Understanding Influenza Disease

Influenza is a virus infection that attacks the respiratory channel, including the nose, throat, bronchial channel, and lungs. If you include the high-risk flu fell ill, the first defense is a flu immunization each year.

The first of influenza symptom is look like a cold with a fleshy nose, sneezing and sore throat. But a cold usually develop slowly, while the flu tends to be sudden and growing worse than cold.

Influenza symptoms:

• Headache
• Fever 38 degrees centigrade to 40 degrees centigrade
• Pain in the chest
• Missing in appetite
• Tired and weary
• Watery nose and sore throat
• Dry cough
• Insomnia
• Cold and sweaty
• Indigestion
• Muscle pain. Especially the back, arm, leg, and pivot.

Pain usually lasts 3 to 5 days, followed by the feeling tired during the 2 to 3 weeks. Accompanied by symptoms such as above. Despite could develop into more serious, and cause pneumonia, damage to nerves and brain, to cause death, but this is rare. Infectious virus can not be treated with antibiotic. Best medicine is rest and drinking lots of fluids and drugs to overcome the symptoms that arise.

The cause of influenza

Flu virus moves fast through the air in the form of water drop, when someone is infected with this virus, coughing, sneezing, or talking. So we can be infected through the air or through touching objects that has been infected by flu virus.

Influenza is caused by three species (strain) virus: influenza A, B, and C. type A is the most serious, with the most acute symptoms. Can cause a pandemic that devour the soul of the victim and attacked every 10 to 40 years. Example of a flu pandemic occurred in 1918 that 50 million people twitch in the world.

Type B infecting area with more narrow coverage. Symptom of type B is similar with type A but more lightweight. Type C is the most mild symptoms similar to the cold and are not related to the great epidemic.

Influenza risk factors

People who fell ill more at risk of flu include:

• Children aged under five years
• Parents who are over 50 years
• People who have the disease diabetes, heart, kidney disease and lung
• People with a weak immune system due to the influence of drugs or the HIV virus
• Pregnant women
• Those who directly or indirectly in the vicinity of the source of the virus or.

Influenza Complications

If you are healthy, influenza usually will not develop into serious. Although your body does not feel comfortable and pain, flu will usually heal itself without leaving effects. Complications that often occur include:

Ear infections
• Acute sinusitis
• Bronchitis
• Pneumonia
• Encephalitis

From all this, the most common and most serious is pneumococcal pneumonia, serious bacterial infection in the lungs. On the elderly and people with chronic diseases, pneumonia can be shut off. Best protection is vaccination with a pneumococcal pneumonia and influenza.

If you experience symptoms of flu complications, the risk of pneumonia, doctors flee to check. Symptoms of pneumonia are:
Issued a severe cough sputum
Very high fever and pain when breathing in.
If you fell ill bacterial pneumonia, you need to get antibiotic medication.

Influenza medication

Medicine influenza is to simply rest, drink lots of mineral water or other liquids. But in some cases, doctors will usually give a prescription antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir (Relensa).

Drugs that treat influenza virus types A and B is working with the crippling virus enzyme that is required to grow and spread. But this treatment often cause side effects include: dizziness, nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite and difficulty breathing. Treatment can also cause the virus to become more immune to the antiviral.

Alleviate Influenza Symptom

Drugs are sold freely can be used to alleviate the symptoms of influenza.

To treat nasal congestion and sneezing usually treated with antihistamine To treat watery nose decongestant be given, To ease painful joints and muscles and can reduce fever using paracetamol. For cough, is usually not necessary to use drugs, because it will disappear automatically. Except in some cases, where the cough is very harass so a cough medicine needed to be given .