About H1N1 and effects of curse words on pain

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Governments around the world have been taking steps to guard against
the H1N1 influenza virus, commonly known as swine flu. Health
officials say the virus is especially risky for pregnant women. If
they become infected, especially after the first three months of
pregnancy, they can get very sick or even die.

Pregnant women face an increased risk even during outbreaks, or
periods, of seasonal influenza. But the H1N1 flu has been affecting a
younger age group than seasonal flu epidemics.

File photo of a pregnant woman receiving a seasonal flu shot in
Dallas, Texas
A pregnant woman receiving a seasonal flu shot in Dallas, Texas

The World Health Organization says pregnant women should take the
antiviral drug Tamiflu as soon as possible after they show signs of
being sick. The drug is also called oseltamivir.

The W.H.O. says treatment should begin immediately and not wait for
the results of laboratory tests. The effects are greatest when given
within forty-eight hours. But experts say the medicine could still do
some good even if there is a delay.


Since April, more than one thousand deaths have been reported from the
H1N1 virus. But the virus has yet to show itself to be more severe
than seasonal flu.

The World Health Organization has predicted that the virus will infect
at least two billion people in the next two years. The WHO's Director-
General, Margaret Chan, has expressed concern there is not a good
process in place to produce enough vaccine against the virus.


In the United States, there are now policies for the use of H1N1
vaccine when it becomes available. An advisory committee of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there are five groups
that should be vaccinated first.

These include pregnant women and people who live with or care for
children younger than six months. They also include workers in health
care and emergency services, and people between six months and twenty-
four years of age.

The fifth group on the list is people twenty-five to sixty-four with
chronic, or long-lasting, health problems.


Dirty language. Curse words. Profanity. Swearing. These are all ways
of describing words people consider socially unacceptable. But such
words are commonly said after a painful injury. So, do they serve a
purpose in reducing physical pain? That is what researchers at Keele
University in Britain set out to discover.

Psychologist Richard Stephens wondered if using curse words truly
helped people experiencing physical pain. To test the theory, he asked
more than sixty college students to take part in an experiment.


Man in pain
The students were asked to write down five words they might say after
hitting their finger with a hammer. One of the words was chosen as
their swear word. The students were also asked to choose five words
they might use to describe another object: a table. These words were
their control words.

The students were then asked to hold their hand in cold water for as
long as they could. While holding their hand underwater, they were
asked to repeat a swear word. Then they repeated the experiment using
their control word instead.


The researchers found a link between swearing and an increased ability
to deal with pain. When students repeated a swear word, they were able
to hold their hand longer in the cold water. On average, students
using swear words were able to keep their hand in the water for about
two minutes. Those using control words removed their hands after about
one minute fifteen seconds. In addition, those using swear words said
they experienced less pain than those who used control words.

The experiment showed that swearing caused people's heart rate to
increase. It also found interesting differences between men and women.
The heart rate of both men and women increased. Yet swearing had a
greater effect on the women.

Researchers believe the increase in heart rate might demonstrate what
they call the fight or flight response. They say this permits the body
to experience or ignore pain better.

The results of the study were published in the journal NeuroReport.


It is unclear to scientists exactly how swearing affects physical
reactions to pain. Professor Stephens believes that swearing activates
a different part of the brain than normal language. He says more
experiments on different kinds of pain are needed to better understand
the effect of swearing.

The researchers note that swear words have existed for hundreds of
years. They say their findings offer one reason why the custom of
cursing may have continued for so long. Swear words are said with
emotion. For that reason, says Mister Stephens, the more someone
swears, the less of an effect the words have.