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H1N1-I Want a New Drug
More in H1N1 Facts
One of the bad things about the flu, including the H1N1 version, is it is a virus. That means that it does not respond to antibiotics, which only work on bacterial infections. A dose of amoxicillin or other common antibiotics may fend off secondary bacterial infections but will do nothing about the flu itself.
So don’t go to the doctor and ask for antibiotics, for they won’t help. If you’re in a country that let you buy antibiotics over the counter, save them for something it might be helpful for.
There are antiviral drugs, but their side effects tend to be higher than those in antibiotics and are usual reserved for very bad infections; if someone is sick enough to be in the hospital, antivirals like Tamiflu will be prescribed, but otherwise healthy adults won’t generally be prescribed antivirals. However, children under the age of two, the elderly and folks ...
Anxiety – Treatments
More in Anxiety
There are many treatments for anxiety, some more complicated than others. We will go through them from the easy to the more difficult;
Aromatherapy – The use of essential oils to elevate mood or to calm down and release stress. For years that has been the home made therapy for anxiety. Those who specialize in aromatherapy believe that the fragrance in the essential oils stimulate the nerve in the nose.
Our sense of smell is connected directly to the memory and emotion parts in the brain. That results in a change of mood. As of yet, there is very little scientific proof that this method really works.
Medication – There are the short term drugs that help overcome an occasional anxiety such as Xanax and Valium, but they are helpful for a measured time only and form dependency. The dosage has to be adjusted with repeated use.
There are other medication ...
H1N1 Vaccine
More in H1N1 Facts
We are now seeing some vaccines for H1N1 hitting the market. Older folks might not need it, for the 1957 flu outbreak was a variant of H1N1, so people over 52 might have seen this bad-boy before. However, the vaccines are relatively inexpensive and many states are picking up the tab for vaccinations, so most people should consider getting the vaccine, especially if you are working with larger numbers of people.
Vaccines are a common method of heading off deadly diseases. The trick in developing a vaccine is finding a weaker form of the disease that can trigger an immune response, so that when the real disease shows up, the immune system is locked and loaded for it. The word vaccine flows from the Latin vacca for cow.
The original vaccine was for smallpox; when a British scientist found that milk maid weren’t getting smallpox, he found that cowpox, a ...
Anxiety – Emergencies
More in Anxiety
Sometimes the feeling of anxiety is getting so acute that an immediate medical attention is required. Two cases come to mind; The difficulty in identifying anxiety is due to the fact that most of the symptoms of anxiety can present themselves in other cases as well.
There are times when patients arrive to the emergency room with chest pain and the doctor has to decide whether it is caused by anxiety or an heart attack.
Chest pains, cold sweat, shortness of breath will present themselves in cases of cardiovascular problems. If the pain feels different than what you experienced before or it is much stronger and lasts longer, do not avoid getting immediate help by thinking it is only an anxiety attack.
It is very important to stress that sometimes doctors make mistakes in the diagnosis, especially under emergency situations. Frank and truthful conversation with the doctor will help him avoid ...
