Cold or Flu?

Tragic Victims of the 2018 Flu Season

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 16:48:00 +0000

It's sad to see the tragedy in the deaths of all those who have died from the Flu and related illness this season. Articles like this one reminds us that it can happen to anyone.

Just goes to show you have to be very careful and protect yourself, best you can.

Some things I do to prevent catching the Cold/Flu are:

Wash my hands as soon as I get to work/home from my daily commute
Wash hands often, especially if you are touching any surfaces that others have touched who may be sick. Things such as keyboards, mice, door knobs, Mobile phones are common items some people do not think about.
Eat lots of citrus, I've eaten more than my share of citrus fruits these last few weeks

I did catch a bad cold a few weeks ago and stayed home to prevent spreading it to my colleagues. I waited 24 hours after my fever passed before heading back to work. I took Tylenol to alleviate my fever and body aches.

What are your tips to help prevent the spread of the flu this season? What have you done if you have caught the bug?

New strain of bird flu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Concern is growing about a mutant strain of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus that is spreading in Asia and beyond.

Existing vaccines appear to be powerless against the new strain.

5 Ways To Fight A Cold

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Take vitamin C as soon as you feel symptoms
Drink lots of warm clear liquids
Get lots of rest
Get fresh air
Keep happy

Swine flu pandemic has not peaked, the WHO says

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

It is "premature" to declare that the swine flu epidemic has peaked, a panel of experts convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The panel had been widely expected to say that the outbreak of pandemic H1N1 influenza had passed its peak and was now tailing off. The experts cautioned, however, that the virus had only recently reached Africa and that another wave of illness is expected in the Southern Hemisphere in the next few months as fall and winter approach. The committee recommended that another meeting be held in a month or two to reassess the situation.

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Teasing Vaccines From Tobacco

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

The U.S. Department of Defense, caught off guard by the swift spread of the H1N1 flu virus last year and delays in producing a vaccine, is backing an unusual plan to use tobacco plants to make the vaccine.

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As Swine Flu Fades, Experts Ponder Next Season

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0000

FRIDAY, Feb. 5 (HealthDay News) -- After nearly a year of headlines, worry and confusion, the H1N1 swine flu virus is now out of the news. Is it out of circulation as well?

The latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no states reporting widespread influenza activity and only five reporting regional activity.

But to say the virus has disappeared is an overstatement, said CDC spokesman Tom Skinner.

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Basics of Swine Flu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:00:00 +0000

What is the Flu?

The flu is an infection in your nose, throat, and lungs that is caused by a virus. There are different kinds of flu, like the one that people get every winter, which you can get a flu shot to prevent. There are other types of flu that primarily infect animals, like bird flu and now swine flu. The real name for swine flu is H1N1 flu. It is called swine flu because a virus that causes this flu also causes flu in pigs. You cannot get this flu from eating pork, bacon, sausages, or any other pork products.

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Flu Treatment a Hoax: The Tale of Tamiflu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:43:00 +0000

New reports indicate that the popular drug Tamiflu is ‘no better than a placebo’ for fighting H1N1 which means billions of tax payer dollars have swirled down the drain. Fake studies, missing data and psychiatric episodes round out this latest tale.

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OUR VIEW: Christmas tradition worth risk of swine flu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Despite risk of contamination from Jolly ol’ Saint Nick, the Christmas pastime of visiting Santa is as strong as ever.

Everybody, sing along!

On the first day of Christmas / Santa gave to me / an awful case of H1N1.

OK. Swine flu may be no joke, but most of the readers who responded to our issue of the week don’t view it as enough of a threat to keep their kids from directly presenting Santa Claus with their Christmas wishes. In fact, almost four out of five respondents said they would still take the kids to see the jolly old elf. Nearly 14 percent said they would consider it.

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Kids' swine flu shots recalled, not strong enough

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:12:00 +0000

(AP) - Hundreds of thousands of swine flu shots for children have been recalled because tests indicate the vaccine doses lost some strength, government health officials said Tuesday.

The recall is for about 800,000 pre-filled syringes intended for young children, ages 6 months to nearly 3 years. The shots, made by Sanofi Pasteur, were distributed across the country last month and most have already been used, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Swine flu fears will hit Hajj numbers, say Saudis

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Fear of swine flu is expected to reduce the number of pilgrims attending this year's Hajj pilgrimage, a senior Saudi official says.

Gen Mansour al-Turki told the BBC that although the number of international visitors might not be affected, a 40% drop in domestic pilgrims was expected.

The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani says it is the first official recognition that fear of swine flu may affect the Hajj.

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What's Going Around: Flu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Staying home on Thanksgiving might be a blessing to all

Reports of less flu-like illness across the country in recent days had some thinking we may have seen the worst of the H1N1 virus. But it's not necessarily so.

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UPDATE 1-EU body backs single dose for 2 H1N1 flu vaccines

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:50:00 +0000

LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - In a change of tack, Europe's drugs watchdog said on Friday that giving a single dose of GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK.L) Pandemrix or Novartis's (NOVN.VX) Focetria swine flu vaccines would suffice for most people.

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Is That Right? Onions and garlic fight swine flu?

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:48:00 +0000

Soldiers serving the small former Soviet country Moldova are being fed extra garlic and onions in hopes that those foods will help fend off swine flu.

Is that really likely to help keep them healthy?

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Santa at high risk for H1N1?

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:56:00 +0000

DEPTFORD — When tiny Angelina Owens climbed onto Santa's lap at the Deptford Mall on Thursday, she might have whispered, "I want Elmo Tickle Hands."

And Santa, lowering his gleaming white beard to her ear, might have whispered back, "I want the H1N1 vaccine."

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Rise in swine flu deaths recorded

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Another seven people with the swine flu virus have died in north west England in the past month, figures show.

NHS North West said the latest figures, compiled since the end of October, takes the total number of deaths to 21.

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Immunity to Swine Flu May Be Broader Than Thought

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:45:00 +0000

MONDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) — The swine flu virus that’s sweeping across the United States isn’t a total stranger to your immune system, a new study shows — a finding that should ease the most drastic worries about the lethality of the pandemic.

“What has been widely reported in the general press is that the swine flu is totally new, so there is no immunity to it,” said study lead author Bjoern Peters, an assistant member of the division of vaccine discovery at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in La Jolla, Calif. “But the severity of infections that have been seen is not greater than usually seen in seasonal flu.”

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School district hosts first free swine flu clinic for kids

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:33:00 +0000

FAIRBANKS — Parents brought their children to the first of three swine flu clinics for school-age kids in the Fairbanks North Star Borough on Thursday. Another vaccination clinic is scheduled for Tuesday, and a third is set for Dec. 3.

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Swine Flu surge: 18 more die in Ontario, 22 in Alberta, two in B.C.

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:51:00 +0000

OTTAWA – 52 more Canadians have died from Swine Flu to take the national fatalities from the novel pandemic virus H1N1 to 250 from the 198 deaths that were being reported just two days ago.

The Public Health Agency of Canada reported the new tally on Thursday, indicating that between Nov. 17 and 11 a.m. EST on Nov. 19, Ontario reported an additional 18 deaths while Alberta reported 22

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Flu Shot Made From Caterpillars Fails Safety Vote (Update3)

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:50:00 +0000

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Protein Sciences Corp. failed to prove its experimental flu vaccine is safe enough to be approved and more study is needed, a U.S. advisory panel said.

The shot, called FluBlok, is produced in less than two months by inserting flu genes into an insect virus and growing it in caterpillar ovary cells. Members of the advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 6-to-5 that the company hadn’t proven the vaccine safe, saying clinical trials weren’t large enough to support mass production. Nine of the 11 panelists said the shot was as effective as licensed vaccines in adults ages 18 to 49.

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H1N1: Swine Flu Activity Down in Many States

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Health officials and health care providers in many areas of the country are breathing a sigh of relief -- albeit a cautious one -- as the number of confirmed cases of H1N1, as well as flu-related emergency room visits and ICU cases, begins to decline.

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Hank Investigates: Flu Fraud

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Cashing in on your flu fears? Products on the web say they'll cure your flu or prevent you from getting it. Wait till you see what they are and what they're claiming! Hank investigates these flu frauds.

Everyone is washing hands, disinfecting surfaces, some even wearing masks people are lining up and clamoring for H1N1 flu shots, doing anything to avoid getting sick.

But how about drinking this herbal tea? Or using a special shampoo? Or waving a light wand to kill flu germs?

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HHS to warn consumers of flu drug price gouging

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:45:00 +0000

The Department of Health and Human Services will issue consumer warnings about price variations for a scarce liquid form of the flu-fighting drug Tamiflu, a spokesman said Wednesday.

HHS spokesman Bill Hall said consumers who suspect price gouging should call their state's attorney general. The warnings will be posted soon on flu.gov, he said.

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Playing politics with a pandemic

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:40:00 +0000

I woke up Monday morning with a sore throat, and mentioned this to a friend. "Swine flu?" he asked, oinking a few times for emphasis. No, as far as I can tell I do not have swine flu, the virus more formally known as H1N1. But even if I did, I'm not sure that anyone around me would take it very seriously.

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Warriors guard Watson tests positive for swine flu

noreply@blogger.com (FrugalNYC) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:42:00 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Golden State Warriors guard C.J. Watson has tested positive for the swine flu.

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