Analysis of Swine flu

Transmission of Swine Flu

As with other flu like illnesses, Swine flu is spread as follows:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Kissing
• Touching infected objects
• Touching nose, mouth and/or eyes with infected hands

Swine Flu Symptoms

Symptoms of Swine flu may include all or some of the following:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Lethargy
• Coughing
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Lack of appetite
  

Complications of Swine Flu

Those at higher risk include those with the following:

• Age of 65 years or older
• Chronic health problems (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease)
• Pregnant women
• Young children

Complications (for all patients but especially for those at higher risk) can include:

• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Sinus infections
• Ear infections
• Death
  

Prevention of Swine Flu

• Covering nose and mouth with a tissue upon coughing and sneezing followed by proper disposal of the tissue
• Avoiding contact with ill persons
• Avoiding the urge to touch nose, mouth and eyes in general
• Staying home from work and/or school upon onset and for the duration of symptoms
• Assuring adequate and thorough hand washing and use of alcohol based hand cleansers (in the absence of proper hand washing facilities)
• Providing tissues in common areas of homes, common and public areas
• Encouraging pursuit of medical evaluation at earliest onset of symptoms
• Use of masks to those who are exhibiting symptoms or who are ill
• Maintenance of a 3 to 6 foot perimeter around a coughing patient

Treatment of Swine Flu

One of the ways to lessen the symptoms of pandemic flu is to treat infected people with antiviral medicines, which have been used against the current swine flu. However, the drugs must be administered at an early stage to be effective. Testing has shown that the swine flu can be treated with the antiviral medicines oseltamavir (brand name Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza).

Antivirals will help to:

• Reduce the length of time you are ill by around one day
• Relieve some of the symptoms
• Reduce the potential for serious complications such as pneumonia

Antibiotics play an important part in the response to a pandemic. While antivirals may reduce the number of complications, there are still likely to be significant numbers of complications occurring in a pandemic. Some of the most common include bacterial infections in the respiratory tract and lungs. Antibiotics are needed to treat such complications. Antibiotics can be used to treat people in the community if they develop complications. In hospitals, antibiotics can be used to treat the sickest patients and may reduce the length of hospitalisation.

(This article is a compilation of information obtained from different websites. The symptoms, treatments...mentioned do not come from my personal deduction. And the pictures used come from the internet.)