The Deadly Swine Flu....

Swine Flu….

Swine flu is an acute and highly contagiously disease, this disease is more common in swine or pigs. It is a contagious disease and can spread from one human to another. This virus was first detected this year in human beings in United States in April 2009. Since then we have a lot of cases of people who are affected by Swine Flu. Those who have heart and lung diseases are more prone to Swine flu.

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of normal influenza or flu:

• Cough
• Sore throat
• Severe Headache
• Body aches
• Fatigue
• Chills
• Fever
• Weakness
• General Discomfort

The swine flu in human beings is most contagious during the first five days of illness and for children it will be contagious for the first ten days. There are various ways by which this swine flu spreads. Between humans it spreads through sneezing or through cough. It also spreads if you happen to touch a surface of any thing which has the virus on it and then touching your own nose or mouth. It does not spread through food if properly cooked. The swine flu virus can stay live on a hard surface for 24 hrs and on a soft surface for 20 minutes.

Precautions to be taken to avoid Swine Flu:

• Frequently washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of swine flu, especially when you are in a public place. Washing hands with soap may kill the most of the germs.
• Keep your home clean with daily wiping it using bleach especially your wash area and your kitchen.
• Clean the surfaces of everything like TV, Refrigerator etc….. to get rid of the germs
• Do not touch your nose or mouth frequently unless you wash your hands properly with soap.
• Use tissues whenever you are sneezing or coughing and throw the tissue in the dust bin immediately after using.
• If you do not have a tissue handy, turn your face and put your hand covering your side while sneezing or coughing and immediately wash your hands with soap.
• Maintain basic hygiene, and try to get a minimum of 8 hours of good sleep so that your immune system will be intact to fight with it.

If you are already a victim of the virus:

• First contact your doctor so that he can take the samples and send it to the appropriate lab where the swine flu testing can be done.
• Avoid frequent contacts with your family and friends.
• Take a leave and be at home, do not go to the office/school/college.
• Cover your nose and mouth so that while sneezing or coughing the virus will not be transmitted.
• Everyone in the house should make a habit of washing hands frequently.
• Take complete rest so that the immune system of your body can fight well with the virus.