Saturday, May 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Do you know all you need to know about the swine flu?
Up until now, I haven't been too worried about the swine flu. It's not like you can get it from eating pork, nor can you get it from hanging out with pigs. But after watching the news tonight and checking out the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, I am starting to become a little concerned. There are 6 people in my state that are possibly infected. One was a child and they were considering closing all schools in this childs' county since he has been at school. Since they have changed this possible pandemic to a level 5, (level 6 is the highest), how can you help but be worried?
Folks at the local airport are wearing face masks, and they aren't only people coming in from Mexico! (BTW from what I understand, there is no evidence that a mask will stop the spread of the flu.) Also, today was the first day that an infected person, (a toddler in this case), in the US died from the virus.
From what I understand, they are assuming that this flu (now called the H1N1 flu virus), is transmitted much like a regular flu. And the biggest concern is that no one will have an immunity to this flu. Which means every human has the possiblity of getting it.
6 Things to remember:
1. Symptoms of this flu are no different then the symptoms you have for any kind of seasonal flu. That may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches and fatigue.
2. There is no vaccination against the swine flu. However, there may be one in time for next years' flu vaccinations.
3. There are some medications, 4 I believe, that are proving to be effective if you become infected.
4. Don't be scared of pigs. You can't get it from a pig, nor from pork. The strain that is going around is strain that is communicable through human-to-human contact. It is a mutated form of a swine virus.
5. The reason this flu is more viral then say the avian flu, is that it has mutated,and become transmittable between humans. The avain flu never got that far.
6. The only precautions you can take are to stay home if you are really worried about it, or if you or your children are ill. Control your sneezes and coughs, and stay away from others who are sneezing and coughing. If you cough into your hand, remember the virus could live on your hand for a few minutes, so wash your hands or use hand sanitizer right away. Don't shake hands with folks that appear ill. If you are really freaked out that you might get it, then don't go to places where a lot of people gather, like the mall, or a ball game. If you get symptoms suggesting the flu, call your doctor to see what their plan of action is, they might give you a prescription. Don't go the doctor's office or the ER for the flu unless you are seriously ill. You don't want to get everyone else sick. Remember to wash your hands a lot!
Folks at the local airport are wearing face masks, and they aren't only people coming in from Mexico! (BTW from what I understand, there is no evidence that a mask will stop the spread of the flu.) Also, today was the first day that an infected person, (a toddler in this case), in the US died from the virus.
From what I understand, they are assuming that this flu (now called the H1N1 flu virus), is transmitted much like a regular flu. And the biggest concern is that no one will have an immunity to this flu. Which means every human has the possiblity of getting it.
6 Things to remember:
1. Symptoms of this flu are no different then the symptoms you have for any kind of seasonal flu. That may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches and fatigue.
2. There is no vaccination against the swine flu. However, there may be one in time for next years' flu vaccinations.
3. There are some medications, 4 I believe, that are proving to be effective if you become infected.
4. Don't be scared of pigs. You can't get it from a pig, nor from pork. The strain that is going around is strain that is communicable through human-to-human contact. It is a mutated form of a swine virus.
5. The reason this flu is more viral then say the avian flu, is that it has mutated,and become transmittable between humans. The avain flu never got that far.
6. The only precautions you can take are to stay home if you are really worried about it, or if you or your children are ill. Control your sneezes and coughs, and stay away from others who are sneezing and coughing. If you cough into your hand, remember the virus could live on your hand for a few minutes, so wash your hands or use hand sanitizer right away. Don't shake hands with folks that appear ill. If you are really freaked out that you might get it, then don't go to places where a lot of people gather, like the mall, or a ball game. If you get symptoms suggesting the flu, call your doctor to see what their plan of action is, they might give you a prescription. Don't go the doctor's office or the ER for the flu unless you are seriously ill. You don't want to get everyone else sick. Remember to wash your hands a lot!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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