Influenza came from an Italian word meaning influence. It is an infectious viral disease and can infect humans, birds and mammals. This virus spreads through the air or any form of body contact. A lot of individuals suffer from influenza every year. More often than not, influenza cases become irreparable if not brought to the care of the proper health professionals. Usually, milder forms of influenza infection can be curable if aggressive treatment measures are applied. There are actually a number of different influenza viruses and they all have the ability to mutate or change. Sometimes they change slowly over time (this is referred to as drift), but sometimes they change suddenly (this is referred to as shift).
The influenza virus is an RNA virus that belongs to the orthomyxoviridae family. Three genera of the influenza virus currently exist. Each influenza virus is identified by the antigenic differences in their nucleoprotein and matrix protein. There are three types of influenza virus; type A, B, and C. Each of them has its own family. Avian influenza for example includes type A. The types of influenza virus are also not same in their fierceness. The strains of both seasonal and swine influenza have similar symptoms and are spread like most illnesses. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, body aches, chills, fatigue, sore throat, headache, runny nose, fever, and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.
The acute symptoms may include gastrointestinal symptoms as well. Some other signs of an acute attack of influenza are joints and muscles aches, headache, fever and chill. 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. There are two types of influenza vaccines ,TIV (trivalent inactive vaccine) and LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine). TIV as the name suggests is inactivated virus and given for infants 6 months of age and older, while LAIV is given to healthy persons 2-49 years old. Influenza B virus is relatively less dangerous and this strain is responsible for smaller outbreaks of the infection. If you are infected with type B once, then your immune system will resist this type of virus for many coming years.
The influenza virus is therefore extremely small and has a size of about 80 to 120 nanometers in diameter. It appears spherical under a microscope. The external side of the virus has a fatty layer covered with glycoprotein spikes. The late symptoms usually appear as the serious form of the early indicators. The fever reaches higher degrees and may come and go at any time of the day and is continuous in pattern. 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.
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Influenza vaccines and their benefits on senior citizens have been greatly exaggerated, according to a major study of the subject published in the medical journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. Researchers analyzed prior studies on the effectiveness of vaccines used on senior citizens and the elderly residing in assisted living facilities. Studies conclude that it is nearly impossible to tell whether flu vaccines have a role in diminishing winter deaths among senior citizens at all, let alone by the vast degree often claimed in the media.
Many are aware of the commonly referenced statistic that flu shots lead to a 50 percent reduction in winter deaths among the elderly. But the study also points out that flu itself is only the culprit for 5 percent of winter deaths in that demographic. “We find it peculiar that the claims that influenza vaccination can prevent half — or more — of all winter deaths in elderly people and those living have not been more vigorously debated,” the researchers write. “That influenza vaccination can prevent 10 times as many deaths as the disease itself causes is not plausible.”
The researchers also found blatant problems in the execution of flu vaccine studies for senior citizens and those living in assisted living facilities. The researchers most significant criticism was that most medical studies have been carried out with not enough participants who are in poor health whether living independently or within assisted living facilities. The researchers also mention that flu vaccination rates in assisted living facilities have increased from 15 percent to over 60 percent since 1980. However, there has been no corresponding decrease in deaths from the flu.
“This data supports what the naturopathic community has been saying for decades: That flu shot vaccines are medically useless,” said consumer health advocate Mike Adams. “Their promotion is based on junk science, exaggerated benefits and fear mongering among the elderly. But much like everything else in modern medicine, when you peel back the propaganda and look at what’s underneath, you find there’s no good science at all. Flu shots are a medical hoax.”
The researchers who performed this study did not recommend that senior or elderly citizens discontinue the use of vaccines, insinuating that even a partly effective vaccine would be better than no vaccine at all. Seniors can receive the attention and care they need by spending their golden years at an ideal assisted living facility. Many elderly citizens find happiness and a comfortable lifestyle by moving to an assisted living facility. They provide the medical care and recreational requirements baby boomers need. Assisted living facilities customize specific service plans for their residents, so as not to change a senior’s habits and lifestyle while at the same time catering to their exact needs. Assisted living facilities approach the use of influenza vaccines keeping in mind each of their patient’s specific medical conditions and needs. The use of influenza vaccines is a very disputed subject and continues to be heavily debated upon by health care and medical professionals.
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Influenza is caused by airborne viruses via the respiratory system. Influenza or flu can be transmitted from one person to another by coughing and sneezing through his mucus, saliva and other secretions. Influenza viruses cannot enter the body through the skin.
There are many influenza treatments; influenza vaccines or flu shots, Tamiflu and home remedies. Flu shots contain thimerosal which is a mercury based preservative and over the last twenty years or so, it has been removed from many health care products in order to protect public health. Home remedies are far or less ineffective and hence the only effectual influenza treatment we have is Tamiflu.
The active ingredient in Tamiflu is oseltamivir and it reduces the intensity of all the flu symptoms including fever, chills, body aches, muscle pain, headache and fatigue. Other influenza symptoms that may not be noticed initially are dry cough, runny nose and sore throat.
You can also buy Tamiflu online , Tamiflu also blocks the action of neuraminidase enzyme in the body. This enzyme supports reproduction and spreading of influenza virus in the body. When you buy Tamiflu online, it inhibits the spread of virus infection and reduces the span of disease.
Tamiflu works against both the type A and type B influenza viruses and provides effective protection against the attack of the flu. If you are diagnosed with flu, your best bet is to buy Tamiflu online. When you buy Tamiflu online, you won’t have to step out in the cold to the doctor and local pharmacy but sit in the warm interiors of your home and get influenza treatment.
If you want to buy Tamiflu online, make sure you buy genuine Tamiflu marketed by
Hoffmann-La Roche.
Influenza Treatment – Tamiflu in Brief
Tamiflu is used both in the prevention and cure of influenza from virus A and virus B
It acts as a transition-state analogue inhibitor of influenza neuraminidase, preventing new viruses from budding from contaminated cells
Tamiflu ‘oseltamivir’ is the first oral neuraminidase inhibitor commercially developed for influenza treatment
Tamiflu is an effective influenza treatment but has certain side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and head ache
Tamiflu is successful at treating adults and adolescents suffering from flu. When you buy Tamiflu online it protects you from getting flu even if you are exposed to someone who has it and also reduces the chances of getting the disease if there is an outbreak of flu.
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What is Influenza?
Influenza is an infection caused by a virus of the respiratory tract. Influenza is a very contagious infection and can easily break into a pandemic. You may catch this infection from an infected person who is travelling with you or is working with you or from an infected family member. Influenza virus may infect others around even if the infected person has no illness symptoms. Influenza viruses can enter the body through the mucous membranes in the mouth, eyes, or nose.
Influenza is also known as ‘flu’ and crops up mostly in winter between October and March. The symptoms of influenza are as follows:
Fever – usually continuous and may be lower in older adults than in children and young people
Muscle pain and body aches – often severe, usually in the arms, back and legs
Headache – severe pain
Loss of appetite – mainly due to a feeling of illness or fatigue
Dry cough, sore throat or runny nose – more visible when the fever goes away
Other symptoms are usually more severe, when fever is high. Symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhoea are not related to influenza as opposed to what most people believe.
Causes for Influenza
Influenza is caused by flu viruses. There are mainly three types of flu viruses – type A, B and C. Influenza A viruses are found in humans and animals, whereas B and C are found only in humans. Influenza A virus possesses two surface proteins, haemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N), which are used to classify the virus into subtypes. The natural reservoir for influenza A is considered to be aquatic birds, as all influenza A subtypes are found in these birds, whereas only certain subtypes are found in mammals. These two surface proteins may undergo change over time.
Minor changes are termed antigenic drift, while major changes in one or both of the surface proteins, is called antigenic shift. The importance of these changes is that antibodies in the blood, which are responsible for protection against repeated infection with the virus, are less effective if the virus surface protein changes; the greater the change, the less effective is the antibody. Only influenza A can undergo this dramatic variation in which a virus of a new subtype can suddenly appear in the human population; influenza B and C viruses appear to be more stable than influenza A.
It is this antigenic shift that can be the catalyst for a nation-wide epidemic, or more seriously a world-wide pandemic. The latest example of an emerging new subtype is the ‘bird flu’, first isolated in Hong Kong in May 1997, which previously had only been found in birds and was not associated with disease in humans.
As Influenza viruses are known to mutate over time, new vaccines have to be developed constantly. Old vaccines may not help against a new form of virus. Influenza viruses spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing. Influenza can also be transmitted by indirect contact with a contaminated object or surface and then with your own mouth, eyes, or nose before washing your hands.
Treatment Available for Influenza
Current influenza vaccines contain either inactivated virus, treated so that it cannot cause infection, or virus components. Recent vaccines contain a mixture of two influenza A subtypes and one influenza B virus. The vaccines are very effective and have been shown to reduce hospital admissions for pneumonia. All viruses used in vaccine production are currently grown in chicken eggs, and experimental vaccines made in mammalian cells are likely to be the next development in vaccine production.
Changes in the virus due to antigenic drift or antigenic shift mean that the vaccine must also change to cover the prevailing strains of the virus; last year’s vaccine may not protect against this year’s virus.
The composition of the influenza vaccine for the next season is coordinated by the WHO. The ability of influenza to continually undergo antigenic change ensures that there is always a possibility that new variants not covered by the vaccine will appear which may give rise to serious epidemics. This means that making a completely accurate prediction of likely influenza activity for the oncoming season is very difficult. It should also be remembered that during the annual winter influenza season, other ‘flu-like’ viruses also circulate, against which influenza vaccine offers no protection. The vaccine should not be given to people who are allergic to egg products.
Influenza A infections can be prevented to a certain extent with drugs which effectively prevent illness. The combination of vaccination with prophylaxis offers the highest level of protection for high-risk patients.
Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) as Best Influenza Treatment
Tamiflu is a unique medication and helps in treatment as well as prevention of influenza. It is also recommended by World Health Organization in case of influenza pandemic and bird flu outbreak. Tamiflu is a safe and effective drug; however, it would be misleading to say that it is the best influenza treatment. Different people react differently to medications and hence you might find Tamiflu to work well for you but might not work the same way in another individual. It is best to follow the doctor’s instructions in these cases.
Tamiflu is of proven effectiveness in the treatment of influenza. New types of anti-influenza drugs are currently under development. Patients should rest, keep warm and take plenty of non-alcoholic fluids plus any medication recommended by their doctor to relieve symptoms. Antibiotics are of little value except in patients in whom bacterial pneumonia occurs.
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