A few years ago I was privileged to work with a Director of the World Health Organisation who was one of the top five experts Globally on influenza A.
I will write my key learnings here hoping that it may help even one person as we all have enough to put up with.
1) all auto immune patients should have an influenza A vaccination. They are about 50% effective. We have enough to put up with at times with our varying diseases to not look after ourselves properly if we get influenza A.
2) onset is sudden, you will remember the exact time and date that you got influenza A as you feel like you just want to die.
3) try and get your Dr to do a house call to test you to see if it is influenza A. Some of the para flu’s can make you feel as bad but they will not attack the muscles of your body.
4) tests for influenza A are usually simple buccal swabs of the mouth
5) as mentioned it attacks all of the muscles of your body, the most dangerous ones being the heart and the diaphragm.
6) main signs and symptoms are sudden onset, frightful pain & aches in all of the muscles of your body and a very high temperature which will give you hot & cold shivers.
7) the key treatments are strict bed rest for 7-10 days and force yourself to drink lots of water so that you do not get dehydrated.
8) if you have influenza A surfaces that you touch can harbour the virus for up to 48 hours and others can catch it from you in that way.
9) if possible get the help of a family member or friend to contact the people that you were physically close to about 48 hours before you got your symptoms. This will help to contain the influenza A by telling people about the main signs and symptoms so that if they get them they can see their Dr immediately. Also they won’t visit you until you are no longer contagious.
10) there are 2 anti viral treatments for influenza A, one is Rulenza and is an inhaler (the difficulty there is you can’t be sure if it’s the exact dose that you got. The other is a capsule called Tamiflu.
11) you will have the best chance of feeling a lot better or completely well if you start the anti viral within 48 hours of getting influenza A.
12) the down side to that is it can make you feel so much better you want to start doing things again, DONT!!! You still need 7-10 days strict bed rest and plenty of fluids otherwise you will get a secondary bacterial infection to your lungs and may well get Cardiomyopathy or in fact die.
12) In Australia thus far this year we have had twice as many deaths from influenza A when compared to this time last year.
13) it was always considered a Winter condition but you can get it any time of the year now because of frequent air travel. There still does appear to be more during the Winter months.
14) it affects all ages groups and both Males and Females
Stay snug and warm this Winter
Best always
Melbourne Girl xxx
🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
Atropic gastritis? Symptoms of B12 deficiency?
Notes to former self 
For those of you who use methylcobalamin from B12D.org
Double vision
