Cold and Flu

About 24% of the US population received the swine flu vaccine offered in 1976. Of those, about 500 developed Guillain-Barré syndrome and 25 died. A connection to receiving the Flu Vaccine was believed, but no such connection was ever shown to subsequent flu vaccines.

The best treatment for the common flu is to start the moment you feel the flu coming on. For the first day, rest, take vitamin C, zinc** and an over the counter fever reducer like ibuprofen, aspirin (not for children 14 or under due to Reye's syndrome) or acetaminophen (use only as directed, can be liver toxic). Use zinc every four hours to a maximum of four (4) zinc tablets in one day. If the flu has not gotten remarkably better the next day, repeat the dosages and timing for all.

By the third day you should be up and around and in the recovery phase. At which time you take Vitamin C and zinc twice a day (morning and night) until the symptoms are gone. Once the flu is gone, stop taking the zinc.

To help maintain a healthy immune system, it is advisable to eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sunlight and in the flu season supplement your diet with extra vitamin C and echinacea. Follow the instructions for taking echinacea.

**Recent studies have shown that the zinc lozenges are more effective than taking oral zinc supplements for colds or flu, it is believed that it helps prevent the viruses from attaching as easily to the cells of the mucous tissue (this is how the viruses invade our bodies) since the lozenges coat the mucous tissue directly. Follow label directions.

OVER 9000!

Yes, either way.

All fevers are too high for a 2 month old. You should always contact your doctor when an infant has any fever and do so as soon as possible. If the infant gets dehydration from the fever, it can cause serious, even life-threatening problems. Fever usually means infection, and infants do not have the immune system maturity to deal with it on their own. Always contact the doctor for infant and young children's symptoms of fever for advice.

I've heard that the time between when a person catches a cold and when symptoms actually appear is approximately 2-3 days.

Sometimes drinking warm milk/water with honey in it can help, and since most cough medicine contains alcohol, you could consider adding an ounce or less of whiskey or vodka. Other times, you may need to try cough medicine. Try one that contains guaifenesin (Robitussin or store brand knock offs), since it is particularly good for treating non-productive coughs that an expectorant will help, as from the flu or a common cold.

And/or consult your pharmacist for suggestions of other over--the-counter (OTC) treatments that could help. They are always there, they provide the service free, and they are as (or more) knowledgeable about OTC medicines as is your doctor.

Or, if the cough lasts longer than 2 weeks or becomes more severe, then a trip to the doctor or other health care professional may be necessary for an exam to determine if the cough is due to something else such as a secondary infection, like pneumonia, that needs other treatment.

It cannot be prevented because they have not made a cure for it.

Yes, certain strains of Swine Flu can go from pig to pig, human to human, and pig to human or human to pig. If it is the right type of flu that has been mutated in the pigs, then it can be passed that way. The US CDC and World Health Organization are giving those in close proximity to pigs advice to be very careful when with the swine and to practice good hand washing techniques after touching the swine or their habitat.

Viruses are composed of two main parts: an outer protein covering called a capsid and an inside core of either DNA or RNA. Not both DNA and RNA. Some of these have an envelope over the capsid. The ones that do not are said to be naked. The proteins in the capsid allow the virus to attach to the "docking stations" proteins of the host cell. The naked viruses are more resistant to changes in the environment.
Some naked viruses include poliomyelitis, warts, the common cold, chickenpox, shingles, mononucleosis, herpes simplex (cold sores), influenza, herpes viruses and HIV (AIDS).
Some enveloped viruses include norovirus (stomach bug), rotavirus and human papillomavirus (HPV).
The envelope can be damaged by freezing temperatures, chlorine, and phenol. If damaged, the virus cannot infect.

Viruses are not an organism at all. They are not alive. They are nonliving. They are like cockle burrs that "grab" hold of your clothing or a dog’s coat. They are hijackers. Once they get attached to the cell of a living cell, they can take it over and "make" the living cell produce virus particles instead of cell parts. These particles can assemble into more viruses and then they break out of the cell (killing it) and begin the process again. They cannot make more viruses on their own.

They are very small and can be considered ultramicroscopic. We were not able to see them with the best light microscopes as we could bacteria (prokaryotes). We have to use an electron microscope to see them as they are that small. This was not available until recently.

Longest sneezing fit The longest recorded sneezing fit is that of Donna Griffiths (UK). She began sneezing on January 13, 1981 and sneezed an estimated one million times in the first 365 days. Her first sneeze-free day came 978 days later on September 16, 1983.

No, they are different viruses and different types of viruses. Most common colds are caused by either the rhinoviruses or coronaviruses (but there are over 200 kinds of viruses that cause the common cold). Influenza is also caused by too many influenza viruses to name them all, but they are in the taxonomic family of viruses called orthomyxoviridae. Human influenza refers to one of the three major types of flu viruses ( Influenza types A,B, and C) that are endemic to the human population.

If you mean the "stomach flu" (which is more appropriately called viral gastroenteritis), then it, too, is caused by different viruses; most common is norovirus (aka Norwalk Flu).

Sure. Many people can be carriers of disease but not actually having symptoms themselves.

Yes they can so don't leave an open window when it is cold my friend did because she didn't know then she left the house and her hamster became VERY VERY sick and died a few days later.Small animals are hard to cure so if a hamster does get sick it has to go to the doctor ASAP!Or else,If the cold is very bad or the hamster goes to the vet too late it will not survive.

Yes, fever coming and going can be a common symptom in people thought to have swine flu H1N1/09. When the fever spikes and peaks and then gets better but then later comes back again, it is a sign that you should seek medical attention, some people have had more severe complications after this type of fever fluctuation.

Here is a description provided by one of the Answers.com contributors about the course of the fever with swine flu in their child:

My son has swine flu. It began with intense sore throat and congestion which went to chest in 2 days. Within the same 6 hour period congestion went to the chest, his temperature, which is usually 97.5, rose through 99 to 102. We began Tamiflu and did a very cold bath, then ice packs, Tylenol and cold showers intermittently, kept up Tylenol every 4 hours. Temp went down to 100 in 2 hours and stayed there for 12 hours, then down to 99 and stayed at 99 for 2 days(still 1.5 degrees higher than his normal temp. of 97.5). He was still on Tamiflu, Tylenol and also Augmentin for the original sore throat. Then temp. suddenly went up again to 102. Followed same course of cold shower, ice packs and continued Tylenol. Down to 101 within an hour, then to 100 at 2d hour. Pajamas were soaking wet from sweat by the next Tylenol dose. Must wake them to keep up Tylenol. Temp. back to 99. This is the 6th day.

There are thousands of different viruses and even the same virus will have mutated

over a year so it becomes a "cousin of a cousin's great great grandchild".

A vaccine is a small dose of the virus. Not enough to make you ill, but enough that

your body recognizes THAT PARTICULAR invader and learns to fight it.

Yes, so a cold cannot be treated by antibiotics because antibiotics only kill bacteria. A vaccination would make you immune to that cold, but they don't give vaccinations for colds because there are billions of different types and only one would be made immune to by a vaccine.

Defiantly no. It doesn't mean that all Muslims are not allowed to eat Pig so they shouldn't get vaccinated in the Quran it doesn't say anything about not getting vaccine for the Swine flu.

Being sick with a cold or other mild illness will usually not stop you from being able to be vaccinated for the flu, unless you have a high fever. However, being out in public with an infectious disease is not advised, so you may want to wait until your symptoms are gone if you can. If you are sick from an infectious organism, then your immune system would have to do "double duty" to work on fighting that at the same time as it is busy producing antibodies from the flu vaccine. In a normal healthy adult this usually doesn't prevent vaccination, however, unless, as mentioned above, the symptoms include fever which indicates a battle is already going on between your immune system and an infectious organism. In that case, seek advice from your health care professional. Always tell the clinician who gives you the vaccination if you have been recently ill, or have underlying health issues, before they administer the vaccine.

influenza type A is the most common and dangerous of all the types of this virus. it has caused many medical panics in history.

this cold virus is an agreeable sort.When the virus touches your hand, then it stays on your hand,until you scratch your nose. Then,it alights there,just inside your nostril. If you sniff , then its moving in your nose. Then,now you got the virus in you.

The extremities of a body would colder the fastest. This is because, if someone cools down lower than their normal body temperature, then the capillaries on the surface of the skin contract, letting less blood through, which would reduce heat loss. This is called vaso-constriction, and it happens because the blood stays more towards the major organs of the body, keeping them at the right temperature, so they can work efficiently.

Not in the US, unless you are in jail getting the shot. They will ask you questions, though.

Uh, definitely not. HOWEVER: Buckley's cold medicine looks a lot like semen and it does help a lot. p.s. I do not know which of the two tastes worse, but the Buckley's will definitely work better on your chest cough.

Children. The old saying around where I live is when your kids go back to school get some cold or flu remedies ready. A child having the cold and flu is not pleasant, but certainly not as hard on them as adults and of course, the children being in school with groups of other kids they are more than likely to bring home at least the cold or flu virus to you (even if they don't get it.)