they or their children have they flu. For the most part, they do not.  Can you tell if you have a cold or the flu?

If you have the common cold, I think it is called that because everyone commonly gets the cold, you can feel it coming for around a week before you actually come down with your cold. It will almost always start with a scratchy feeling in your throat. This is often followed by sneezing, and sniffling, then congestion in your head and throat and sometimes moving into your chest. If you have any fever it is most often mild for adults but can be pretty high in children. Coughing is often much like a dry hacking and is mostly due to the congestion. During the early part of your scratchy throat phase, you may be able to deter your cold by taking extra vitamins and getting some extra sleep.

The influenza virus in all of its many forms on the other hand, often starts near instantly. It will often begin with a fever of over 101 and this will often last between 3 to 7 days. Other symptoms that will accompany the flu are a headache, and the feeling that your body is aching everywhere. No matter what position you turn and twist into you just can’t find any comfort. You will normally feel exceptionally tired and should get as much rest as possible during the flu. Coughing is generally dry and hacking and will stick around well after your other flu symptoms have left.

The flu will pretty much affect your entire body, you will feel it everywhere. The cold on the other hand will generally just effect your upper body, meaning your eyes, ears, nose, throat and sometimes chest. While you will at times have some of the symptoms of colds with your flu such as a stuffy nose, sneezing, and a sore throat it is not so common. The reason the flu is so serious a problem for those who already have health troubles is because it can lead to so many major issues, the largest being pneumonia.

Sometimes you might feel your stomach is upset and think that you are catching the flu as well, it is most likely not though that is probably only gastroenteritis. Or you could have eaten something that is super disagreeable to your digestive system.

For the most part a virus such as the cold or the flu will be completely out of your system in 3 to 7 days. For most people there is no need to see a doctor for such things. However, if you have any type of a chronic involving your lungs or your breathing is compromised in any manner, then you should seek immediate medical attention when you get a cold or flu. If you illness lasts for more than 10 days you should also look into seeing a doctor as it could be a sign of something more serious.

In the long run it is best to avoid the flu and colds by staying healthy for the long run.  So eat well, get plenty of exercise and be sure to take your vitamins.