Flu - The New Deadly Bug

    

         Have you heard the new sad stories of someone dying of the flu? Yes, it is the flu season again. If you did not know the long word for flu is influenza. The flu is an infectionn on your nose, throat, and lungs. You can get the flu by inhaling tiny droplets of liquid when someone with the flu coughs or sneezes. You could also get it if you touch something that has the virus on it, then touch your mouth, eyes, or nose. The first trigger of the flu is with a high fever. Other symptoms include dizziness, chills, nausea or vomiting, flushed face, body aches, headaches, or lack of energy. Those symptoms usually go away within 2-4 days and new ones come in. Such as a dry cough, increased breathing symptoms, runny nose, sneezing, and a sore throat. If you think you have the flu, go to the doctor and get checked out. To lower the fever, you may use tylenol, motrin, or advil, unless told otherwise. You should be getting lots of rest with a lot of liquids to keep you hydrated and rested. Do not forget that you can try to prevent the flu by getting yourself a flu shot. In some cases it does not work, but it never hurts to help your body fight it! If you go to your local doctor's office or a Walgreens or CVS they have vaccinations, and you can pick (at most places) either the shot in your arm or a mist up your nose. The highest peaks of the flu usually appear in the fall and January to February. 

         There are mulitple different types of the flu. You can get swine flu, influenza A, & influenza B. Go to a doctor if you think you have any of these symptoms. The flu can be a serious illness that kills many people per year. Get your vaccination and make sure your friends and family get it too.

Information From:

Paragraph Information From:

Board, A.D.A.M. Editorial. Flu. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 Apr. 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001144/>.

Picture 1 From:

    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EM_of_influenza_virus.jpg

    Picture 2 From:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza