Best Ways To Treat Swine Flu

Wondering about how to treat swine flu. So, the news about the swine flu is kind of scary. After all, according to the CDC, approximately 10,000 Americans have died from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus. What's more, one in six Americans have had the swine flu. Which means if you haven't had it yet, you probably will.

Of course, no one wants to get the flu, and no one wants to be out of commission for days. So what are the best ways to treat swine flu? Here are the top five ways to treat swine flu:

1. Know what you're dealing with.  Is it the flu? Or just a cold you caught from that schmuck in the next cubicle? Here are some of the symptoms of the swine flu:

Fever (note that not everyone will run a fever with the swine flu)
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Headache
Chills
Fatigue
Sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

2. Raise the white flag. So you're officially sick. But you have an important meeting, a hot date, or even just a driving need to get to the grocery store sometime in the next day or so. Well, too bad. You need to stay home - to treat the flu, you need to rest. And do the general public a favor by not getting them sick while you're at it. When do you get to go back out? According to the CDC, you should stay home until your fever has been gone for 24 hours without the use of medicine. So no cheating - the fact that your fever went down after you took medicine doesn't mean you're suddenly healed.

3. H & M. Huh? H for hydration and M for monitoring. The two key elements in treating the swine flu are staying hydrated by drinking lots of clear liquids (yup, chicken soup counts!) and monitoring the situation. Take your temperature regularly and take fever-reducing medicine to keep it down. If your fever jumps, if you're incredibly lethargic, if you are having trouble breathing, if your cough gets worse or you cough up phlegm, if you suddenly take a turn for the worse, or if you can't keep yourself hydrated, call your doctor and let them know what's up. Stat.

4. Protect yourself. The best way to treat swine flu, of course, is not to get it at all. At this time, the H1N1 vaccine is generally available in most areas to most segments of the population. Call your doctor to find a H1N1 vaccine clinic. Better safe than sorry, right?