The Flu Virus-Treatment And Prevention

Winter is not the only reminder that we are in chill mode throughout the U.S. With winter comes additional sickness, not only colds but flu as well. Yes you may wake up one morning and say to yourself..."Why do I feel so terrible this morning-I feel chilled to the bone, my body aches all over, I have a runny nose and a dry cough". Well your not alone because these are some of the tell-tale symptoms of the Influenza virus. It's not usual to feel this bad or have these particular symptoms with a cold, however with the flu these symptoms are characteristic. You may be a mom taking care of your child at home who has come down sick with the flu. If this is the case you do have experience in this area and your Pediatrician is by chance not the only one who can diagnose the flu in your child. Good for you in doing some research about this virus that afflicts millions each year from late October through late April and in some instances maybe longer, depending on your geographical local.

Most of us remember how terrible H1N1, or the Swine Flu that had debilitated many during the 2009 to 2010 Influenza Season. No this is never a pleasant sickness to deal with, either for the young or old, who sometimes suffer more so because they have other chronic upper respiratory conditions like (COPD) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Their individual respiratory and immune system is compromised enough without the additional sickness to deal with.

The flu's toll is devastating, and even some physician's don't know all of the stats on it. In a typical flu season, there are 220'000 Hospitalizations alone that are contributed to influenza, and 36,000 deaths, yes the mortality and morbidity rates are not good for folks during the colder months and Old Man Winter is not the only one knocking at your door.

The best way to help prevent the flu in the first place according to the (CDC) Center for Disease Control is through vaccination. Good hand washing practices and covering your mouth before you cough on someone is another way to help prevent transmission to others around you. The flu can cause inflammation in both the lower and upper respiratory system of an individua .lt can be spread even by rubbing your eyes where the virus particles; if you have come in contact with them can enter. Vaccination by the way is not 100 percent effective in assisting with preventing the flu, but can help dramatically, and on the other hand some people cannot get vaccinated because they are either allergic to the egg yolk suspension that is contained along with the other inactivated virus within it; or they either forget to get vaccinated by their Doctor or maybe are just afraid of needles.

Even last year during the H1N1 epidemic most people were getting themselves and loved ones vaccinated, but still looking at the percentage of people who were actually vaccinated the number was roughly thirty percent. Not very impressive considering the circulating strain that was among us during that time period last flu season. Besides the few prevention methods I mentioned previously in this article, it is also good to know the flu. What I mean by know the flu is try going to a popular website to do some research on the topic and try to figure out if you think that you may have some of these tell tale symptoms typical of the flu. If you have a consistent fever that develops suddenly of about 100 to 101 degrees. Than most likely you are probably ill with the virus. Fevers are not common with a cold unless you have some other underlying condition that is going on beside your cold, that is causing your fever.

Some websites that I find useful in finding information out about medical topics that I am not well versed in are Web MD and The home addition of the Merck Manual. Both of these websites can be accessed through your personal computer, and have a good deal of information relating to what may be ailing you. Or if you have some down time, try to catch an episode of Dr. Oz on your boob tube, he usually has some interesting remedies for things that ail even your pet cat.

The best advice I can give you if you really think that you or your loved one is at home sick with the flu, is to get into your family Physician asap; when I mean asap, I mean within forty-eight hours of your symptom development. This 48 hour window is important because your Doctor will most likely at this point in time be prescribing an antiviral medication to you. Medications like Tamiflu and Relenza, a class of drugs called Neuraminadase Inhibitors, short for NA inhibitors can dramatically reduce your fever by about 25 hours time frame and make you feel better sooner; so you can get back to your regular routine, as quickly as one and a half days... Some statistics I've learned as a Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist.

These drugs do work very well, and believe me you don't want to be home sick for a week or more moping and groping with Influenza. Nothing is one-hundred percent effective though. Even with vaccination protection you can still come down sick with the flu. And yes, not all drugs will work well for someone with the flu, but there is a 90 percent chance that they will make you feel much better. The influenza virus can continue shedding itself for about ten days in an adult patient and for as long as twenty-one days in a child, so it is important when taking medications like Tamiflu that you take the full course as prescribed by your Doctor. Your Doctor may also prescribe this medication for (Chemoprophylaxis) or for prevention to protect others in your family, who may not have received the shot for one reason or another. Given prophylactically, antiviral medications are usually 92 percent effective in preventing transmission among families. And this is very important particularly if you are the bread winner at home and need to get back to work. Also influenza can cause many lost days of school for your child, which no mom wants for them.

So this flu season get educated...know the flu, protect yourself against it and stay well. Remember also that over the counter remedies like thera-flu are just that, over the counter drugs that only temporarily relieve the symptoms that come with the flu, like an occasional runny nose. Masking these symptoms is all you will be doing, and the underlying influenza virus will still not be addressed at all. A point also to remember is antivirals, are used just for virus infection like influenza, antibiotics are for pneumonia or bronchitis and do not work for the flu.