Swine Flu what is it? 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.

The key questions that most people want answers to are, how can I avoid catching it and what do I do if I believe I am suffering from it?

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.Food is not a way of transmitting Swine Flu.

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.    Covering your nose and mouth when it comes to sneezing or coughing and using a tissue when ever possible.

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 the virus 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.