The Flu

Influenza

The festive holidays are associated with the winter months, also associated with the winter months is influenza better know as the flu. We all have either experienced this for or selves or know some one who has. The flu is as prevalent as the common cold during this season. The Flu is very contagious and could be passed to anyone of us with simple hand to hand contact. With this yr being projected as a record yr for the virus the more you know about the virus the more you're able to protect yourself. The history, signs & systems and treatments will be discussed to help you combat the flu virus.

History

When you think of great killer plagues of history, a few names come to mindÐ'--bubonic plague, Tuberculosis, smallpox. You probably don't immediately think of the cold and flu season but you should. According to New York Journal in 1918-1919, the Spanish Flu killed more people than Hitler, nuclear weapons and all the terrorists of history combine. The Spanish influenza was a more severe version of your typical flu, with the usual sore throat, headaches and fever. However, in many patients, the disease quickly progressed

to something much worse than the sniffles. Extreme chills and fatigue were often accompanied by fluid in the lungs. If the flu passed the stage of being a minor inconvenience the patient was usually doomed. Although my theories arose there was no concrete evidence on how the Spanish flu originated. The increase in global transportation in the 20th century made it easy for infected people to carry the ultra-contagious airborne virus into densely populated cites and commercial ports.

Sign & Symptoms

Influenza is a respiratory illness. Symptoms of flu include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. Children can have additional gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, but these symptoms are uncommon in adults. In most people, the flu is uncomfortable, tiring, and can keep you bedridden for many days. In seniors, young children, and people with chronic (long-term) lung diseases like asthma, the flu can be more serious. Each year the flu causes 500- 1500 deaths

Treatment

There are effective treatments that can