Yoga can Cure Swine Flu: Baba Ramdev

Amidst growing concern on the increasing spread of the H1N1 virus in India, renowned yoga guru Baba Ramdev prescribed yoga as a cure for the disease.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Baba Ramdev advised people to practice yoga as a preventive measure against swine flu.
"People with strong immune system cannot be affected with swine flu. Through yoga and pranayma, you can keep your immune system particularly the respiratory system strong," he added.
He further said that the media was creating panic among the people.
"There is a lot of panic among the people. The news channels round the clock make it breaking news every time there is a death due to swine flu," said Ramdev.
The yoga guru also advised people to use facemasks while in crowded places.
However, a doctor and a 29-year-old woman succumbed to the deadly swine flu virus in Nashik and Pune respectively on Wednesday taking the country's' swine flu death toll to 14.
With the increasing number of swine flu cases, the Central Government has unveiled fresh measures to control the spread of disease by allowing private labs to conduct tests and private hospitals to provide treatment.

Source: littleabout.com

Tulsi can help keep Swine Flu Away: Ayurvedic Experts

Use “Nilgiri Oil” (Eucalyptus oil) drops on handkerchiefs and masks as one of the preventive measures against Swine Flu (NIV) National Institute of Virology.

Not just Tulasi, Vitamin C rich substances are known to boost immunity. So taking hot Lemon or Amla (Indian Gooseberry) powder mixed with hot water would be very helpful.

Wonder herb Tulsi can not only keep the dreaded swine flu at bay but also help in fast recovery of an afflicted person, Ayurvedic practitioners claim.

"The anti-flu property of Tulsi has been discovered by medical experts across the world quite recently. Tulsi improves the body's overall defence mechanism including its ability to fight viral diseases. It was successfully used in combating Japanese Encephalitis and the same theory applies to swine flu," Dr U K Tiwari, a herbal medicine practitioner says. Apart from acting as a preventive medicine in case of swine flu, Tulsi can help the patient recover faster. "Even when a person has already contracted swine flu, Tulsi can help in speeding up the recovery process and also help in strengthening the immune system of the body," he claims. Dr Bhupesh Patel, a lecturer at Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar is also of the view that Tulsi can play an important role in controlling swine flu. "Tulsi can control swine flu and it should be taken in fresh form. Juice or paste of at least 20-25 medium sized leaves should be consumed twice a day on an empty stomach." This increases the resistance of the body and, thereby, reduces the chances of inviting swine flu," believes Patel.

Symptoms of Swine Flu

The Symptoms of Swine Flu or H1N1 flu virus in people are same to the symptoms of seasonal fluwhich include headache, fever, sore throat. some people also reported vomiting and diarrhea. The main Symptoms of Swine Flu in Children are given below:

1.Not drinking enough water or other fluids

2.Fast breathing or problem to take breath

3.Severe or persistent vomiting

4.Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held

5.Bluish or gray skin color

6.Not waking up or not interacting

7.Flu-like symptoms, fever, cough

Symptoms of Swine Flu in adults are given below:

1.Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen

2.Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

3.Severe or persistent vomiting

4.Sudden dizziness

5.Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

6.Confusion

Six more Die of Swine Flu, India Toll Climbs to 17

Pune/Mumbai/New Delhi, Aug 12: India's swine flu toll rose to 17 Wednesday as six people succumbed to the H1N1 virus in quick succession in Maharashtra, forcing authorities to shut down educational institutions and public places in Mumbai for a week.

Wednesday saw the highest number of six deaths for a single day since the first victim, Reeda Sheikh, 14, died in Pune Aug 3.

In New Delhi, the health ministry asked the states to take strict action against those hoarding face masks and illegally selling Tamiflu, an anti-influenza drug.

In Maharashtra, where swine flu has claimed 13 lives, the state government was forced to announce closure of all educational establishments in state capital Mumbai for a week from Thursday and multiplexes for three days.

However, offices and malls will remain open, an official clarified.

While five people died due to swine flu in Pune, called the 'epidemic city', the sixth death was reported from Nashik.

The five who died in Pune were Gautam Shelar, a 48-year-old driver, Nita Meghani, 50, Babu Genu Kuland, a school student, Sanjay Mistry, 35, and Shravani Deshpande, 29, a Maharashtra Swine Flu Control Room official said.

They all died at the Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of swine flu in this second largest city of Maharashtra.

Shelar was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition three-four days ago and died around 4.45 p.m. His death came barely an hour after Meghani died.

Babu died in the same hospital at about 11 a.m. A resident of Pimpri town near here, Babu was hospitalised three days ago in a serious condition, according to Pune Municipal Corporation (Health Department) chief S.R. Pardeshi.

Mistry, another Pimpri resident, died in the wee hours of Wednesday. He was hospitalised Sunday in a critical condition and put on ventilator.

Within hours, Deshpande too died of the A(H1N1) influenza around 3 a.m. She had been hospitalised three days ago with pneumonia and later was found to be suffering from swine flu. She was then put on ventilator.

Around the same time, Rakesh Gargunde, a doctor with the Civil Hospital in Nashik city, also succumbed to swine flu virus, said civil surgeon A.D Bhal Singh.

While Maharashtra accounts for 13 deaths - 10 in Pune, two in Mumbai and one in Nashik - one death each has been reported from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

As many as 115 people were found positive Wednesday - 61 in Pune, 24 in Mumbai, 10 in Bangalore, eight in Delhi, four in Ahmedabad, three each in Kolkata and Hyderabad, and one each in Shillong and Goa, the health ministry said.

The new cases take the total number of affected people in the country to 1,193 - 588 of whom are at various stages of recovery, it said.

Maharashtra, the most affected state, was preparing for the next stage of its battle against the flu.

'The government has ordered the closure of all schools, colleges and other educational institutions in the city (Mumbai) from tomorrow till Aug 20,' a Maharashtra government official told IANS. Suburban trains in the western megapolis would, however, function as normal.

Reeling under the growing menace of swine flu, the state government admitted the disease was progressing, necessitating a change in strategy to counter it.

Now, the government plans to change its treatment process. Currently, Tamiflu is given after tests results, but it will be given at the initial stage itself, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Sharvari Gokhale told mediapersons.

She said that 22 private hospitals in Mumbai and nine in Pune have come forward to offer treatment facilities for swine flu patients since the government hospitals were getting overcrowded.

Many private schools in Maharashtra have already closed down for two days -- Wednesday and Thursday. Thereafter, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are official holidays.

With reports of hoarding of masks and illegal sales of Tamiflu tablets, the union health ministry held a meeting in New Delhi and also issued guidelines for private labs, making it clear that only those that comply with bio-safety facility would be allowed to do the tests.

In New Delhi, Joint Secretary (Health) Vineet Chawdhry said there was no need for all to wear the N95 mask, which is only for those who are either visiting a testing centre or are affected with the influenza A(H1N1) virus.

He also asked the state governments to ensure no one was selling Tamiflu or hoarding masks.

'The state governments have to come with a heavy hand on all those hoarders and black-marketers. This is a public health emergency crisis in the country. Citizens from all walks of life have to cooperate,' he added.

He said that people should avoid crowds or crowded places during the Hindu festival of Janmashtami Aug 14 so as not to catch the virus.

Gearing up to fight the flu, the Delhi government also issued directions to all private hospitals under the Epidemic Act to reserve 10 beds each for the flu patients.

Source: News.yahoo.com