3 Sure-Fire Strategies to Prevent the Swine Flu

With today's headlines dominated by the swine flu we need to learn more in order to protect ourselves and our families. The 1918 Flu killed an estimated 40 million people worldwide. I pray this outbreak does not reach that proportion. I cannot comprehend the psychological impact of death on this scale in society today.

Here's a little history on the swine flu.

On February 5, 1976, an army recruit died and four of his fellow soldiers were later hospitalized. Two weeks after his death, health officials announced that swine flu was the cause of death and that this strain of flu appeared to be closely related to the strain involved in the 1918 flu pandemic.

On August 20, 2007 Department of Agriculture officers investigated the outbreak of swine flu in Nueva Ecija and Central Luzon, Philippines.

In March and April 2009, more than 1,000 cases of swine flu in humans were detected in Mexico, and more than 100 deaths are suspected to have a connection with the virus. The Mexican fatalities are said to be mainly young adults, a hallmark of pandemic flu. [1]

The nature of a flu tends to be in waves. Flu pandemics typically come in waves. The 1889-1890 and 1918-1919 flu pandemics each came in three or four waves of increasing lethality. [2] I can't find much information about what wave this flu is on, but researchers are more concerned about this flu than many in the past.

Here are 3 Sure-fire Strategies to help you and your family respond to the threat of the flu.

1. Hygiene- maybe one of the greatest advances of the industrialized nations was the change in the way sanitation and hygiene were practiced. Limiting our exposure to toxins both organic and inorganic makes sense. The body has a built in immune system, but sometimes that system can be overwhelmed. Frequent hand washing, especially when there has been contact with other people or with potentially contaminated surfaces can be very helpful.

2. Chiropractic- One of the most important studies was performed by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York's Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. It showed the positive effect that chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health.

Dr. Pero measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases. His initial three-year study was of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more. The chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than those people who had not received chiropractic care, and they had 400% greater immune competence than those people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not appear to diminish with age. Dr. Pero stated:

When applied in a clinical framework, I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group to experience a 200% increase over the normal patients. This is why it is so dramatically important. We have never seen such a positive improvement in a group. [3]

Another study from Patricia Brennan, Ph.D., leading a team of researchers, conducted a study that found improved immune response in her test subjects following chiropractic treatment. The study specifically demonstrated the "phagocytic respiratory burst of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and monocytes were enhanced in adults that had been adjusted by chiropractors." [4]

Life Chiropractic University, produced an incredible study from the Sid Williams Research Center in 1994. The researchers took a group of HIV positive patients and adjusted them over a six-month period. What they found was that the "patients that were adjusted had a forty-eight percent (48%) increase in the number CD4 cells (an important immune system component)." These measurements were taken at the patients' independent medical center, where they were under medical supervision for the condition. The control group (the patients that were not adjusted) did not demonstrate this dramatic increase in immune function, but actually experienced a 7.96% decrease in CD4 cell counts over the same period. [5]

The immune system is affected by the nerve system through the connections with the endocrine and the autonomic nervous system. And chiropractic care improves the function of the nerve system through improving the movement of the spinal bones that encase and protect the spinal cord.

Stressful conditions lead to altered measures of immune function, and altered susceptibility to a variety of diseases. Many stimuli, which primarily act on the central nervous system, can profoundly alter immune responses. The two routes available to the central nervous system are neuro-endocrine channels and autonomic nerve channels. [6]

3. Masks- no mask can provide a perfect barrier but products that meet or exceed the NIOSH N95 standard are thought to provide good protection. The rationale behind masks is to limit airborne secretions to stop the virus from spreading from person to person. The use of masks is not uncommon in the hospitals where the potential of infection can be greater in compromised patients. It would be unethical and potential deadly for a surgeon to operate without first washing their hands and using a mask.

As I stated previously I pray this flu does not turn pandemic. Millions of people's lives will be at stake. I do hope you adopt some of the ideas I shared with you; starting first with the hygiene. Second I encourage you to explore the wonders of chiropractic if you currently know little about chiropractic. Finding a great chiropractor can be a challenge. Many chiropractors simply operate as "pain" doctors, never fully utilizing or understanding the miraculous results when applied properly.

Dr. Wegmann is the co-founder of TheNewWellness.com one of the fastest growing health websites in the world.

[1]. Deadly new flu virus in US and Mexico may go pandemic". New Scientist. 24 April 2009.

[2]. U.S. Institute of Medicine; Stacey L. Knobler, Alison Mack, Adel Mahmoud, Stanley M. Lemon (editors) (2005). The Threat of Pandemic Influenza:

[3]. Pero R. "Medical Researcher Excited By CBSRF Project Results." The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32.

[4]. [4] Brennan P, Graham M, Triano J, Hondras M. "Enhanced phagocytic cell respiratory bursts induced by spinal manipulation: Potential Role of Substance P." J Manip Physiolog Ther 1991; (14)7:399-400.

[5]. [5] Selano JL, Hightower BC, Pfleger B, Feeley-Collins K, Grostic JD. "The Effects of Specific Upper Cervical Adjustments on the CD4 Counts of HIV Positive Patients." The Chiro Research Journal; 3(1); 1994.

[6] Felton DL, Felton SY, Belonged DL, et al. "Noradrenergic sympathetic neural interactions with the immune system: structure and function." Immunol Rev. 1987 Dec;100:225-60.

Comments

[StThomas]

Have a look at White coat Underground

http://scienceblogs.com/whitecoatunderground/2009/04/i_moved_the_over-the-top_profa.php

@ Dr Monteith: Could chiropractic be the same because it has not moved with the changes in knowledge over the years? What would have to happen before you would decide that an aspect of your practice was not efficacious and needed to change?

PS Prove to me that chiropractor can improve my outcome with swine flu and I'll see a chiropractor next week. I'll settle for a plausible mechanism, consistent with what is known about anatomy and physiology.

[DrMontieth]

I ask you to explain how chiropractic was able to help so many, so many years ago with the same treatment we deliver today? In medicine, how many times does treatment change? Chiropractic is consistent because it has worked in the past, it works today, and it will work in the future. When medicine offered no hope to those that were sick and were written off as a lost cause by the medical profession because their drugs did not heal the body .... tell me how chiropractic saved the vast majority of them?

I think it is a shame that physicians don't exert ALL options .. especially those that are safe and non-harmful to the body. That, to me, is absolutely absurd. We offer the same advice to use proper hygiene and stay home to rest if you "catch" this nasty bug .... but we give people more choices than "just wait and see if you become the next unlucky victim."

You are not helpless. You are not a victim. You have choices that you can make. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN HEALTH. Give chiropractic a shot ... you may just surprise yourself and realize it isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be! :)

[arachne646]

But there aren't any controlled, double-blind studies of chiropractic treatment that have been published in any peer-reviewed publication! I mean a study conducted under basic clinical protocols and published in a periodical not published and read and reviewed by people without degrees from recognized universities. Hey, I'm not an academic either, but research is research.

No, we're not helpless, but MD's and medications are not all bad. Hygiene saved more lives than all the penicillin they ever made, but they're not suppressing chiropractic or Laetrile because they work and traditional medicine doesn't, it's because we need to eat our vegetables, exercise, wash our hands, and talk back to our Dr's until we both understand. If we don't pay for chiropractic or funny supplements we might be able to pay for health insurance.

[Dr. M.J. Wegmann - Huffpost Blogger]

The definition of a physician is a "teacher". I ask my patients all the time what their MD's teach them about being healthy; you would love the comments I get.

I am extremely proud of being a chiropractor; and the connection I have with my patients. Everyone is welcome to visit my website; my patients testimonials are posted, there you will see the amazing capacity of chiropractic to heal and change lives.

I leave you with an interesting quote.

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, he will interest his patients in diet, exercise and care of the human frame." -Thomas Edison

[StThomas]

The word physician "derives" ultimately from the Greek φυση "physe" or body. From this comes φυσικος "skilled in matters pertaining to the body", thence to early modern English "physic", [internal medicine, near enough] hence 'physician', which does not contain "teacher" at all.

I believe in the power of chiropractic in lower back pain, since there is study evidence to support it, but I don't believe it works the way chiropractors do. When I see a spinal nerve innervating a lymph node or bone marrow, I'll believe there may be a potential way the somatic nerves can influence the immune system, but not before. I don't believe chiropractic can reach the nerves. I don't doubt that Dr Wegman's patients like him, or that he does not believe what he says. I suspect much of his good effects on his patients come from the placebo effect which he has harnessed by self belief.
I don't see what Edison thought decades ago has to do with medicin now

[xtina8o4]

"I suspect much of his good effects on his patients come from the placebo effect which he has harnessed by self belief. "

And if they do, where's the problem? For all intents and purposes, he is therefore successful in his practice. I would rather heal myself by the power of belief than undergo unnecessary intensive surgery (yes, the placebo effect has been tested with [knee] surgery, and patients report improvement when nothing had actually been done).

[xtina8o4]

"I don't see what Edison thought decades ago has to do with medicin now"

Is that because you feel his thoughts are outdated? If so, do you see what Hippocrates thoughts have to do with medicine now? Talk about decades ago..
Or is it because you think he has no credibility or relevance to medicine? It'd be unfortuante to be so discriminant..

[mastevens]

Lets go back to basic medical physiology- mechanoreceptor activation in spinal joints, and extremity joints have incredible stimulation to central nervous system. That is how chiropractic reaches the nerves.

your commment about nerve influence on immune system...seems you need to review basic psychoneuroimmunology priniciples. Do you deny that exercise can increase immune function as well? Movement is a required nutrient for our body, and without it, many systems dysfunction. People who are inactive are sick, plain and simple. The adjustment can and does activate many receptors in the body to drive CNS function and every system that is under the influence of the CNS ( i can send you LOADS of research supporting this)......so that would include the immune system. It is written in the medical physiology textbook written by Guyton. no double blind study needed.

[rwext]

# 1 way to prevent...... ignore the media hysteria

[StThomas]

I wouldn't believe anything here about "immune competence" so called. There is no generally recognised lab test to measure immune system efficacy, clinically, as seems to be claimed above. A doctor can get a count of white cells, even down to their various types, and make deductions about specifiv things, but there is no test which allows a doctor to say 'the state of the whole immune system is X'. There are defined units of height and of weight, but no defined unit of immune competence. Additionally, I point out that chiropractors do not use the same belief system as Medical practitioners, and scientists.

There is no plausible mechanism whereby a back-rub can improve your immune system.

[JohnDWY]

I am a Family Physician and an MD. Saying Chiropractic will prevent Swine flu is ridiculous. Hygeine is good but nothing is sure fire in medicine - ever.
This article is about the worst thing I have seen in a long time. Shame on you.

[xtina8o4]

How do you interpret the studies? I was initially skeptical because the first study he discussed merely represented a correlation between chiropractic adjustments and immune system function, but he then discussed a study that delivered chiropractic treatment and then evaluated immune function; granted, the entire study isn't here and there is no indication that they used a control group - is that why you oppose the idea? I'd like to read the whole study.. Regardless, unless you have a truly compelling argument and valid details to support yourself, I think you're being a little harsh... it's not like he doesn't cite any studies or only correlational ones... Then again, I have seen a tendency for MDs to discount anything that doesn't involve surgery or drugs....it'd be nice to see one with a more open mind, or at least the willingness to explain why they feel their opinion is so superior.. should I shame you for your lack of supporting details?

[tolpeople]

I agree with JohnDWY. I am a family nurse practitioner, and believe that most of the "studies" cited by chiropractors are weak at best. The only way to avoid becoming ill from the swine flu, to which humans have no natural immunity, is to avoid contracting it. Good hygiene, including hand-washing, is important, but avoiding crowded areas (like a chiropractor's waiting room full of sick people) is also important. If you are sick, stay home and don't give this to others. If you are not sick, avoid crowded areas if you are in an area where flu cases have been identified. If you believe you have the symptoms (high fever, headache, sore throat, cough), call your health care provider. They can prescribe Tamiflu or Relenza (or both) to you and close family members and contacts. These medications have been shown to be effective against this strain. If you are having trouble breathing, you likely have developed pneumonia and should be hospitalized. The people in Mexico that have died were young, healthy people (a common finding in a viral pandemic), who likely believed they could "fight this off" themselves, and waited to long to seek medical care.

[tinrobot]

I'd also like to hear what a medical doctor says about how to prevent swine flu.

[cleomenes]

According to the germ theory of medicine, quite popular in science for some hudred and 50 years, swine flu is caused by a virus. If you don't get the virus in your body, you don't get swine flu. Therefore, the only way to prevent swine flu is to avoid being "exposed" the technical term used for someone who has potentially received enough of inoculum of a virus or bacteria to be at risk of infection. For influenza virus to infect you it must attach to cells lining your throat. It is introduced there by inhaling infectious particles someone who is infected has coughed or sneezed within 3 feet of you, or by touching something infected and placing your hand in you nose or mouth.
1) Stay 3 feet away from people, especially those who might be infected.
2) wash your hands, a lot.
There is no pre-existing immunity to a virus that has never circulated among humans before. "Boosting" your immune system, whatever that means, will not keep you from GETTING infected, though I suppose it could theoretically help you recover. Or kill you, since deaths in younger adults with flu are though to be due to an OVERACTIVE immune response.

[David Gatwood]

That's an interesting theory about chiropractic care boosting your immune system, but it is probably a bad idea for this virus. With this particular flu strain, deaths seem to be concentrated in people with healthy immune systems, not those with weak immune systems, leading to suspicion that the cause of death may be due to cytokine storm. If that theory proves true, then people with stronger immune systems are actually in worse shape than those with weakened immune systems.