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The Swine Flu Pandemic

By Gabriel MacSharry B.Sc., B.Herb.Med., MIIMH

An alarming amount of people have recently asked me if there is anything they can do to decrease their chances of getting swine flu if it happens to spread. This week I’ve decided to address this very current topic and hopefully put a lot of public fear at ease. First of all I think everybody should take a deep breath and relax and don’t be getting too worked up from watching the TV reports.

Health officials across the world fear this could be the leading edge of a global pandemic emerging from Mexico. As of the date of writing this article (Thursday 30 th April) There is eight confirmed deaths from Swine flu worldwide.

Several nations have imposed travel bans, or made plans to quarantine air travelers that present symptoms of the swine flu, such as:

• Fever of more than 38 degrees C
• Coughing
• Runny nose and/or sore throat
• Joint aches
• Severe headache
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite  

Lets put the current Swine Flu scare into perspective

With the information we know so far I wouldn't be too hasty -- this isn't the first time the public has been warned about swine flu. The last time was in 1976 in the USA. It resulted in a massive swine flu vaccine campaign. But the swine flu pandemic never materialized, and in fact more people died from the swine flu vaccine than swine flu.

I feel very privileged to live in a country whose government will keep on top of this issue and deliver the best available emergency treatment should it deem necessary. That said it is very difficult to forecast a pandemic, so I hope we don’t rush into anything.

So is there anything you can do to protect yourself?

All that said above, who knows what the future will hold so here is some tips to strengthen your immune system and reduce the likelihood of you contracting any influenza virus like swine flu.

• Getting regular physical exercise. A 30-60 minute walk daily with increase your circulation and facilitate healthy immunity
• Eat a healthy diet. Eliminate sugar, processed foods and trans fats.
• Get adequate sleep and rest.
• Keep stress to a minimum. Don’t over exert yourself physically or mentally.
• Maintain good personal hygiene. Wash hands etc
• Take a good quality cod liver oil(high in vitamin D and Omega 3 fats to strengthen immunity against virus)
• Make sure you Vitamin D levels are in the high normal range.
  

Herbal Medicine

Echinacea (Echinacea spp.)
All parts of the herb are used however medical herbalists tent to use a blend of the roots of two species ‘purpurea’ and ‘angustifolia’. A very well researched herb and shows very positive results in many trails. It has a strong immune enhancing action. Taking Echinacea will decreased your risk of catching influenza by 58%. The duration of flus are reduced by an average of 1.4 days (Interestingly Tamiflu reduces the duration of influenza symptoms by 1 to 1 ½ days)

Garlic (Allium sativum)
A preparation of the cloves, standardized to contain high levels of ingredient ‘alliin’ is used. Also good consumed in diet in raw or cooked form. In clinical trials garlic taken for 12 weeks significantly reduces the incidence of colds and accelerates the recovery period. Garlic is also anti-viral and will knock out the flu virus.

Golden seal (Hydrastis canadensis)
The root of the herb is used. This herb is our strongest natural antibiotic. Great at alleviating infections of the ear, nose, mouth and throat. Also acts as a convalescence tonic to enhance the recovery from illness.

Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
A standardized extraction of the root is used. Glycyrrhiza offers protection against influenza virus through the stimulation of the immune system cells.

Try not to worry too much, worrying alone reduces immunity. We were in a similar position 5 years ago with the Bird Flu pandemic, when President Bush stated that “ two million Americans would die as a result of the bird flu”. It never happened.  

Gabriel is a qualified medical herbalist practicing in Sligo. If you have any queries you may contact him on 0719122832

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