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Brighton’s Natural Health Club
www.OceansWellbeing.com
The recent outbreak of human infection of Swine Influenza Virus, SIV (also known as Swine Flu) has been the suspected killer of up to 103 people and sickening more than 1000 people in Mexico. The Mexican fatalities are said to be mainly young adults. In the United States, particular Texas and California, at least 8 people have been sicked too. Health authorities across the globe have been taking necessary measures to stem the spread of this human flu virus.
So how much do you know about the new virus? What are the symptoms and how to prevent it? Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Swine Flu?
Swine Flu is a respiratory disease of pigs that has been around for years and known to cause high level of illness and low death rates in pigs. Since pigs can exchange their form of flu with birds and perhaps other large mammals, it is suspected that they can exchange viruses with humans and cause the recent outbreak.
This new virus has been discovered to contain genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a way researchers have not ever seen before.
What Are The Symptoms?
Symptoms of Human Swine Flu are much like seasonal flu, commonly fever, running nose, coughing, lack of appetite and lethargy. Other symptoms reported are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, or even a headache.
How Is It Transmitted From Human To Human?
It is believe that the new virus has been transmitted from human to human through sneezing or coughing of infected people. Another way a person can get infected is through touching something with virus on it, and then touching his/her own nose or mouth after which.
Study shows that a person infected is most contagious during the first 5 days of illness although some people, commonly children, can remain contagious for up to 10 days.
Is It Still Safe To Eat Pork Meat And Pork Products?
Yes, it is still considered safe to eat pork since this new virus has not been shown to be transmissible through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat). It will be killed once the cooking temperature reaches 70 degrees Celsius.
Is There A Human Vaccine To Protect Against It?
No vaccine has been known to protect against the new virus in humans effectively at the moment. It is also not clearly shown whether the current human seasonal influenza vaccines can provide any protection.
Are There Drugs Available To Treat It?
The new virus has been found to be susceptible to four drugs licensed in the United States. They are particularly amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. However, for 2009 outbreak, it is recommended it to be treated with oseltamivir and zanamivir.
How Can You Prevent It?
Keep your hands clean at all times. Be sure to clean your hands after touching any items such as doorknobs, hand rails and bathroom fixtures. Avoid public areas like bus terminals, airports or train stations of city or town where an outbreak is announced in that region. Wear a breathing mask should a major outbreak should occur. Lastly, improve your immune system with supplements like Selenium though there is no guarantee to protect you.
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Easy Steps To Avoiding Gym Rage
by: Gary Matthews
Have you heard about this recently? Many of us go through this at our local gym or fitness centre on a regular basis and are become increasingly frustrated. It usually starts as a group of trainees chat away their experiences of the day on a bench or at a piece of equipment for fifteen minutes while you are waiting to use it.
Or someone is standing directly in front of the barbell rack doing tiny lateral raises when you want to get at the really big weights. Or casuals using equipment favoured by the regulars and often looked at like pieces of personal furniture for their own use.
All this builds up stress especially between the months of January and April when the newcomers hit the gyms and fitness centres in an attempt to lose the weight gained over the Christmas and New Year period.
In trying to realise their New Years resolutions they overcrowd the aerobics area and take over the weight room leaving weights lying around and causing queues for equipment. Regulars of the gym experience these problems and tempers start to flare in a phenomenon becoming known as
“Gym Rage”
During this testing time, all gym-goers, both new and experienced and the employees of the fitness clubs know that the newcomers usually only last until April and after that their good intentions run out. To help you through this stressful time have a look at and follow some of the hints below:
· Stand at the back of the aerobics class when you first start, as you will usually find the hard-core regulars will be down the front.
· Their are no rules that govern how many members a gym can sign up, causing some fitness centres to become overcrowded with everybody wanting to use them in the morning and afternoon on their way to and from work.
So try to plan your visit to the gym a little earlier than usual or later in the day or evening. There is only one effective way to beat the January to April rush and that is to workout out late at night after 7.00pm
· Talking on your cell phone whilst you are working out, this will tie up a machine or piece of equipment for a long time causing problems. It’s recommended that you turn off your cell phone whilst at the gym.
· Don’t hog the machines; try not to go over the time limits set on the particular machine you are using. If there is a time limit please stick to it. The thing that annoys most people is the way people sit on a machine knocking out set after set.
By performing one set to muscular failure and moving on will free up the machines for use by the next person.
· Wipe the machines down after use, try not to leave your sweat on the piece of equipment you have just used, use a towel to separate yourself from the machine while you make use of it and wipe it down thoroughly after use.
· Don’t drop the weights onto the ground and don’t clang them loudly as this is very off-putting to the other members. Make sure you return the weights to there correct place on the racks when you’re finished with them even though you might have found them lying on the floor.
· One thing you don’t want to do is constantly ask people if they’ve finished using a machine when they’re obviously still exercising on it. If anything the trainee will try to sit on it longer just to annoy you. Be patient; don’t interrupt them while they are lifting, wait until they finish their set first.
· A gym isn’t a social club don’t stand around in large groups chatting especially if you have a machine in use, do your talking in the locker room or at reception.
· Don’t leave your towel or other personal items lying around on a bench or piece of equipment if you are not using it. Leave your training space as clean as the way you found it. If the equipment is unattended for more than five minutes go ahead and use it, but be prepared to share also, let people work in with you if the difference in weight is not too large.
Leave enough space around you so that other people can approach the weight rack and get the equipment they need.
· Don’t scream when you are going for that personal best lift, remember that the others around you are concentrating on their own work out to and don’t need to hear you screaming out for attention. Exhaling loudly as you contract the muscles during your set is fine.
· Don’t hog the water fountain, only take a few mouthfuls of water and then move away, don’t fill up your huge water bottle with cold water and leave warm drinking water for the rest of the members.
· Follow the gyms code of conduct usually seen on the walls of the gym or fitness centre, if trainees are not following the code report it to management don’t take it into your own hands.
Do yourself a favour and put these simple steps to use the next time you are in the gym and you will be in for a much more pleasant experience.
About The Author
Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your ‘free’ weight loss or muscle building e-courses.
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