What if I'm infected with influenza or exposure to influenza virus

Consult your doctor immediately

If you believe that you have been infected with influenza, you should visit your doctor soon. If you start to take influence treatment in two days of symptoms appear as the duration and severity of symptoms may be reduced. Today there are effective medications available that can help treat influenza rapidly.

Maintain hygiene to prevent other programs

Once the doctor confirms that are infected with the influenza virus, it is essential to maintain personal hygiene, to avoid infecting others. Wash your hands often with SOAP or one rubbing alcohol. Cover your face nothing to sneeze or cough and carefully to get rid of tissues on that little. As the swine flu virus can survive for up to 24 hours on a hard surface, it is also essential to maintain clean hard surfaces such as handles, commonly affected balustrades, phones or computer keyboards. In addition, you should try to stay home if sick to avoid infecting others.

Drink plenty of fluids

Experts advise of drink plenty of water and avoid the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. Observed flu symptoms, such as aches and pains are exacerbated by dehydrating. You are losing water through perspiration, however, because of a high fever, so be careful to avoid dehydration. For example, consider drinking water, even if you're not thirsty.

Get lots of rest

People infected with influenza should get as much rest as possible. Do not report to work or school, if you are infected. This will help you to recover quickly and also help to prevent infecting others. Rest support allows the immune system resources needed to fight the flu.

The flu medications

The u.s. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of antiviral drugs like Tamiflu for the treatment and prevention of influenza. Medicine helps us to fight influenza type a and B viruses. It works by preventing the spread of the virus in the body, thereby reducing the duration and intensity of flu symptoms. For best results of drugs against influenza, it is imperative that you start to take treatment within two days after the onset of symptoms or within two days of exposure to the virus. Tamiflu is a prescription medication, you should always consult your physician before taking.

Anti-inflammatory drugs

Use of anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen may help reduce fever and to reduce the severity of painful. However, these drugs does not reduce the duration of the disease. Don't take anti-inflammatory medications, if you have a history of ulcers and stomach bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.

H1n1 swine Flu: a virus evolution

The strain of influenza that has hit Mexico and USA implies, in many cases, a strain of the virus H1N1, pictured of never seen before. Influenza virus is famous for its ability to mutate and grow new features enabling him to escape his immune defence systems victims. The emergence of new strains of influenza is a problem for doctors and scientists.

And famous experts warning last night that might be too late to contain the epidemic again, given the magnitude of the case. If the death has confirmed the onset of a pandemic, then chances are incubated anywhere in the world today, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an expert of influenza at the University of Minnesota.

In New York City health officials say about 75 students in a school in Queens fell sick with flu-like symptoms and tests are underway that the rule is the same strain of swine flu found in Mexico.

No one knows how many current generic Vaccine protection could provide specifically that no vaccine protects against swine flu. A genetically modified version combined with new swine influenza virus was created by Centers for Disease Control, said Dr. Richard Besser, a.i. of the Agency's Director. However, it can take months to create enough supplies for mass-vaccination programmes, if Governments decide to vaccine production is required.

Tamiflu and Relenza, drugs appears to be effective against the new strain. Rock, the producer of Tamiflu, said he was ready to immediately deploy a reserve if requested drugs. Two drugs should be taken at the beginning, a few days after the onset of symptoms, more effective.