Swine flu: symptoms and signs in humans

When a person is sick with an ordinary cold, it's fearless. Usually it runs for 3-5 days. But viral diseases such as influenza pose a serious threat to both health and life. Very often they cause various complications, and sometimes they can lead to death. Swine flu, the symptoms of which we describe in this article, is a life-threatening disease. There is no universal medicine for it. The reader will be able to learn about what the swine flu is. Symptoms in humans, treatment and prevention are also described in our article.

Description of the disease

The virus h1n1 (swine flu) is an infectious disease that affects the respiratory tract. Usually a person gets infected by airborne droplets. A child can become ill with swine flu after talking to a sick person. The average duration of the incubation period is 3-4 days. How does the swine flu manifest itself? Symptoms: severe fever, chills, weakness, and cough.

To date, in medicine it is customary to isolate several forms of this virus, but the most common are 3 subtypes, conventionally called A, B and C. The most dangerous subtype for humans is A.

Who can get infected?

Both a person and an animal can get sick. For example, it is the swine most affected by this flu, in honor of which it is given the name. Half a century ago, from the animals to humans, this virus was transmitted very rarely, but, mutating, H1N1 gradually became unsafe for humans. Such changes occurred for the first time in 2009.

History of the disease

As already mentioned above, this flu not only infects people, but also swine, as well as birds. In recent years, large epidemics have been quite common in large livestock companies. For this reason, every year English farmers lose at least 60 million pounds sterling.

At the end of the last century, the swine flu virus began to interact with avian and human influenza, which is why it mutated into a completely new subtype - H1N1.

The first cases of infection

The first time signs of swine flu in humans are registered in the North American continent. Then in February 2009, a Mexican child, who was six months old, contracted the virus. Further on the continent was a chain of infections. By the way, the absolute majority of the sick worked on farms. Today, this subtype is freely transferred from one person to another. Immunity to this strain in the human body is not, and this multiplies the risk of spreading the virus around the world.

H1N1 can be considered a distant descendant of the "Spanish", which in the 1920s claimed more than twenty million lives. The first major outbreak occurred in 1918 in Spain. In honor of the country, the name was given.

Severity of the disease

As of May 2009, 500 people became ill with swine flu, 13 of which died. To date, only 13 countries around the world have been infected. The most dangerous are the countries of North America, according to which the first epidemic of swine flu swept. Statistics show that approximately 5% of those who die have died of this disease. However, we take into account that medicine is well developed in the same USA. If signs of swine flu begin to show up in Africa, then the disease will bring much more negative consequences. On this continent, most people live in unsanitary conditions, and their income does not allow us to use high-quality medical services.

How do children develop swine flu?

Symptoms almost do not differ from the picture of the usual flu, which children fall ill seasonally. The first signs begin to manifest in the child only a few days after contact with the infected person.

The main symptoms of swine flu in children:

• Elevated temperature;
• Chills, severe weakness;
• Redness of the throat;
• Aches.

Cases of involvement of the gastrointestinal tract are common. They lead to vomiting and diarrhea. Naturally, diarrhea entails serious loss of moisture in the body. Therefore, the baby should be given plenty of water. Doctors recommend non-carbonated mineral water, juice and tea.

Symptoms of swine flu in children are sometimes manifested in difficulty breathing. With age, the course of the disease is more easily tolerated. That is why children under 5 years are the hardest, because their immune system has not yet fully formed. If you notice similar symptoms in your child, you should immediately contact your doctor.

As manifested in adult swine flu

Symptoms in adults are similar to seasonal flu symptoms. A few days after infection, muscle pains, severe fatigue and chills, fever, cough, sore throat, diarrhea and vomiting. Another feature of swine flu is the risk of exacerbation of chronic diseases.

The first actions in the manifestation of symptoms

If the ill person lives on a street on which the facts of infection have already been documented or, at least, he has: sore throat, cough, runny nose in combination with gastrointestinal disturbances and fever, he needs to urgently consult a therapist. If the doctor does not find anything dangerous, then it's good. However, if it is still a swine flu, then procrastination can cost a lot. During the period of illness, it is important to reduce the number of contacts with people so that they do not become the direct source of the disease themselves.

Signs of swine flu in adult people, under which you should immediately seek medical help:

• Cyanotic skin;
• Frequent breathing, its violation;
• Reluctance to use liquid;
• Alternation of improvement and deterioration of health;
• cough;
• temperature increase;
• rash;
• fever.

This applies to children. What other signs of swine flu can be:

• dyspnea;
• Dizziness;
• Vomiting;
• Pain in the abdomen and chest area.

Treatment of swine flu

The treatment of this disease is extremely difficult, since even today the risk of vaccine contamination is not reduced to zero. Standard medicines also do not guarantee a 100% effect. First of all, it can be explained by constant mutations of the virus. So how to defeat swine flu, than to treat it? We offer a detailed list of the funds that are used.

What effects are applied after a person has swine flu? Treatment usually includes the following items:

1. Increase the volume of the liquid being drunk in the form of fruit drinks, tea, mineral water and dairy products.
2. Use of drugs to lower the temperature. Their dosage varies with age. Paracetamol and NSAIDs found in nurofen and ibuprofen are commonly used. Aspirin should only be used after 16 years to avoid Reye's syndrome.
3. To facilitate breathing, vasodilator drugs ("Nazol", "Tizin", "Nazivin", "Vibrocil") are used.
4. Translate cough into the moist can be using medical products on a plant basis (with plantain, licorice root). Alkaline inhalations are also used.
5. It is important during the course of the flu to increase the intake of ascorbic acid, and it is also necessary to purchase a multivitamin complex. Vitamin C in the period of the disease accelerates the production of the interferon that helps to fight the virus, which is especially important.
6. Antiallergic agents are used (for example, "Suprastin", "Tavegil" or any other antihistamine drug).
7. In the first few days, a course of interferon, laferon is prescribed. These drugs stimulate the production of interferon in the human body.
8. As already mentioned above, today there is no universal medicine that could quickly defeat swine flu. Treatment, in addition to the already mentioned drugs, includes medicines aimed at the destruction of the direct pathogens of influenza. A number of drugs that affect the virus have been developed. This is, first of all, "Rimantadine", "Oseltamivir". The media claim that the sick in the Russian capital were most effectively treated by taking the drug Relenc. But this medication does not belong to the budget list, besides, it has a wide list of restrictions.

"Arbidol" - a Russian drug, was a large number of tests and studies. As a result, it was proven to have a strong antioxidant, antiviral effect. In this case, "Arbidol" suppresses both human viruses and its animal species.

You can not engage in independent treatment. All these medicines must be prescribed only by a qualified medical professional. It is equally important that the infected person has his own utensils and personal hygiene products. In order for the virus not to spread, indoors it is necessary to conduct regular airing and wet cleaning. This will help to avoid contamination of people living with the patient, and also will not get sick again.

Prevention

How to protect yourself from swine flu? First, you need to adhere to the regime of the day, sleep for 6-8 hours, try to eat properly, if possible, avoid overloads and stresses that weaken the body's immunity. Secondly, the prevention of swine flu includes the use of vitamins and drugs that increase immunity. And also obligatory observance of personal hygiene. Do not forget about the correct processing of food. So, pork should be thoroughly fried (eating meat with blood is unacceptable).

Over the past decade, the swine flu virus has been actively studied to create the most effective vaccine against H1N1. However, there are no significant changes in this direction. Therefore, the prevention of swine flu is so important.

How to protect children from swine flu

Children's body is practically not familiar with such an infection. This seriously increases the child's risk of contracting swine flu. In order to prevent the disease, parents should take some preventive measures.

1. Frequently wash hands, always with soap, especially before meals.
2. Do not allow the child to go to school or preschool until he is fully recovered from respiratory infection.
3. If possible, avoid public places in which there is a likelihood of contracting the virus.
4. To vaccinate the baby, since vaccination is considered the most effective way of prevention.

What to do if the baby has the first symptoms

The kid can take a non-hot bath with the addition of powdered mustard, after which the legs are triturated with warming ointments and warm woolen socks are worn. Scientists have proved that the virus H1N1 completely ceases to manifest itself and actively multiply at a temperature of more than 50 degrees. Often doctors prescribe crumbs of inhalation with a temperature of about 70 degrees with the addition of mint, lemon and other essential oils, which have a beneficial effect on the respiratory system. For example, to prepare eucalyptus inhalation, you should add 50 drops of tincture to the boiling water. Procedures are held throughout the week. Crumbs of up to 3 years of age are prohibited from breathing because of the possible development of bronchospasm.

In Russia, this disease is not common. However, prevention should not be neglected. If you notice any signs of yourself or your child, contact your doctor immediately. Perhaps this is a simple seasonal flu, which within a week will pass without a trace. But there may be a more serious illness. In this case, the faster the virus is detected and the right treatment is started, the sooner the person will become healthy and will not get any complications. To tighten with the reference to the doctor it is not necessary.