How long does the swine flu last?

You can infect others with the flu during the swine flu incubation period for one to two days before you feel any symptoms. How long H1N1 swine flu will last depends upon the strength of the attack pitted against the weakness of your immune system. Some people get hit deep in the lungs with the virus rather than in the bronchial tubes. Also, you could be gentically vulnerable to viral pneumonia as a secondary infection or bacterial infections often called complications following a bout of flu. An excellent site for questions and answers also is the CDC H1N1 informational site, 2009 H1N1 Flu ("Swine Flu") and You, updated on Nov. 5, 2009.

The common cold is a different virus, and usually produces no fever. It's gone in seven days. But people that have had a cold or other viruses such as monoucleosis that also have had a flu shot back in 1976 have been said to have come down with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease. But this theory is not proven. For further information see ghe Guillain-Barré syndrome answers site.

If you have a mild cold, it's okay to get the H1N1 flu vaccine, according to the site: H1N1 (Swine) Flu Vaccine FAQs. Flyers for last year's flu shot warn people to wait until their cold is gone before they get the flu shot.

Almost 70% of those who develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) have had an infectious illness in the preceding two to four weeks. Examples of infections include sore throat, cold, flu, and diarrhea. Bacteria that have been associated with the subsequent development of GBS include chlamydia, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Campylobacter jejuni.

Who has N1N1 Flu Antibodies?

CDC laboratory studies have shown that no children and very few adults younger than 60 years old have existing antibodies to 2009 H1N1 flu virus. But about one-third of adults older than 60 may have antibodies against this virus.

It is unknown how much, if any, protection may be afforded against 2009 H1N1 flu by any existing antibody. Recent news also noted that some people have a little protection left over from last year's flu shot.

How Long Do Flu Viruses Last on Surfaces?

H1N1 swine flu virus survives on any surfaces such as keyboards, phones, doorknobs, desks, sinks, utensils, clothing, and tables, and infects a person for up to eight hours after being deposited. If you grab a handle in a bus or train to lift yourself up, it's likely to be covered in the virus from people handling it after they'v coughed into their hands. One way of touching fewer public objects in transit is to wear fabric gloves, and then removing the gloves if you have to scratch your face in public.

If members of your household, classroom, or office get sick, disinfect any surfaces that may have been touched. Use a disinfectant such as bleach, 70% to 90% rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or other anti-microbial sanitizing solution made for various surfaces. One of the most common ways to catch flu is by touching infected door knobs and then touching the corner of your eye or your nose and mouth.

People infected with seasonal and 2009 H1N1 flu shed virus and may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. This can be longer in some people, especially children and people with weakened immune systems and in people infected with the new H1N1 virus, where the virus can be shed for up to 21 days.

How Long Are You Infectious to Others After Recovering From Flu?

If you're still coughing two weeks after you've gone back to work or school, your coughs still contain the virus until you stop coughing out into the air on a frequent basis. You'd have a hacking, dry cough that spews flu virus rather than a wet cough from acid reflux or a common cold caused by rhinovirus.

If you come down with the swine flu, the first two days, you'll be infectious to others, but may not have any symptoms. Your first symptom may be a feeling of rawness or irritation as you take in a deep breath. Soon a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough develop, and then a high fever and headache.

Some people begin to feel symptoms starting with what they think is a deep chest cold before the fever begins. The problem with recognizing swine flu symptoms is that while you're contagious you may not recognize the symptoms for one or two days, when you're most infectious to others. It's at this stage that students are often sent home from school.

What's the First Symptom of H1N1 Flu You'll Feel?

They wake up feeling fine, except for the sensation that something is wrong with the air, that it is irritating their bronchial tubes. By the time they're in class (or at work) the fever hits, and they end up being sent home from school, camp, or work. All this time, they are infecting those close to them in busses, trains, planes, classrooms, and offices.

The flu symptoms may come on suddenly with a high fever. Some people board a plane feeling fine only to be smacked down by a sudden high fever followed by bouts of vomiting and diarrhea along with a hacking, dry cough by the second or third day. Along with the fever are symptoms of loss of appetite and a feeling of wanting to sleep in the daytime.

Some people feel drowsy and not interested much in moving or getting up. Some people may be wracked by a lack of appetite and just take in liquids such as hot water or soup for five days only to suffer muscle contractions or seizures from lack of eating or loss of electrolytes. Not every flu victims has the bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. Some only have the headache, fever, and hacking cough.

Five days after the fever subsides, many people are still coughing with a dry, hacking cough after two weeks. If you're still coughing, you're still contagious. Give yourself two weeks before you go back to work or school so you don't infect others. Some bronchial coughs last as long as six weeks after a bout of the flu.

How to Reduce the Chance of Infecting Others with H1N1 Flu

One most parents and teachers don't show students (or children) is how to cover coughs properly. You don't prevent infection by making a fist and coughing over your fist. What happens is that the virus hits your balled fist and bounces off into the face of the person sitting six feet away from you. How you cover coughs and sneezes correctly is to cough into the bend or 'crook' of your clothed inner elbow. If you have to cough, bring your arm up to your mouth and nose and cough or sneeze into that bend of your inner elbow.

Chefs at work are taught to cough or sneeze into the neckline of their clothing or into the bend of their inner elbow. You can choose to bring the necline of your sweater or shirt over your nose and mouth and cough into it, or if in public, quickly bring your inner elbow up to cover your mouth and nose and cough/sneeze into it. That way, the germs don't bounce against your balled fist and ricochet longer distances onto the person next to you.

When Are You Infecting Others with the Flu for up to 21 Days?

Be prepared to be contagious for up to 21 days if you had the intranasal spray of flu vaccine up your nose. You or your child will shed live flu virus for five days or more, and often up to three weeks.

Beware of infecting older persons, as the senior citiziens, if they've caught the flu, have a 20 percent death rate from swine flu, according to the latest government statistics. That's why it's important to cover your coughs/sneezes thoroughly and not with your hands where your fingers are constantly touching phones and keyboards or eating utensils.

Wash hands frequently. If you don't want to use hand sanitizers, punch a hole in the seal covering a bottle of at least 70% rubbing alcohol and disinfect your hands with the alcohol. Wait a minute and then wash your hands with soap and water.

Expect the flu to last a week of fever and coughing with other symptoms depending upon the severity of your case. Some people have milder symptoms than others, depending upon how deep the microbes have imbedded themselves into your lungs. You can also try the coconut extract, monolaurin taken at the first sign of symptoms to help the flu virus from reproducing.

Some people with a milder case of flu can return to work in a week or two. It depends upon how often you're coughing because you'll be infecting others. For example, people more likely to infect others are those that work across the counter in pharmacies, food handlers, and those meeting the public frequently. To check this out, go into your neighborhood pharmacy and then your area's fast food eateries.

Note how frequently you hear the employees with a hacking cough, usually back to work two weeks after a bout of the flu. If you observe them without attraction attention to yourself, see whether they're coughing into their balled fist and then giving change or touching surfaces with the newly infected virus on their fingers, or are they coughing correctly into the bend in their inner elbow? 

Cough into the Bend in your Elbow, not your Fist

That will give you a simple way to observe how many weeks these people are still coughing into the air after the fever has subsided from their recent flu illness. Where you'll most likely see people, including children, coughing out into the air without covering their coughs is on public transportation and in supermarkets. It also happens in schools, during public meetings, and during church services--anyplace where people are gathered and sitting less than six feet apart. 

Seasonal influenza can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. Each year, in the United States, on average 36,000 people die from flu-related complications and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related causes. Of those hospitalized, 20,000 are children younger than 5 years old. Over 90% of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalization occur in people older than 65.

How Long Should You Stay Home and Isolated after the Flu?

If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Flu germs are also spread by touching a surface infected with the virus and then touching your mouth, eyes, or nose. If you think that you can go to work 24 hours after your fever is gone as advised by the CDC, and not infect others around you, you're mistaken.

You'll still be coughing out into the air, infecting everyone around you. One way to test this theory is to have someone still coughing two weeks after going back to work after a bout with swine flu, to cough onto a surface and then test the surface under a microscope for flu virus that's still infectious, the lab results will give you an answer to your question, weakened virus or not.

Is Flu Virus in Tap Water?

No research has been completed on the susceptibility of 2009 H1N1 flu virus to conventional drinking water treatment processes. However, recent studies have demonstrated that free chlorine levels typically used in drinking water treatment are adequate to inactivate highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza. No studies have been reported on people catching the flu from swimming in sanitized, heated indoor pools at community centers. But beware of herpes virus on some bicycle seats at various gyms. People have complained of catching herpes from riding various types of gym equipment.

The only way to find out is to take a swab of the seat and have it analyzed at a lab. Or you can santize the seat before use with bleach or disinfectant, but get permission first. Wear long pants when you ride those exercise bikes.

Symptoms of H1N1 Swine Flu

Depending on the strength of the virus, symptoms might lasting from one to five days. Persons coughing and sneezing in public 24 hours after fever subsides can still infect others with the flu. Those who catch the virus can come down with severe or mild cases, depending on that individual's immune system reaction.

In children:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• 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
• Fever with a rash

In adults:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

See the video: Influenza Round Table: Warning Signs Video Dr. Joe Bresee describes H1N1 flu symptoms and when it's serious enough to get medical help. Here are some excellent sites that answer the question: How long does swine flu last?

Resources

CDC site, Questions and Answers: H1N1 flu

Swine Flu Questions

Antiviral drugs

How to Beat the H1N1 Flu

Flu Can Be Fatal for Kids 

How Long Does The Flu Last

What To Do If You Get Sick: 2009 H1N1 and Seasonal Flu

CDC: What to do if you get sick with the swine flu

How Long Does Swine Flu Last?

NeuroLogica Blog » H1N1 Vaccine and GBS