Swine Flu, What Are The Precautions To Take And Which Treatments Are Available

We are today (more and more|more} at risk from the various strains of the flu virus. First we had alarms over the bird flu virus, and recently swine flu has become a major worry. Swine flu is more serious than bird flu ever was. It was a worry that bird flu could mutate into a form that would infect humans, apart from a few cases, this has not materialized. Swine flu is of much more concern, swine flu 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 disease that infects pigs, it is caused by a flu virus. Swine flu outbreaks in pigs is is common but is rarely fatal. In the past, swine flu has not normally infected humans, although it can happen occasionally.

Swine flu is very dangerous because it is a new type of the flu virus. The problem is no one has been in contact with this particular strain previously, and therefore no one has built up any immunity to this flu strain. It is our immunity that stops diseases from becoming life threatening, with no inbuilt immunity to this virus we are at the mercy of the virus. Absolutely 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 virus may spread quickly causing widespread illness with possibly over half the population becoming infected.

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of ordinary flu. These can include a sudden,sudden onset of fever, cough, shortness of breath. Other symptoms that may present themselves include headache, a sore throat, muscle aches, chills, sneezing, a runny nose, appetite loss and tiredness.

Precautions to take First, anyone with the symptoms of a cold or flu should to take a few easy, but very important precautions. The virus is spread between humans by the droplets from the nose and mouth when someone sneezes or coughs. This is how viruses such as swine flu are passed from person to person. Holding your nose and mouth with your hands when you cough or sneeze isn’t enough. The germs then live on your hands, then everything you touch afterwards becomes contaminated. Anyone touching anything you touched will pick up the flu virus and then risks becoming infected themselves. Always use a handkerchief or a tissue. A tissue is far better, this should then be disposed of as soon as possible, try to use a new tissue if you cough or sneeze again.

There are currently no vaccinations to prevent anyone catching swine flu. The swine flu virus is a new type of virus and is not the same as seasonal flu. The vaccination against the normal seasonal flu is not effective against the swine flu virus. Even when the strain of flu causing swine flu is identified, it will then take many months to manufacture. By this time, it may well have changed into a different strain again.

The only effective treatment against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu isn’t guaranteed to prevent flu, but when someone has been exposed to another person who has the flu virus, Tamiflu can help to stop the virus making a person ill. If Tamiflu is taken within two days of developing flu, it can help stop the virus spreading throughout the body, thereby reducing the symptoms and risk associated. Governments worldwide are stockpiling Tamiflu, these supplies will be used to treat key workers and individuals before the general population.

You can buy Tamiflu online, so if the situation occurs you can treat yourself and your family. Although it cannot be emphasized strongly enough, Tamiflu needs to be taken as soon as possible if it is to be effective, delays in treating the flu virus will reduce the effectiveness of Tamiflu. If you think you may be at a greater risk because of your situation, such as For example living in a city with a large population or for example working in a busy office, then it may be wise to buy Tamiflu before the winter flu season begins. 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 global problem. It is possible that supplies of Tamiflu may be diminished and may not be great enough to meet a large global demand.

Until a vaccine is found and produced in the quantities needed, Tamiflu is the most effective treatment for swine flu.

Disclaimer: This posting is based on information that is freely available in the popular press and medical articles concerned with swine flu. Nothing herein is meant to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice you should consult with your own physician.

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