Now I would like to give advice according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for medical treatment of swine flu.
There are two antiviral drugs available for treatment, Tamiflu (an oral medication) and Relenza (an inhaled medication). Antiviral treatment is recommended for the following groups of patients who display the typical symptoms of H1N1 infection, or swine flu, including fever, cough, aches, sore throat and occasionally vomiting and diarrhea:
- All hospitalized patients with swine flu
- Children younger than 5 years old, and especially those younger than 2
- Adults 65 years or older
- Pregnant women — treatment is thought to be safe and extremely important in this high-risk group
- Those with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, heart-related conditions, cancer, and diseases of the liver, kidney or blood
In addition to the above recommendations for antiviral treatment, anyone who shows the following symptoms needs urgent medical attention: - Difficult or rapid breathing
- Altered consciousness
- Persistent vomiting.
- A return of flu-like symptoms, including fever and a worse cough, after a period of improvement
- In children, not taking enough liquids, difficulty awakening or extreme irritability.
If an epidemic of swine flu does not materialize this year, there will be adequate treatment facilities available at doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals to care for those who become ill. But if a truly major epidemic occurs, receiving adequate treatment may prove difficult.
In this scenario, health care facilities may be overwhelmed with sick patients. Medical personnel, including doctors, nurses and technicians, may be in short supply because of being too sick themselves to provide care.
We at the Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group Santa Cruz, like other local medical organizations, are making plans to deal with a worst-case scenario. In such a case, patients arriving at a facility for medical care might be screened and treated outdoors in their cars or in tents. Some clinic buildings might be designated to care for only swine flu patients. More care might be provided over the phone or by e-mail.
We are all exploring novel ideas to deal with a surge of sick patients, while at the same time remaining hopeful that such a situation will not occur.
If we find ourselves with an epidemic, it will be very important for everyone to rely on the media for up-to-date information on what could be a fluid and rapidly changing situation.
In conclusion, I repeat what I said in the beginning of this series regarding swine flu: We must be prepared, not scared.
Terry Hollenbeck, M.D., is an urgent-care physician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Santa Cruz in Scotts Valley. A doctor with 36 years’ experience, he invites readers to view all of his previous articles at his Web site, valleydoctor.wordpress.com. Information in this column is not intended to replace advice from your own health care professional. For any medical concern, consult your own doctor.
and has been killing people in the US every week all summer (surveillance and reporting
are getting curtailed or Censored;
we have a dual problem;
it's not just the virus).
"60% of US swine flu"(Panflu Firstwave)
"dead have been UNDER age 49" (HHS/CDC)
Pregnant women were 8%
of the lab-tested, reported, Deaths,
even though they are only 1% of US population.
Please stop saying misleading things such as, "if" an, "epidemic does Not materilize this year" or, "if" a major "Epidemic".
We are in a Pandemic.
Panflu is contagious 1 to 2 days Before symptoms and Airborne-contagious;
not just by droplets & fomites.
Sick children may shed virus for up to 2 weeks.
People on Tamiflu may be shedding Tamiflu-resistent viruses.
Immuno-compromised people can shed flu/panflu virus for weeks or months.
This is not, "a flu season" - this is a Pandemic Year.
What % of ICU beds and vents are Not in use today in Scotts Valley?
How does that compare to this time last year?
How do the ICU cases' ages' compare to this time last year?
How many women have miscarried from mid-March to today, compared to same time last year?
Has the govt put some sort of gag order on physicians to not use the word,
"Pandemic"
(or, to not tell patients they likely have, "pandemic flu")?
There is already not, "adequate" antivirals
to get them to everyone in the important first-48 hours window.
(Everyone is at risk: 1/3 of hospitalizations and deaths are in perfectly healthy people; about the % they exist in the US;
since 2/3 of the public is obese, never mind all the other health problems)
Govt "goal" was to stockpile for a lower % of the US population than the expected panflu attack rate for one wave !
No penalty attached at the time, so, some states didn't even bother buying antivirals enough (at govt discount!)for 25% of their constituents.
The public was forbidden private antiviral stockpiling, so, Roche didn't even make as many antivirals as it could during Pandemic Alert, due to lack of govt orders.
Don't forget Household Preparedness:
HHS Sec. Leavitt used to say,
"Any state, any community, any citizen
that failed to prepare,
assuming that the federal government could take care of them during a pandemic,
would be tragically wrong."
See the federal recommendations for families,
up since Oct. 2005: http://pandemicflu.gov/individual/index.html#social
and, look at what concerned citizens and one county's Emergency Management came up with, (after reading the April, 2007, DHS:
"Best Practices and Model Protocols"
pandemic document)
to help the public prepare at home:
GetPandemicReady.org
http://getpandemicready.org/