It has been 100 years since the Spanish flu infected 500 million people around the globe and wiped out an estimated 20 million to 50 million of them. (source)
And here we are, potentially on the cusp of another influenza pandemic. H3N2, or the “Australian flu” is making the rounds this year and has spread to the UK, among other countries. This map from the UK Sun shows the spread – and the potential for a pandemic.
This flu is particularly deadly. 745 people died from it in Australia in late 2017.
The NHS says that Australian flu symptoms have rapid onset:
- a sudden fever – a temperature of 38C or above
- aching body
- feeling tired or exhausted
- dry, chesty cough
- a sore throat
- a headache
- difficulty sleeping
- loss of appetite
- diarrhea or tummy pain
- nausea and being sick
The symptoms are similar for children, but they can also have ear pain and lethargy.
As well, the “Japanese Flu” and the “French Flu” are two other strains that are running rampant, although their symptoms aren’t as severe as those of the Aussie H3N2. The Japanese Flu, also known as the Yamagata flu, is less serious but far more contagious. The French Flu is H1N1 and has been deadly for some sufferers.
The United States is having a bad year also.
Here in the US, an epidemic is rapidly becoming deadly and overwhelming hospitals.
18 people have died in Dallas, Texas from the flu and 27 have died in California. Hospital waiting rooms are jammed with flu victims, the doctors are running out of medication, ambulance services are strained and even IV bags are in short supply. Influenza is widespread in 36 states, according to the CDC.
Here’s the CDC’s map of the flu’s spread throughout the US as of the last day of 2017.
80% of the cases in the US are H3N2, although our media doesn’t seem to be calling it the Australian flu, like the British media is. As usual, although this year’s flu vaccination does NOT protect against the H3N2 strain, “experts” are still urging everyone to get a shot anyone. (Despite the fact that some numbers say it is only 10% effective.)
We can learn a lot from history.
Whether or not the Australian flu will be the “big one” that wipes out a large percentage of the population like the Spanish flu of 1918 remains to be seen. But there is a great deal we can learn from the history of pandemics that can help us to be better prepared. That outbreak killed more Americans last century than all the wars combined. A mass grave was recently uncovered in Pennsylvania that contained the remains of impoverished victims.
The Spanish flu was the H1N1 virus and was so rapidly virulent that it could kill victims in a day.
This excellent documentary is an in-depth look at the influenza outbreak that took place 100 years ago.
What can you do about the flu?
There’s no way to predict whether this will be our generation’s “Flu of 1918” or not, but the best plan is to be prepared. Pandemics have a way of growing quietly then shocking people with their virulence. It’s definitely something to watch.
Social isolation and handwashing are the best preventatives against the flu. Obviously, social isolation is not possible for adults who have to go to work and children who must attend school.
The following resources can help you to potentially prevent contracting the flu or to be better prepared, especially in the event that this year’s strain turns into a pandemic.
- The Flu Survival Guide: Kitchen Remedies and Natural Strategies to Battle the Bug
- Are You Prepped for a Pandemic?
- Forget the Flu Shot: Hand-washing and Elderberry Extract Are the Best Defenses Against the Flu
- How to Reduce Your Risk of Catching the Flu This Year
- Elderberry Extract for the Flu: Nature’s “Tamiflu”
- Prepping for a Pandemic: Life-Saving Supplies, Skills, and Plans for Surviving an Outbreak
Do not forget that the flu is a virus. Normal antibiotics are ineffective against virii. Silver is effective against bacteria, fungii AND viruses. Easiest means to get silver to everywhere it needs to go is in colloidal suspension, taken orally or intra-nasally. I normally orally ingest 2-3 tablespoons, sublingually held as long as possible prior to swallowing; or intra-nasally 2-3cc, 1cc at a time and keep head tilted back until the “bloom” (if you try it, you’ll immediately understand what I mean by bloom) dissipates. I normally dose 3-4 times a day upon symptom onset and for 2 days after symptoms disappear. I recommend WaterOz’s products, as they are affordable (quarts go for what a half pint or less sells for at most naturopathic health stores). A gallon for about $65 is incredibly valuable to keep on hand, and costs less than an office visit to a medical “professional” who will be able to do little against the flu except give the same advice we all already know: Get rest, drink plenty of fluids, wait for the fever to break. Obviously if any life-threatening symptoms appear (bloody stool, severe fever or incessant vomiting, one should consult to make sure it’s not more than just the flu.
http://wateroz.com
I have a gallon of WaterOz silver here, and I’m pretty sure it’s ionic silver rather than colloidal silver.
I started to look into the difference long ago, and if I remember right, the colloidal silver is much more effective because it contains silver particles that bond with infectious agents, whereas the ionic silver is already bonded to water the molecules.
Don’t quote me on any of this, but instead do your own research because I’m working from distant memory here, and I’m no chemist to begin with. BUT… I do know that colloidal silver can be made at home fairly easily.
Yes, JR, the WaterOz Silver is known as “nano” silver, as it is processed to maintain “nano-sized” silver particles that assimilate much more easily into the body, hence the sublingual use I mentioned above, much like a sublingual B12 tablet, which assimilates as it is held under the tongue. Apparently, it is this smaller-sized particle that makes the WaterOz colloidal suspension most effective in neutralizing viruses. A colloidal liquid is a liquid in which a solid stays in suspension and does not settle out. Nano silver and the standard colloidal silver are both colloidal suspensions, but the standard colloidal silver has an inconsistantly generated silver particle size, much of which cannot be assimilated until it is acted upon by the digestive system.
I make my own colloidal silver…as soon as I feel like I am coming down with something I nebulize the silver into my lungs and make sure to have the mist over my eyes as well ( 3 times a day) ….I take a big dose (2 Gms) of sodium ascorbate (using corn free product) …I swab inside my ears with the silver water or hydrogen peroxide….. no whitecoats for me if at all possible