Swine Flu
There has been a lot of coverage of the recent outbreak of Swine Flu in the press and in the media. Doctor Pixie has been fielding questions all week from concerned people, and has summed up her key advice below.
Firstly don’t panic! The best way to keep any flu virus at bay is regular washing of hands and surfaces. This is because this contagious virus is spread though the droplets that come out of your nose or mouth when you cough or sneeze (and these can reach over 3 feet!)
Doctors call this ‘droplet’ infection and the best way to prevent it is to do what your mother used to tell you when you were little and had a cold; cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, always carry tissues, and put your used tissues in the bin (not on the floor of the bus or in your coat pocket!)
If you have flu like symptoms then the best thing to do is to stay at home, and contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647 or your local GP surgery. Sitting in the doctors waiting room is really the the last thing you should do.
The doctor cannot vaccinate you or provide you with any ‘cure’ for Swine Flu, but they can advise you if you would benefit from anti-viral treatment or need futher tests.
The NHS have provided an information guide all about Swine Flu which you can access by going to NHS Choices.
You can share your experiences and thoughts with other Embarrassing Bodies site-users below. Comments are reviewed before they are published.
Please note: Unfortunately Channel 4 cannot respond to individual inquiries. If you have any concerns, you can check out the Channel 4 Health site or NHS Choices, but ultimately it is always best to check with a health professional.
hi i need some help as all the nhs websites dont have emails and i dont own a phone.my neighbour has been diagnosed to have swine flu his wife and child is in contact with him and are not on the medication like her husband is.should they all be on the medication as the wife is still at work and the daughter is at school im a bit worried as my son goes to the same school if anyone can help i will be very greatfull thanks
My brother has just found out that he has swine flu, My friends are staying away from me as they think i may have it too. I only have a runny nose and I think it may have been something to do when we got evacuated from the hydro(swimming pool ) as there was a fire, i was cold and i tell all my friends that i have a runny nose because of that, I really worried i am going to get it now, it has been 2 days and i am fine. My mum says that she is feel rather tired My dad and me are fine.
My grandad baby sits us on the days tht my mum and dad work, he is 67 and i am sooo scared he will catch it from my brother, I love my grandad more than anything and would HATE ANYTHING to happen to him. What should i do ??i have suddenly came down with the cold and its realy woring me the i might catch if you have any advise please tell me thanks!
I am travelling to Jamaica soon with Virgin Airlines. My mum told me to be carefull and wash my hands as often as possible because she said I wouldn't be allowed to go because Virgin Airlines will test anyone who has a sniffle at the airport to see if they have SWINEFLU. I was just wondering if this is true and is there anything I can do to make it a little more less likely to get it ??
Thanks for your help;
:)
I am just getting over 'flu like' symptoms, although I do think it was just a bad cold…however I do agree it's quite confusing as people have noted different levels of symptoms. For example my pregnant friend and her 3 children have all had confirmed swine flu (caught from school)- and all suffered with different symptoms. They are all fine now and have likened it to a really bad cold. So my advice is be prepared but don't panic.
i live in quite a small estate and there are 2 seperate bits, there is the red brick(me)and the yellow brick.Thats because the houses have different coloured bricks.Between us there is a big beild and at the yellow brick 3 people have swine flu do you think it will spread up to the red brick?
i have recently been diagnosed with swine flu, i'm 30 weeks pregnant so i was given a inhaler of zanamivir, instead of the tamiflu tablets. i have taken all the inhaler like the doctors told me to, it helped the first couple of days, but now ive taken the whole course im starting to feel worse. what should i do?
i realised i had swine on sunday morning i am 13 and it is very incomfortable. it makes you tired and i have mostly all the symtoms i have my tamiflu wich is not really helping i have only been taking it for 2 days though.it does not seem to be as bad as they make it i just try to keep away from my family as much. i am healthy anyway so i should be ok.the symtoms i have are headache,tiredness,fatigue,sneezing,coughing and a extremely soar throat. if your family members get it please make them feel as comfortable as possible and try your best not to catch it oryou will go paranoid like people i saw at school before we broke up, still dont turn a blindeye to it. and if you do get it get your tamiflu stay inside keep warm treat yourself like for soar throat have some ice cream it helped my also drink as much water as you can and get some fresh air for a few minuets like opening a window and keep in contact with family like grandparent by speaking on the phone but dont let people to near you or they can catch it too.i will write more about this hope i lose my Swine Flu by my birthday wich i should i wrote this just to help other people so they know what to expect i hope to become a doctor one day as well to help people. hope you dont get the swine flu and if you do just listen to doctor advice and take your Tamiflu.
my brother has swine flu and i live in the same house im scared that ill get it what can i do.
i caught swine flu in the bus and my worst sumptoms are headache will it go within a few days and can i still go out on the weekend? I have been on tamiflu since 3 days pls heeeeeeelllllppppp
Important Notice
The information provided on this website (including any NHS Choices medical information) is for use as information or for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. We do not warrant that any information included within this site will meet your health or medical requirements. This Embarrassing Bodies site does not provide any medical or diagnostic services so you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.
If you want to embed our videos in your site, read our embedding T&Cs here