REMEMBER: YOU ARE YOUR BROTHER’S KEEPER!
There is a lot of talk about flu this year – seasonal as well as H1N1. They
are both serious, contagious diseases. Each year in the United States, on
average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and 36,000 people die from
seasonal flu complications. This flu season could be worse. There is a new
and very different flu virus spreading worldwide among people called novel or
new H1N1 flu. This virus may cause more illness or more severe illness than
usual.
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO ABOUT THE FLU (Seasonal and H1N1)
1. The most important thing to do is PRACTICE GOOD BEHAVIOR!
We must each be concerned not only about our health, but also our neighbors’
health. Please use good judgment to prevent the spread of the virus. You
don’t know if the people you might expose have a chronic illness, are
pregnant, or may be going home to a child with a serious health condition.
2. Take time to GET A FLU VACCINE.
Seasonal Flu vaccination is very important for people at high risk of serious
flu complications, including young children, pregnant women, those with
chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart or lung disease, and
people 65 years and older. It is also important for health care workers and
other people who live with or care for high risk people to prevent giving the
flu to them.
3. GET THE NEW H1N1 FLU VACCINE.
It will be available as an option for prevention of novel H1N1 infection.
People at greatest risk for novel H1N1 infection include children, pregnant
women, and people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart
or lung disease.
4. COVER YOUR NOSE AND MOUTH with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw
the tissue in the trash after you use it.
5. WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN WITH SOAP AND WATER, especially after you cough or
sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
6. AVOID TOUCHING YOUR EYES, NOSE, OR MOUTH. Germs spread this way.
7. Try to AVOID CLOSE CONTACT WITH SICK PEOPLE.
8. If you are sick with flu-like illness, the CDC RECOMMENDS THAT YOU STAY
HOME for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, except to get medical
care (your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing
medicine). Keep away from others as much as possible. These precautions are
to keep from making others sick.
9. Visit the CDC WEBSITE (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/) to find out what to do
if you get sick with the flu and how to care for someone at home who is sick
with the flu.
10. TAKE FLU ANTI-VIRAL DRUGS if your doctor prescribes them.
Staying Healthy This Winter
COUGH, COUGH, FIZZ, FIZZ, OH WHAT A RELIEF IT IS! Remember when getting sick
was as easy as chicken soup and Alka Selzer? Not anymore! MRSA! Swine flu!
What is a responsible person to do these days to get well as quickly as
possible and stay well? Here are some tips that may help.
These days doctors are very interested in determining whether a bacteria or
virus is causing your symptoms. There are over 150 antibiotics in existence,
but just like spraying your grass for weeds won’t kill grub worms, using anti-
bacterial medications (antibiotics) won’t stop viral infections. In
addition, using antibiotics when you don’t have a bacterial infection may
lead to nausea, diarrhea, rashes or other side effects.
How can I tell bacteria from viruses? Most illnesses that begin with
sneezing, itching on the roof of the mouth or nasal congestion alone are
viruses. If you “always feel better” when you get this infection “only after
taking an antibiotic”, look at the time frame of your improvement. If your
symptoms markedly improve less than 24 hours or much more than 48 hours from
time of starting antibiotic, the prescription is not likely responsible for
your improvement. If your snot goes from clear to yellow or green, this does
not indicate a bacterial infection, but rather a dehydration of your body.
Push fluids and use over the counter mucus-breaking treatments like
humidifiers, Vicks Vaporub, Mucinex, or Robitussin. Sudafed will only
further dehydrate the mucus your body is producing to rid you of infection.
Drink! Drink! Drink! Avoid caffeinated or carbonated beverages as much as
possible.
What else can I do to feel better? Use the suggestions noted above. Use
Tylenol or ibuprofen for relief of muscle pains or fever. Try saline nasal
spray (NOT Afrin) for relief of nasal dryness and congestion. Gargle with
warm salty water or Listerine to relieve throat pain and protect your body
from a second infection. Use cough drops and topical sprays for throat
pain. Did I mention drinking plenty of fluids?
How can I keep from getting sick? The absolute best way to keep well is to
wash your hands and avoid those who are ill or contagious. Most of you see
every health care professional washing hands after every physical contact
with ill patients, even before touching pencils and paper or computer
keyboards. You may also see them getting close to you for exams or vital
signs by approaching you from the side, where respiratory droplet
transmission is much less likely. Wash your hands as well after handling
money, touching grocery carts or doors in public places, or using public
restrooms. If you are ill, wave instead of shaking hands to greet friends at
church and in public. Everyone appreciates your consideration. Many
illnesses are very infectious for 24-48 hours before you have serious
symptoms. You may be able to make people sick without knowing it. Use hand
lotion to keep skin on hands and cuticles from cracking. Think of intact
skin as a Ziploc bag for your body. It keeps infection out and you healthy!
What can I do to get well? If you do get antibiotics for a bacterial
infection, take the full course of treatment even though your symptoms have
improved before treatment course is complete. The additional days of
medication keep traces of bacteria from remaining, developing resistance, and
re-emerging as dangerous infections.
Good luck this winter. Be a good steward of the healthy body God has given
you!
Submitted by Tricia Baird, Family Physician and Good Shepherd Parishioner
