Symptoms of Swine Flu

Image via Wikipedia

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.

Image via Wikipedia

According to a report quoted in The Independent, at least 8 of the deaths of pregnant woman in the United Kingdom had avoidable medical errors as a contributing factor. This is actually pretty common in the practice of modern medicine now.

The Independent says that some of those contributing factors included, delays in getting admitted to the hospital, delays in drug treatments, and delays in even testing for the flu.

The Independant also point out that more than 50 people have died since the recent Swine Flu outbreak began in the UK.

Remember to wash your hands often, and be sure that you do it correctly! Also be sure that you are getting enough vitamin D, it is a challenge to get into the sun for your body to make Vitamin D on it’s own so find a good supplement!

Wash your hands?

Did you know that there is some speculation that all of the large number of new people washing their hands maybe what saved the world from swine flu last year? There are many at the WHO and the CDC that believe this is what saved a lot of people and delayed the swine flu virus from really taking hold, giving the authorities enough time to develop a vaccine. You can read the original article in this business week article, and like they say, It just goes to show you that your mother was always right!

Did you know that there are government people that sit in the bathroom and spy on you? Last year they noted that 85 percent of the people using public restrooms were now washing their hands. That is apparently the largest volume of the public since they began tracking how many people are washing their hands in public restrooms.

Do Clean Hands Really Matter?

So why is it so important to wash your hands regularly? Cleaning out the dirt and grime on your hands does a couple of things, first you get rid of any viruses that you may have already picked up,  second you  remove all of the dirt and grime that gives germs and virus a place to hide.  Nearly every surface you touch will have been touched by others. If it is a public place where many people go daily it will have been touched a lot! And a virus can live outside of the host for a long time. Swine flu will live outside the body for around 5 hours. But can be washed of and cause you no damage if you get your hands clean before you give the H1N1 Virus an opportunity to enter your body.

How does the Virus Enter my Body

One of the simplest ways that H1N1 enters into your body is from your hands. It can work just like this, you go into the grocery store, and you pull open the door handle which has been opened hundreds of times today. Now the virus has lodged itself onto your hand, you have an itchy eyebrow and rub that hand across your eye to scratch it. Congratulations, you have just caught the flu! It really is that simple and that is why it’s so important to keep your hands washed.

Proper Hand Washing Technique

So washing our hands is pretty simple right? Well actually few people perform the task correctly. You need to begin with warm water as that helps to break up the grease and grime that may reside on your hands. There is no need for using anti bacteria soap however as normal soap will work just fine. Begin by getting your hands wet and adding in the soap, work the lather around your entire hands and between your fingers. You will need to wash for 20 to thirty seconds for this process to be effective. Now rinse and dry your hands and you are finished!

There You Have it

If you follow this process every time you use a public restroom, and anytime you return home from being out you should cut down your family’s rate of infection pretty dramatically. You will give germs little opportunity to grow and no place to hide around you! Now you can leave the house and have some fun in safety!

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If you are in the United Kingdom right now there is no way to miss all the Horrible cases of swine flu going around. The number of people that are hospitalized with the H1N1 virus is up 60 percent since last week. That is a number that is of serious concern to anyone.

Also Swine flu targets those that are younger as they have not been exposed to the virus in the past. Those that are older generally have been exposed and are resistant to the virus.

The death toll has also risen sharply with 36 deaths for those under the age of 65. Again this is rightly a cause of concern for many.

What Can You do to Protect Your Family?

First, wash your hands in plain soap and water often. Steer clear of those anti bacterial products as they will actually make you more susceptible to catching something. Plain soap is all you need to stay healthy and get your hands clean.

Next, be sure you are getting plenty of Vitamin D3. If you can get enough from free Natural Sunshine that is best. That can sometimes be difficult during the winter months depending on where you live. IF it is a challenge for you just get your self a good quality Vitamin D3 supplement.

Finally, avoid crowds. If at all possible avoid going to places like doctors and hospitals where there are a lot of people that have the flu, making it far more likely that you also could catch it from them.

I sincerely hope that you and your family are safe and healthy and stay that way!