What is Swine Flu? A strain of the flu virus that humans suffer from and
historically has only affected pigs by and large though the odd infection among
the human population has occurred from time to time.

It is a respiratory illness and caused by the strain of the influenza virus
known as H1N1.

As we had mentioned whereas primarily in the past the disease was confined to
the Pig population now sadly it has become a wholly human disease and sadly is
forecast to get worse.

A cousin of the normal flu virus that affects humans seasonally and very
occasionally seriously, the H1N1 Virus is actually a more potent form of flu.

Swine Flu has a set of symptoms that are all very similar to those of normal flu
and they include the following:

Fever Fatigue Lack of Appetite Coughing Sore Throat Pain in Muscles and Joints
Headache and Chills

Some people have also reported certain symptoms of a more gastric variety such
as vomiting and diarrhoea.

How can I avoid catching it and what do I do if I have, are most peoples
concerns.

You catch in the same way as conventional more common flu and these the most
common of these include

1. From person to person by coughing or sneezing 2. From touching an object such
as a door handle which has a virus on it from someone infected with flu.

It is important to stress at this stage that there is no risk of catching the
flu from eating properly handled and cooked pork meat products.Swine flu viruses
are not transmitted by Food.

General hygiene can help tremendously in all areas of helping to reduce the
transmission of all viruses, including swine flu.|It goes without saying that
common and correct adherence to the principles of general hygiene go along way
to the prevention of transmission of all viruses including Swine Flu.} These
include:

1. Whenever possible using a tissue when coughing and sneezing and also making
sure to cover up your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.

2. Disposing of dirty tissues promptly and carefully.

3. Maintaining good basic hygiene, for example washing hands frequently with
soap and water to reduce the spread of pf the v irus from your hands to your
face or to other people.

4. Cleaning hard surfaces (such as desktops and door handles) frequently using a
normal cleaning product.

If you think that you might have caught the H1N1 strain Swine Flu then the first
thing you should do is check your symptoms with your local healthcare
practitioner or professional and most organisations nowadays have web sites or
best practice guidance available. If you feel confident that you have caught
Swine Flu then a call to the same healthcare practitioner is extremely vital and
they will arrange for the delivery of the anti virals that are now in common use
to treat this flu.

One thing you should not do is to take the anti virals in advance of a diagnosis
or in the mistaken belief that you might be able to avoid the disease. There is
a big difference between being immunised correctly for flu and taking medication
incorrectly prescribed. This is not wise and should never be counselled.