About Common Cold and Influenza - What is the Difference (II)

By Knut Holt


THE CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND COMPLICATIONS OF INFLUENZA

Like cold, influenza is caused by virus strains that mutate frequently, but there tend to be one main virus strain each year that spread throughout the globe.

The transmission of the disease occurs by secretions from sick persons. These secretions can be carried as drops through the air, contaminate surfaces people touch, or get into the food. Symptoms start one to four days after the virus has entered the body.

Flu often begins as a diffuse lack of wellness that persists for some hours, and sometimes for a couple of days. Sometimes the flu does not progress past this stage. However, after some time the symptoms often suddenly get worse with a great degree of general discomfort. By flu the symptoms from the windpipe are the same as by common cold, but they are weaker:
- The throat or nose feels sore, but usually mildly.
- There can be some increased secretions from the nose and throat.
- There will be swelling in the nose and throat.
- Cough and sneezing are symptoms.

Symptoms from the rest of the body are the strongest by flu. The symptoms can be distributed throughout the whole body:

- Flu often gives high fever. High fever is the most important symptom to separate influenza from common cold.
- In spite of the fever, there is often a feeling of coldness in some parts of the body or of general coldness.
- There will be nausea, often severe, and often vomiting. Severe nausea and vomiting are also good indications of influenza, especially by children and teens.
- There is often a marked feeling of tiredness and general weakness.
- Mild to severe headache is common.
- Stomach ache and digestive disturbances often occur by flu.
- Aching around in the body, for example in muscles and around joints is common.
- Some persons experience a little neck stiffness and pain in the neck when trying to flex it, but this symptom must not be great. If these symptoms are distinct, the disease can be meningitis.
- The eyes can be read and irritated.
- Also skin redness can occur.

Having flu decreases the resistance against other viral and bacterial diseases substantially, especially if one does not get enough rest and comfort when having flu. Lung infection and throat infection by bacteria are common complications by flu.

Influenza- Symptoms and Treatment

By Nilutpal Gogoi

Influenza is a common contagious disease with flu-like symptoms. Influenza is caused by a sphere or filament-shaped virus. The most problematic part of these viruses is that they keep on changing. Such mutated virus strains can adversely affect a person even though that person had immunity to another strain of the influenza virus. And the situations worsens if separate strains combine. Such a combination can be really fatal as the newly emerged virus gains in its immunity against the extant vaccines.

A person becomes rather weak during the bouts of influenza. The patient’s immune system also fails to operate naturally. As a result, influenza can turn into another life threatening ailment known as pneumonia. In fact, annually approximately 25,000 American citizens die because of influenza or pneumonia. Medical reports have shown that people above the sexagenarian age group have been fatally affected by this twin disease. The virus responsible for causing influenza has been classified into three types, viz., A, B and C. While A affects mankind and animals, B and C targets only human beings. Mentionably, the third type of influenza leads to only to mild infection.

The latest panacea for influenza known as the 2004 Influenza Vaccine fights is composed of one strain of B and two strains of A. Influenza can attack anyone at anytime. However, people are particularly susceptible to influenza during the changes of seasons. During influenza, the main affected area is the respiratory channel. When the weather turns cold from hot or vice versa, many people irrespective of colds do fall prey to influenza. The disease can easily flow from one person to another. The primary routes for its transmission are sneezing and coughing. Influenza can also spread if one uses the clothes particularly the hanky or the towel used by an influenza affected person.

Influenza is accompanied by clogged nose, headache, or at times running nose, temporary pain of joints and running body temperature. Mentionably, influenza and its symptoms disappear within three to four days whether one takes medicines or not. However, influenza can also be a silent stalker. Under such circumstances, it is always advisable to try and cure influenza naturally. If the symptoms continue for a longer period and show little signs of disappearing, do consult a doctor.

The best way to cure influenza is to go for hot foot baths, and gargle if one suffers from sore throat. Many people take a tea spoonful of raw and unadulterated mustard oil to get back the normal voice. If one experiences mild fever, one can simply take the precaution of not bathing in cold water. Keep the body and the feet warm. Using cold ointments on the back side of the body, armpits, feet and on the chest besides around the nostrils also provide relief by means of the strong evaporation of those ointments.

It has also been found that homeopathic treatment is the most ideal strategy to cure influenza. This is especially true with children. Homoeopathic medicines can also be taken by the adults. The homoeopathic treatments give the best results in cases of adults who are teetotalers. Nonetheless, these medicines are cheaper than the allopathic ones. Besides, the homoeopathic medications do have any side effects although they take some time to deliver the goods.

Bird influenza: Nowadays, influenza has taken another deadly form. It is commonly known as the avian influenza as the virus gets transmitted to human beings from birds including poultry( hen, duck, turkey). The cause of this type of influenza has medically proved to be the H5N1 virus. Intensive researches are on to find a viable vaccine for avian influenza. The H5N1 virus has been found to be affecting people mainly in Europe and Asia.

In most of such cases, avian influenza spreads from the avian species to one person. To obviate any possibility of the H5N1 virus spreading to man, one must stay from making any contact with the birds during any avian influenza epidemic.

Symptoms of bird flu in humans can be similar to those resulting from typical flu-like symptoms, like fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Other severe symptoms are eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases, and other severe and life-threatening complications.

Nilutpal Gogoi is a writer and a freelance journalist having more than 18 years of service in several audio-visual and print media reputed organizations in North East India. He has published one popular adventure book for children and has published more than 1000 articles for various sites, as such http://www.publichealthclub.com/

Influenza - Its Symptoms and Causes

By David Chandler

Influenza better known as the "flu" is an infection of the respiratory tract that can affect millions of people. The influenza virus can be spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing of an infected individual.

Statistics show about 20,000 Americans die from influenza or influenza related pneumonia each year. Pneumonia and influenza are the sixth common cause of death in the United States. Elderly (65+) make up more than 90% of the 20,000 Americans who die from this illness each year.

A person may contract the influenza virus and not experience any symptoms for a few days. The incubation period for the influenza virus ranges from 1-4 days.

Is there more than one type of Influenza virus?

What is influenza?

There are three different kinds of Influenza viruses: Influenza A, Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza A can attack animals and humans, the remaining two (Influenza B and Influenza C) can only attack humans. Influenza C causes a very mild infection and does not provoke epidemics.

When observed through an electron microscope, influenza viruses are figured like filaments or spheres. Immunity to one strain of the influenza virus will not protect you against newly born strains of the virus, which has undergone minor changes or mutations.

The Influenza B and Influenza C virus may infect only human beings while Influenza A may infect several different types of animals. Influenza A virus can sicken many various types of animals, including humans, aquatic mammals, birds, horses, swine, and others.

At times when two different strains of viruses combine in humans or animals, they result in a new unique strain of virus with more immunity. The modern 2004 Influenza Vaccine is made of three strains, which include two strains of influenza A and one strain of influenza B.

For more information, visit http://www.FluInfoCenter.com