Swine Flu
Swine flu is a disease caused by the flu virus that affects pigs, getting mutated and transforming into human flu virus. Normally the swine flu virus would not be able to affect the humans, but the genetic mutation it underwent enabled it to affect humans and as a result the current outbreak. CDC calls the virus “novel influenza A (H1N1) virus” while the World Health Organization refers to it as pandemic (H1N1) 2009. This virus affects people who do not have contacts with pigs also because it has the ability to transmit from person to person. It was first found out to be affecting humans in 1918 flu pandemic.
What are the symptoms of swine flu?
As you can expect from flu, the normal swine flu symptoms include dry cough, sever fever, body pain, running nose, sore throat, body pains in joints and other parts of the body, mild to severe headaches, loss of strength and a small vomiting tendency. Just because you have one or more of these tendencies, it does not mean that you have swine flu. These can be seen as a trait of normal flu or even other disease symptoms. Only way to make sure is to consult your doctor as soon as you see these hints. In case you doubt that you have swine flu keep yourself quarantined and immediately seek medical attention.
Who gets affected the most due to the swine flu?
The people who are affected the most are people above 65 years of age and children who are less than a year old. It is also seen in people with heart problems, kidney problems, immune suppression and such. It has also been noted that obesity has been a contributing factor in the adults who were tested positive for swine flu. Such kinds of people are at risk from further problems like respiratory blockage when affected with swine flu.
What to do if you have swine flu?
The first thing to do is, stay home when possible and avoid work, social gatherings and always keep your mouth and nose covered while sneezing. Immediately seek any medical attention you can get. Please be informed that the doctor can only take samples from you and send it to a lab for testing to ensure that you have swine flu. The laboratory tests may come in a matter of days. In some places it is quiet expensive to get such a test taken and hence many people back away from doing it. My suggestion is that you should always be on the safe side and make sure that you are not infected.
How to prevent swine flu?
As you know swine flu is spread like a normal flu. You can catch it if you come in contact with their sneeze droplets or even touch places they touch and then those parts coming in contact with your eyes, nose or mouth. Avoid close contact with people infected with swine flu. If you suspect a place to be a possible candidate for swine flu infection, stay away from that place. Wear a face mask when possible and also remember to wash your hands with soap and water or best with hand wash before touching anything. Mothers who are infected with swine flu must not breastfeed their children.
Treatments for Swine flu
There are antiviral drugs available for swine flu prevention. One such popular drug is Tamiflu. Depending on the health conditions of the affected person, they may or may not need medication to recover. A vaccine is in the making but not yet finalized as fit for human use. As they always say, “Prevention is better than cure”. So try to prevent swine flu rather than treating it.
Get more health tips for HealthRuns.com, the premier health and fitness information blog written by Dr Athira
Obama is proposing a new Healthcare Plan for the American citizens that along with their other private insurance coverage an alternative would be provided for those without it. This will involve a Government run body or a nonprofit co-operative. 
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