Swine Flu: Concern Yes, Panic No
Swine Flu: Concern Yes, Panic No
Published on April 29th, 2009 @ 01:50:06 pm , using 667 words, 5034 views
by Dr. Greg Sperber
Recently, there is a lot of concern about the swine flu. This flu has some very unusual characteristics. Since we as practitioners, are among the first approached for information from our friends, families, and patients, it is a good idea to understand what is going on from a Western medical perspective and if there really are any concerns.
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The symptoms of swine flu are common to all flus:
Coughing
Runny nose and/or sore throat
Headache
Vomiting and/or diarrhea
Lethargy
And especially body aches and fever, which separate the flu from a cold or allergies
Since this flu seems to spread rapidly through human-to-human contact, it is of definite concern. In Mexico, there have been a number of deaths due to this flu. In the United States, however, there only has been one fatality to this point. Since we have contact with ill individuals, it is possible that we can be exposed. But there is no need for panic. While the number of cases is increasing, it is still extremely rare. The media and politicians tend to hype these situations for their own goals. Undertaking basic precautions can minimize potential contamination. According to the Centers for Disease Control, these include:
Everyday actions people can take to stay healthy:
1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. 2. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
3. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
4. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
5. Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people. If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
In terms of Chinese medicine.
• The answer here is always the same. If patients come in and are worried they have the flu, do a clear and thorough pattern discrimination and treat for what you see.
• If you (or your patients) desire preventive therapy, some formula that contains a good dose of Ban Lan Gen (a proven herbal anti-viral) and also supports the body’s righteous qi such as Cold Quell (and there are other products like this out there) may be helpful if people have to be in contact with large crowds or they are travelling, especially by air.
While other precautions, such as wearing face masks, are recommended by some people, there are some cautions. Most masks probably DO NOT help minimize exposure. Only very specific types MAY be helpful, but it has not been proven. Those thought to be potentially helpful are N95 respirators.
As health care providers, we do have to be especially vigilant to avoid getting sick, prevent our patients from getting sick, and eliminate cross-contamination. By following the guidelines above, we can minimize our chances for falling ill. By providing proper treatments and educating our patients, we can keep them healthy. And by washing our hands, cleaning our lab coats, ties, and stethoscopes, and wiping down our treatment areas and rooms with appropriate disinfectant, we can avoid cross-contamination. We should be doing these regularly, but it is especially important currently.
If you do become sick, please stay home and get better. While standard flu suggestions are still valid including rest and drinking plenty of fluids, some experts are recommending taking anti-viral medication if caught early. I am attaching the section of my book which covers anti-viral medications, so you can be well informed on such medications.
Since a disease process such as this changes rapidly, it is important to stay informed. The CDC website has up to date information: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/index.htm.
Again, as the bottom line, we should be concerned but not freaked out. So long as we use basic precautions, our risk is minimal.
Copyright Blue Poppy Ent., Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.
Permalink4 comments
I'm a practitioner of TCm in Guadalajara, Mexico 6 hours by car from Mexico City, in these days I have treated 4 cases of Influenza, to be treated with Tcm.the 4 cases include
one woman 30 years old,
one woman 21 years old
one woman 35 years old
a woman of 35 years old.
symptoms include for the first one
sore throat, strong headache, feeling hot, yellow mucus, fatigue, low back pain, general body aches and sneezing with congested nose, nausea and vomiting
for the second one, sore throat, fever, low back pain, sneezing, phlegm, congested nose, and feeling cold, nausea.
the third one has chills, sore throat, body aches, headache and fever.
the fourth only sore throat with general malaise and nausea
all of them come to the clinic the first day of symptoms
I do try to consider them Warm diseases, and expect to classify into one of the four divisions or the 6 stages, according to the info in the media, I do expect, something like a qi division if they have cough with high fever, no aversion to cold and sore throat, or the fourth stage tai yin if they show symptoms as heat with no aversion, fatigue, diarrhea and body aches, but, we find something interesting
They have aversion to cold, sore throat and all of them have floating and rapid pulses, (fu and shu mai) and no changes in the tongue color, two of them with red spots in the area around the tip, doing palpation on the forehead the heat get cooler as time passes, meaning external invasion.
Only the first one has a wiry pulse ( Xian mai pulse) plus floating and rapid but no alternating fever and chills, her headache was a shaoyang and taiyang (lateral and back of the head), and her vomiting was clear with no smell.
3 of them have yellow phlegm and the fourth clear runny nose, and was in the first day of menstruation.
no changes in urine or stool color or smell.
I do use acupuncture plus Chinese Herbs,
Disease Diagnosis all of them were classified as Gan Mao in TCM,
pattern differentiation was
Wind heat external Invasion
the method of treatment was to resolve exterior
treatment principles to Dispel Wind and clear heat
Guiding formula Yn qiao San
in all of them I add Ban Lan Gen
I do modify all the formulas to match the signs an symptoms. (phlegm, headache, nausea and vomiting, and patterns of Phlegm heat, blood vacuity, qi vacuity and so on)
acupuncture treatment follows the basic protocols for gan mao with modifications
all of them go home to sleep extra hours after taking the formula, at nigh they have a very strong fever with a lot of sweating and recover fully the next morning, only the first one stays with a little sore throat and resolve with acupuncture the next day.
today we receive 6 patients, 1 coming from Mexico city and was the same story about disease diagnosis
Conclusion: we have two possible situations:
1. We don't have the ability to know if it is Swine flu because we must do labs to test if they have swine flu, but we do have the ability to diagnose in Tcm and do Pattern differentiation, According to what I see, Maybe they just have a basic normal Gan mao, but they see the Media and the news and they mimic some sign and symptoms believing they have the disease, because in my evaluation they do not show full signs and symptoms to corroborate other condition than external invasion. Or...
2. The virus in the beginning stage shows the same signs and symptoms of a regular flu, meaning that can be treated successfully the way we have always treated them, because they come in the first day when the symptoms appear.
I have read that also the antiviral in western medicine works very well the first two days of symptoms.
I just like to stress that I use large quantity of Ban Lan Gen, and use them regularly to all my patients to prevent the flu in low dosages, a note about the low back pain, I think maybe its about fear... maybe I'm wrong but thats what I think.
People respond well to TCM. Hope to hear any comments or if you have a different idea or experience, please let me know, or if you want more details I'm just happy to share with you.
Ricardo
Hi Greg,
Reading on the web about herbs for the flu took me to your article. You mention an attachment to the section of your book on anti-virals but I do not find it. Is it possible to get that information? I am wanting to be able help my clients should things heat up.
Thank you, I appreciate your sharing.
Wendy Thayer LAc/California 
I'd rather go with Chinese medicine. Trust issues I guess. 
I just have to say being diagnosed with the H1N1 is awful. I have had it for a couple days and basically because I havent been sick for a year or so. It is basically a sore throat, and every time you take a deep breath you cough. You throw up fairly normally, but its not due to a stomach ache. Its due to coughing so much that you cant hold down whats down there. Not a normal flu bug, even though they say it is less powerful because some government official stated so. It seems to be nowhere the same as flus prior. This one is just like an advanced chest cold and it gives you a terrible cough and then everyone gets it. Id say people are at risk of death, so they should be cautious especially pregnant women, and women and men that are underweight. 
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