MOM WAS RIGHT!!!!
“Wash your hands! Cover your mouth when you cough/sneeze! Don’t touch that—it’s probably covered with germs!” Sound familiar? With flu season fast approaching, those are words of wisdom. In addition to the instructions we received as children, there are additional steps we can take to help protect us.
The old familiar, eat healthy, get plenty of rest and drink lots of water is frequently ignored, but to have a healthy immune system, these are essential for the body.
There are two primary ways the flu is spread. One is by contact and the other is air-born.
Contact exposure:
- Wash your hands often.
- Keep your hands off of your face (the eyes, nose and mouth are Club Med for germs)
- If you shop where sanitizing wipes are available for cleaning carts, use them. Without sanitizing the cart, you run the risk of picking up germs from all the people who have used the cart before you.
- Buy a bottle of hand sanitizer and keep it in your car/purse. As soon as you return to the car, before touching the steering wheel, clean your hands.
Air-born:
- Not a lot you can do to avoid this one, other then moving to a deserted island. You might want to consider avoiding large groups of people.
- Surgical mask scan be purchased at any drug store. If you are planning on using them, I suggest you purchase them early before they are sold out. However, there is some discussion as to how effective the surgical mask will be to protect against the H1N1 virus because of the size of the virus.
General tips for prevention:
- Gargle with hot salt water two times a day—there is a theory that at the onset of an infection, this will help prevent the virus from multiplying.
- Rinse your nose two times daily with saline water. The theory here is similar to the above suggestion; that the virus will be washed away before it has a chance of multiplying.
- To be the most effective, these are to be done on a regular basis. Don’t wait until you have the flu to start.
The most obvious suggestion is GET YOUR FLU SHOT!!!! There will be two types of flu vaccine this year; the injection for the regular flu and the injection for the H1N1 strain. It is even more important to get your regular vaccine this year. The last thing anyone needs is to get the regular flu AND then the H1N1.
There are guidelines for who needs the H1N1 vaccine. Check with your physician, or the County Health Department to determine if you meet those guidelines.
Historical info on new strains of influenza: Historically when a new strain appears it is generally mild and there are not very many cases. It fades with the arrival of summer then resurfaces in the fall. When it resurfaces, it can be the mild form of the previous year, or in some instances, it mutates and reappears as a much more virulent strain. We don’t know yet if the virus will remain mild, or if it is mutating. If it remains mild, it will be just like the regular old flu.
— Judy Hey, Health & Wellness Coordinator
