BMJ publication comes up with best treatments for swine flu

Treatments and prevention against swine flu is causing much concern for those people who find themselves in the ‘at-risk’ groups. Women are especially concerned about receiving a vaccination untested during pregnancy. Echos of both the Thalidomide disaster as well as the problems with the 1976 US swine flu vaccine are making many hold off until they see how it affects other people.

Best Health magazine working in partnership with The Guardian, has come up with the best treatments for swine flu sufferers.

Produced by the British Medical Journal Group, Best Health have based their treatments on the best  research about swine flu and weighed up the evidence about how to prevent and treat it. This is what they have to say:

The swine flu vaccine is likely to offer you some protection against the disease and is unlikely to cause any serious side effects.

There are no reports of the vaccine causing problems for pregnant women or their babies. Pregnant women are strongly advised to have the vaccine because they are at higher risk of serious complications from flu.

Treatments that are likely to work if you have swine flu are the antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). These drugs are not a cure for flu, but they may cut the time you are ill by one or two days and you may be less likely to get complications from flu, such as pneumonia.

The best way to avoid catching swine flu (or any other type of cold or flu) is to wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water, especially if you’ve touched something lots of other people have touched (such as a handrail on public transport), after sneezing or coughing into a tissue or your hands, after using the toilet, and before eating or preparing food.

You don’t need to use special hand-washes or alcohol hand rubs to protect yourself form the virus. One study showed that washing hands with soap and water got rid of as much, if not more, flu virus from people’s hands, as alcohol hand rubs.

There is no evidence that wearing masks on the street, or while going about your daily business, will protect you against swine flu. Most masks are designed to stop you from passing on the germs you breathe out, not to stop germs getting in. Masks might be helpful if you have swine flu, to avoid giving it to people who are caring for you, or if you are caring for someone at home with swine flu.