Swine flu has raised its head in most parts of the world, but the panic is much more in India, where there is a large population and severe winter season ahead. But one question arises in everyone's mind is - What is Swine flu?
The Swine flu virus strain (H1N1) evolved from pigs with some strains of Bird flu integrated with it and it spreads easily from human to human like normal cold and cough. Patients have normal flu symptoms like sore throat, fever, running nose etc. But if these symptoms are not treated then in few cases, this flu leads to severe infection of lungs leading to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and ultimately death.
But this does not happen in 99% of the cases, where if treated with the only medication Tamiflu, people generally get better and free from virus in 7-10 days. The incubation period of the virus is 1-7 days, which means the person can transmit the virus to other humans without he having any symptoms of the disease.
There is a difference in the way people respond to the disease, it all depends on the natural immunity of the person, his disease fighting ability, his chronic conditions like asthma, high BP, diabetes etc and how early Tamiflu is given in the course of the disease. Once the patient moves on to the ventilator after showing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, it becomes very difficult to pull him from the jaws of death.
So the best option is prevention and better knowledge of the disease. But how could we prevent it? By maintaining good hygiene, not having direct contact with diseased patients etc. The list is huge, but let us see what we can do in our diet, we should eat good healthy food, and also include some supplements like Cod Liver oil, which is known to provide immunity from common cold and coughs and Vitamin C rich foods which are known to boost the immunity.
If you are having symptoms of cold and flu, then just wait for 2-3 days for it to subside, if they do not subside, then do get yourself tested in the nearest laboratory and start the medication with the prescription of doctor. The current outbreak is a mild version of the disease, so the mortality rate is really low and scientists are working hard to have a vaccine for the disease. But till that time we should not panic but just be cautious for the health of our family.
The Swine flu virus strain (H1N1) evolved from pigs with some strains of Bird flu integrated with it and it spreads easily from human to human like normal cold and cough. Patients have normal flu symptoms like sore throat, fever, running nose etc. But if these symptoms are not treated then in few cases, this flu leads to severe infection of lungs leading to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and ultimately death.
But this does not happen in 99% of the cases, where if treated with the only medication Tamiflu, people generally get better and free from virus in 7-10 days. The incubation period of the virus is 1-7 days, which means the person can transmit the virus to other humans without he having any symptoms of the disease.
There is a difference in the way people respond to the disease, it all depends on the natural immunity of the person, his disease fighting ability, his chronic conditions like asthma, high BP, diabetes etc and how early Tamiflu is given in the course of the disease. Once the patient moves on to the ventilator after showing Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, it becomes very difficult to pull him from the jaws of death.
So the best option is prevention and better knowledge of the disease. But how could we prevent it? By maintaining good hygiene, not having direct contact with diseased patients etc. The list is huge, but let us see what we can do in our diet, we should eat good healthy food, and also include some supplements like Cod Liver oil, which is known to provide immunity from common cold and coughs and Vitamin C rich foods which are known to boost the immunity.
If you are having symptoms of cold and flu, then just wait for 2-3 days for it to subside, if they do not subside, then do get yourself tested in the nearest laboratory and start the medication with the prescription of doctor. The current outbreak is a mild version of the disease, so the mortality rate is really low and scientists are working hard to have a vaccine for the disease. But till that time we should not panic but just be cautious for the health of our family.
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