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Swine flu — it’s all over the media. What is it? What can I do? And how worried should I be? These are the questions I ask myself, especially as a mother. At some level, we all know that becoming riddled with fear doesn’t help. So let’s take action where we can. Be cautious where necessary and get the relevant information we need.

Let’s first define swine flu. The name itself is horrible — a visual image of filthy pigs wallowing in murky muck. And that image isn’t too far off from its origins. So maybe the swine aren’t bathing in muddy waters but this type of influenza is a contagious respiratory virus that affects pigs.

So why is it spreading to more humans now? In the past there have been limited instances where the virus has spread to people, but it had never gone beyond three people. As of right now, scientists aren’t sure how some cases have occurred without any contact to pigs.

What are the symptoms? They’re similar to flu-like symptoms: high fever and chills, lethargy, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, lack of appetite, coughing, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, and headaches.

How does it spread? The same way the flu does. A person is put at risk two ways: If an infected person coughs or sneezes on them, or if they touch something that has the flu virus on it and then they touch their mouth, nose or eyes. However, what makes it sometimes difficult to prevent is that an infected person can pass the virus along even before any symptoms develop. But there are precautions that we can take.

Swine Flu Symptoms

According to the CDC, like seasonal flu, symptoms of swine flu infections can include:

* fever, which is usually high, but unlike seasonal flu, is sometimes absent
* cough
* runny nose or stuffy nose
* sore throat
* body aches
* headache
* chills
* fatigue or tiredness, which can be extreme
* diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes, but more commonly seen than with seasonal flu

Signs of a more serious swine flu infection might include pneumonia and respiratory failure.

If your child has symptoms of swine flu, you should avoid other people and call your pediatrician who might do a rapid flu test to see if he has an influenza A infection. Further testing can then be done to see if it is a swine flu infection. (Samples are being sent to local and state health departments and the CDC for confirmation of swine flu.)
Serious Swine Flu Symptoms

More serious symptoms that would indicate that a child with swine flu would need urgent medical attention include:

* Fast breathing or trouble breathing
* Bluish or gray skin color
* Not drinking enough fluids
* Severe or persistent vomiting
* Not waking up or not interacting
* Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
* Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

One sport or sporting activity that has always had controversy involving drug use such as steroids is bodybuilding. Most of the bodybuilding steroids are taking to increase more mass to an already humongous body. If lifting weights already more than have their body weight wasn’t enough these guys like to compete in competitions, to prove who has bigger abs and that is where the steroids come into play.

It is unfortunate that most people that took bodybuilding steroids usually end up in a bad way especially after the competitions because there is no more really you can do with the buff body. This where your problems begin because by now you are probably addicted to them and you really do not know how you can stop taking them and off course you can’t still be lifting the same weights as you did before.

You must know that these bodybuilding steroids have several affects on your body such as you won’t be able to have kids and worse still something bad might happen to any part of your inner body. So it is better if you ask advice from your doctor or physician on whether you should take the steroid pills and off course the answer will be no, but most people do not heed this warnings and still go on to take them.

You can always try using supplements such as body gain which are recognized body growth pills as well as take growth and energy shakes which are legally sold by chemist and will help you add mass. They at least help you when you workout but they do not have any side effects that can harm you.

Toothache pain is one of the worst types of nagging annoyances a person can experience. From the throbbing pain, to being unable to eat this is truly something that draws sympathy. Many people simply can’t afford to go to the dentist when they’re teeth hurt so what is a person to do? There are several home remedies that you may want to give a try before you break down and spend the money with the dentist. However, a word of warning - you will be in danger if your tooth becomes abscessed and you should not put your health at risk. Try a few things first, if you want to, but if they don’t relieve the pain or if your tooth becomes abscessed, then get yourself in to the dentist asap. Here are a few of “Grandma’s Old Home Toothache Remedies” that you may want to try.

It has been proved that a pepper powder and salt mixture can help prevent dental cavities, gum bleeding, bad breath, gum pain, and tooth aches. If you have sensitive teeth to cold substances, then this mixture can also cure that as well. If the pepper powder and salt do not help the tooth ache, substitute the salt for clove oil instead.

Whiskey and Brandy have been a reliable source for pain relief for many years. It has been said to cure an infant’s teeth pain, as well as flush out a cold. While this is not an acceptable use of treatment for children, it does wonders for a tooth ache. Soak a cotton ball in Whiskey or Brandy and then let it sit directly on the infected tooth. Soaking a cotton ball in vanilla extract is another method of relieving the pain of a tooth ache. The extract will numb the area. You can also swish the extract around as a mouth wash, and it will be just as effective.

Very long, hurried walks and uncomfortable foot wear is a bad combination and sometimes people are hit with this realization the hard and painful way.

This is the case of a woman, who about three years ago, was diagnosed with sciatica, which can simply be explained as the inflammation of the sciatic nerve. She said she suffered excruciating pain every time she move and that she could not even take a step without feeling pain on her right leg.

The pain, she narrated, extended from her mid calf up to the middle of her buttocks, at the back of the waist. She could not bend because every time she did pain would shoot up her right leg. Sitting requires a whole lot of effort for her part and it was difficult to get comfortable sleeping position. Sudden jerking movements such as sneezing and coughing were also invitations for pain.

“I am woman in the 30s, yet I felt that that I was 60 years old because of the body pains that I was feeling,” was how she described her predicament. At first she thought of applying ointments, drinking pain relievers or putting on pain relieving patches but the pain remained.

When she could no longer endure the pain after three days, she decided to see the doctor and was diagnosed with sciatica. She was told that the illness was a debilitating disease and that she should rest for three days.