Take time to get Vaccinated
CDC recommends a yearly seasonal flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against seasonal influenza.
Vaccination is especially important for people at high risk of serious flu complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
Prevent the Spread
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible. This is to keep from making others sick.
• While sick, limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Antiviral Medications
• If you get seasonal or novel H1N1 flu, antiviral drugs can treat the flu. The flu prevention medication that is currently making head-waves is Tamiflu. You should only take Tamiflu if you feel the on-set of the flu and have symptoms of the Flu.
• Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body.
• Antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications.
• Antiviral drugs are not sold over-the-counter and are different from antibiotics.
• Antiviral drugs may be especially important for people who are very sick (hospitalized) or people who are sick with the flu and who are at increased risk of serious flu complications, such as pregnant women, young children and those with chronic health conditions.
• For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started within the first 2 days of symptoms.
• Flu-like symptoms include fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose muscle aches, and sometimes diarrhea and vomiting.
Guest Author Post by Michael Clark who writes for Apexrx.com, a safe online pharmacy since 1998.