The following are the common symptoms of having the H1N1 virus. If someone has these symptoms for seven days or more, it is advisable to see the doctor for early medication.
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore Throat
- Headache
- Body Pains
- Chills
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
Some people experience nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Although most cases of H1N1 Swine Flu are mild to moderate, complications such as severe pneumonia can result in respiratory failure and death. If some has these symptoms for seven days or more, it is advisable to see the doctor for early medication. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu, including people over the age 65, and children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are infected with HIV should be extra vigilant in looking for the symptoms of H1N1.However, anyone with asthma or other respiratory illness, and perhaps even heavy smokers should be extra vigilant, because what makes severe cases of H1N1 more severe than regular flu is the way that it attacks the respiratory system. Seasonal flu is largely an upper respiratory illness, but in severe cases H1N1 moves deeper into the lungs and causes viral pneumonia. It is the complications from the pneumonia that has caused the vast majority of Swine Flu deaths.
Reference
H1N1 (swine) flu. (2011). In The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCV2642414058&v=2.1&u=uprcarolina&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w