The first case of the deadly Spanish flu had left many deaths, not because of the virus itself, but because of the body’s counter-reaction to aspirins. Most died of respiratory failure, and not of the very virus itself. Aspirin can be great for body pains, but for fevers accompanied by the flu virus, you better sweat it off and wait. When you try to suppress your body’s fever, you are increasing the replication of these viruses, until your immune system is too overwhelmed to even fight back. This is also known as Cytokine Storm.

What is a Cytokine Storm? This is our body’s response to infection by producing cytokines, only that the entire process goes haywire, making us more sick than ever. Many of us think that foreign microbes are the greatest nemesis in keeping the body healthy during an influenza attack. What you don’t know is that your immune system can be deadlier. It can turn against you by making too many antibodies that will result in a cataclysmic cytokine storm. For example, if you have a lung infection, a cytokine storm can block your very air passages, suffocating you from within. An overactive immune system is deadlier than the swine virus itself.

Recent studies made by NASA say that when the body reaches a fever of more than 101 degrees, it actually stops the virus from spreading. No wonder why the flu virus hates hot weather. They just don’t thrive in hot places, and that can even mean your feverish body. When you experience fever, it is your body’s response to the microbes. T-Cells are then created to fight these nasty antibodies. Unlike bacteria, viruses have ways to fool your immune system and it can even look like your healthy cells. Because it is so sneaky, viruses can replicate so fast and your T-Cells can rarely catch up. By trying to reduce your fever during a viral attack, you just help these antibodies into wreaking more havoc through your entire body.

This means that the more you try to reduce a fever during a viral attack, the more dangerous the situation will be for you. When you experience fever with flu, patience can be a real virtue. You can feed your fever with pure water and light broths, helping your liver detoxify your body from these antibodies. By doing this liquid fasting, you help your body fight off the virus, and gradually, your fever will subside when there are no more microbes or viruses to fight.

Many of us nowadays don’t like the idea of sweating. It just feels icky. But here’s the good news, sweating off your fever can actually help you release all those trapped toxins from within. Since fevers are often accompanied by chills, there is more reason to bundle up, snuggle between the sheets, and just sweat off your body to healing. If you have tried going to a sauna, you would have noticed how light and clean you feel after having sweat off from the heat.

Bottom line is, there are natural ways to find your true healing and all you have to do is trust your body to do its wonderful work. You are your own healing machine! For now, we can only hope for more researches on this cytokine storm that causes swine flu deaths on people who have taken the swine flu medications.

MSM reports crazy conspiracy theorists were right!

It takes six-months time to create a potent vaccine against the deadly virus, and by that time, the H1N1 virus would have mutated into a newer, stronger and more fatal strain. What’s worse is that it’s happening sooner than anyone would want to hear.

A new strain of swine flu has been identified by the World Health Organization and time is on the essence, more valuable than gold. Several reports have been made on this new strain of virus which affects the young, the old, the sick, and those who are obese. As if the number of fatalities around the world is not enough to strike fear in our very hearts, a new drug resistant strain has been discovered, which means saying goodbye to Tamiflu. This new strain has been found out in a Danish patient, who has luckily recovered.

This means that mutation has already begun. Many experts are fearing that swine flu might take full blasts this fall – with a vengeance. For this, an urgent call to speed up vaccine production has been made. What’s alarming about this new strain is that it resembles the influenza virus that have caused the 1918 flu pandemic. Unlike the usual swine flu strain, the new one has a greater capacity in spreading way beyond your upper respiratory tract and go deeper into your lungs. Complications like pneumonia can happen, especially for those with a weak immune system.

By the time the new vaccines are ready, we can only cross our fingers that it will work effectively on the new strain. For now, all you have to do is stay more vigilant and take precautionary measures. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Stay healthy and choose only the best, natural way of making your body’s defenses stronger. The only question that remains is that when the time for mass vaccination is called, will you get yourself one?

Face masks give people a false sense of security and they don’t really give the needed protection, unless you have a high-tech respirator – or walk around town in a bio-hazard suit.  Science can only be lagging behind the mutation of this deadly virus.  Just when they think they have caught up, another form comes into life.  It is a never-ending battle against time.

When there is a fight for survival and a limited supply of anti-flu drugs to the populace – people will be forced to look for any alternative solution.  The question is:  Is there really a natural cure against the infamous flu?

On a personal point of view, our society has been bombarded by many synthetic and quick-fix solutions that we forget to find our healing – in nature.  Even the foods we eat are genetically-modified, stripped of essential trace nutrients needed by our bodies to be strong.  Science may have find a cure for hunger, but not for sustaining a better health.  Worse, no one wants to take the blame.

If one would trace back all pandemics in history, like the 1918 flu epidemic, one can see that homeopathic cures have played a large role in preserving the lives of many.  Gelsemium was used back then since aspirins and vaccines are not yet available.  When vaccines came into play, death rate from thyphoid vaccination was among the highest during the US Army compulsary vaccinations in 1911.  Seven men even dropped dead after being injected.

The FDA have warned on the sudden flood of fraudulent products claiming cure for H1N1, and told the media that Tamiflu and Relenza are the only approved cures for the virus.  But if you look closely at any virus, they all serve one purpose – to attack your immune system, especially when it’s at its weakest.  This means that we just need to go back to the basic things:  good food, clean living, rest and exercise.  There are many natural ways to boost the immune system without resorting to expensive synthetic supplements.

A joint project between China and Mexico are taking a step back into nature and take the potential of certain medicinal plants to ward off this swine flu for good.

If you’re curious as to the extent of the swine flu damage around the world, you may see the updated Situation Report from the ECDC, or European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.  You may also get the latest news on the H1N1 virus from the CDC, or Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

My stand point: Go Back to Nature… for healing..

Fact:  Surgical Face Masks Doesn’t Give You Protection Against Swine Flu

These masks are giving people a false sense of security and media should be responsible in correcting this.  You might as well dispose of your – disposable masks, for good.

These N95 masks are designed to protect the wearer from spreading his or her germs to another person.  For this, we see surgeons wear them during a patient’s critical operation.

Surgical masks have side gaps that allow one to breathe, which means that these are not effective against airborne flu, including your dreaded swine flu. For the same reason, bio-hazard scientists don’t just walk into their labs wearing these masks.

Even FDA warned the public about face masks.  According to their site, a face mask is a loose-fitting, disposable device that creates a physical barrier between the wearer’s mouth and nose, and potential contaminants in the immediate environment.

Reading further, you will see this line:

” While a face mask may be effective in blocking splashes and large-particle droplets, a face mask, by design, does not filter or block very small particles in the air that may be transmitted by coughs, sneezes or certain medical procedures. Face masks also do not provide complete protection from germs and other contaminants because of the loose fit between the surface of the face mask and your face.  ”

Now, this makes me wonder why we hear all these propaganda in wearing surgical masks to protect ourselves against swine flu.  Respirators can give you full protection, but it is not for everybody.  The FDA says that people with chronic respiratory, cardiac, or other medical conditions should check with their healthcare provider when using it.  Also, people with facial hair just won’t benefit from respirators, since they won’t have a snug fit.

This now comes down to one question:  What will really protect us from swine flu?

Even flu shots are not as effective, especially when viruses have a way of morphing rapidly into new forms, and the labs can only hope to catch up.  We can just wait for better news in the future.  For now, just do your very best to live a healthy life.

The swine influenza A virus ( H1N1 ) are new strains which were mostly found in pigs.  These are said to resist amantadine and rimantadine, which are the common treatment for swine flu.  It normally doesn’t affect humans, unless you are near infected swines.

Yes, it is possible for this virus to spread to people, like the regular seasonal influenza.  One may experience fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and even coughing.  Sometimes, this case comes with a sore throat, runny nose, vomiting, nausea and diarrhea.

Although this flu is rarely fatal, it is very important be on the watch.  Viruses, as we all know, will always morphed into a new form and medical labs doesn’t have the luxury of time in chasing new forms.

On a personal note, I think vigilance comes in handy in our fight against the flu.  Our body can only resist a lot when we live a healthy lifestyle.  Eating right comes a long way too.  Sometimes, all these outbreaks make me wonder how ready science is to handle the future woes of health?  Is genetically modified food to blame in this super strains we see today?

We can only hope for good news in the future…