Get Out Your Bubble Suit: Swine Flu Epidemic Spreading!

It has been said that a mass flu pandemic hit’s North America about 3 times a century and we haven’t had one for over 40 years. Sounds like it times to batten down the hatches once again. Borders to Mexico and soon to be Canada are checking each and every person going in or out for the virus and the CDC is preparing to hand out mass amounts of the last vaccine that worked against the last flu virus that hit the states.

Sadly, no one knows if the vaccine will do any good, as a cure was never found with the last round of swine flu. The virus also has medical examiners miffed, as it seems no strain of this virus has ever been seen in pigs, and it does not seem to effect them in any way. Which means its not really the “Swine Flu” that hit the states in 1976, but a whole new strain of flu that acts like the Swine flu and is going to be treated the same.

The flu is especially potent, because it is a Type A and is one that is normally found in animals, such as birds or swine. People do not generally become infected by animal type flues, and it makes it a unique human/animal blend of influenza that no one has seen as of yet.

In the US, only 20 cases of this new form of swine flu have been noted, and it has been marked down that none of the individuals infected, had been anywhere near pigs. A few, however, had made recent visits to Mexico, where the outbreak has reached a scale of an epidemic.

The CDC has now issued warnings to each state in the US and to all the news stations to spread the world of a potential pandemic that has the chance of sending millions to the hospital.

Although they want you to be warned, the media has urged that no one worry, since all of the 20 cases in the US that have been reported have been mild. No one has had more than a few sick days at home with the flu.

Time to get your bubbles on! Many stores are stocking their shelves with protective paper face masks and the government is stock piling antibiotics that have been known to combat previous flues of this nature. Its time to take extra time to wash your hands often and not sneeze on anybody.

If you don’t have a bubble that you can seek refuge in, there are some simple symptoms to look out for.

Just think “Flu”:

-Fever above 100*F -Runny Nose -Muscle Aches

-Cough -Sore Throat -Headache

-Chills -Fatigue -Diarrhea

-Difficulty Breathing -Nausea -Vomiting

As with most flues, the major symptom to look out for is severe diarrhea and vomiting, as they cause severe dehydration.

For now, there isn’t much being done by most states, but with the finding of four people in Canada and several in California, I would hope Washington and the rest of the western state take more proactive steps towards preventing a swine flu epidemic in our areas.

As for right now, with only a little information gathered from the 1,000’s of infected people in Mexico, the US government has issued an official warning to all citizens to be extra careful, and if you do end up getting sick in any form, you need to stay home. Avoiding a spread is the best possible defense plan at this point, and the virus is said to spread very easily from person to person.

103 people in Mexico have already been taken by the flu, and because experts know enough to know they don’t know anything, they are just trying to keep people from spreading the disease before they have enough time to create a vaccine. As I write this, labs everywhere are put to the task of creating such a vaccine, incase of a total outbreak. Hospitals are preparing, and the CDC is awaiting the first true results of this swine flu in more areas.

They have also suggested that anyone planning a trip to Mexico, should be highly advised to change their plans ASAP. It is safer for everyone not to travel where the virus is most prevalent.

Most health officials are not to concerned if there is an outbreak, as most people will be able to be treated with viral antibiotics until they get better or a vaccine is ready, but that still leaves the elderly and the young at risk.

The best plan is to be proactive and remember some common sense tips to avoid bacteria and viruses:

-Wash your hands frequently. In the kitchen, after the bathroom, before and after touching food or money, after playing with pets, and any other time you are near a sink with antibacterial soap.

-Disinfect! Get out your Lysol and bleach and prepare to tidy up! Keeping things clean and free from bacteria where viruses can live, will help you avoid being a target home for the swine flu.

-Stay extra clean. As mamma always said, “make sure to wash twice behind your ears, and three times where the sun don’t shine.” Make sure your body isn’t an easy target for diseases and viruses, and you’ll help yourself stay safe all day.

-Cover your mouth! When you sneeze, couch, or in some other way force tons of specks of gross little blobs from your body outward. Even if you never get sick, your body can easily become a temporary transportation for the swine flu virus as it waits to find someone it can infect.

-If you come down with flu or cold like symptoms, Stay Home! For once in your life its time to take some sick leave! If not only to give yourself a chance to get better, but also to keep everyone else around you safe from catching the swine flu from you. Or you could picture it this way, if everyone else catches it at your place of employment, they will pass it around and around, and you will get sick more then once, and more likely it will be more severe the second and third time around. The CDC suggests staying home until two full days after all your symptoms disappear.

-If you find yourself riddled with severe diarrhea or vomiting, or you have trouble breathing, you need to seek medical attention ASAP. Call an ambulance to come and pick you up so that you can avoid spreading the virus if you think its swine flu. Most doctors have consulting lines that you can call to ask about your chances of having swine flu.

-There are no vaccinations you can get at this moment, as the current flu shot does nothing against this new one. However, taking daily multivitamins has always shown to combat illness, and could never hurt your chances.

-If your feeling overly paranoid about catching the swine flu, or you work in the medical field, most drug stores carry paper face masks that can be worn to help prevent breathing in the virus or spreading it out through respiration. This is highly recommended if you have to visit a hospital for any reason.

Now that you know the symptoms, and are in a panic to protect yourself and your loved ones, please make note: it IS SAFE to eat Pork products. The strain of flu is similar to swine flu that normally effects pigs, except that it doesn’t infect pigs. So don’t be afraid of the bacon, the farmers have given them their shots and there are no signs on this continent that they are going to get infected at all.

Hmm.. I wonder if they make space suits that have a vent for when you cut the cheese?

Make sure to check out more about the swine flu by checking out the CDC’s website and info @

Swine Flu