Video: Swine Flu Checklist of When You Need a Doctor, Flu Resources on the Web

From Denny: With the swine flu spreading rapidly around the world and in America people are asking the obvious question, "How do you know you are sick enough to go to the doctor?" Here is Dr. Elizabeth Cohen to help answer with a checklist.

When to go to the doctor

Symptoms List

*** difficulty breathing or fast breathing

*** can't keep down fluids, keep throwing up

*** skin color turns blue or gray

*** symptms first improve, then worsen

2 Flu sites:

flu.gov

H1N1 Response Center



*** Added these two sites to the Health Links list below the posts. Make sure you check back for any updates on this useful list.

Thanks for visiting! Have a great day and stay healthy!

Video: Some Suggestions for Boosting Your Immune System During Flu Season

From Denny: The number one thing to do besides take the flu shot if you have an edgy immune system is to guard your diet. Keep it full of lean protein as that is what helps support the immune system. Another group of foods to keep in mind are those that help the liver process toxins like green leafy vegetables. Also, during the flu season add foods like apples which are good to your sinuses, lungs and digestive track. Apples help dry up excessive mucus from the winter wind sniffles, the normal cold or the flu.

How to boost your immune system:

Video: Smallpox as Mystery

From Denny: National Geographic does a number of good videos about viruses which I will be featuring this week. Knowledge is power! Take a look at what our ancestors had to deal with before vaccines. We live in a world that is blessed!

Building Up Your Immunity

Building Up Your Immunity

"With so much public attention on the latest H1N1 virus, aka swine flu, various clinicians are reminding everyone to wash hands for at least 20 seconds, cover mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, and to dispose promptly of soiled tissues.

However there is one more activity that you can add to the “clean regime.”

Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of the interaction between the mind of an individual and the observable world and how their subsequent behavior affects the immune system of the body, resulting in either health or illness."

By Profmaggy @ HubPages

From Denny: Some wise words in this short article about boosting your immune system during this flu season scare.

Video: CDC Races To Find Vaccine

"The Centers for Disease Control is trying to find a vaccine for the H1N1 virus. Dr. Jon LaPook reports on their progress and Dr. Jennifer Ashton tells Katie Couric about symptoms of this flu."

From Denny: With this news video you get a look literally inside the CDC offices (Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia) where they have been ramping up for the past couple of years to address a pandemic. The CDC has set up this office for around the clock monitoring, literally 24/7.

Interviewing a doctor about this flu seemed counterproductive since the medical community still doesn't have a handle on it yet. How can they predict what to do or not do based on no understanding of how the infection mutates?

Still the video is worth watching to help you think about what to do as this situation progresses. Definitely, there was sound advice for people with compromised immune systems: cancer patients on chemo, young children and the like.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Video: Panic Over H1N1 Virus

"There is great concern throughout the U.S. over the potential lethality of the H1N1 influenza virus. As Nancy Cordes reports, officials are debating as to how to handle this outbreak."

From Denny: This is a news story about how educators are treating this season's unexpected flu. What has officials in the nation concerned, whether educators or medical professionals, is how this strain of flu is so radically different than disease of the past.

This flu spreads quickly from person to person. It is so unique it has never been like any other. The numbers of suspected or confirmed cases is rampant, and it has demonstrated an ability to kill.


Watch CBS Videos Online

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