USVI-On-Line

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This is one of ten videos in competition for a public service anouncement award at www.flu.gov .

Good advice and information can be found there and at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm and http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/groups.htm .

If this flu strikes your family or workplace do you have a plan for meals, carpools, daycare, well children with sick parents, children who are away from home in college, etc.??? This is a very communicable virus; it spreads quickly. Most schools and colleges have been sending out information on current guidelines... please read it.

Washing hands, using sanitizer gels, keeping hands off the face, and avoiding those who are sick will slow the spread. Staying at home for seven days after becoming ill is being advised for workers in health care settings. The CDC recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until AT LEAST 24 hours AFTER they are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C]), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications. (more on this at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/exclusion.htm )

It is my personal opinion, that having some supplies on hand and thinking of how life's daily responsiblities will be handled if/when I get sick is reasonable.

Take care, be informed and be well.

Handwashing, handwashing & more handwashing. If you feel a sneeze about to let go; please sneeze into the crook of your elbow. Should avoid public reading material; newspapers, magazines in waiting rooms and even libraries. Try to avoid hand rails if possible and when touching door handles; if possible try to put your hand on an area that may be less touched if that makes any sense
Just using extra common sense and good hygiene should help.
I always have sanitizer close by and use it alot.

Take care and be healthy!

Good post.

I wouldn't say it is a plan, but I did do a few things:

1. My girls and I have already gotten our "regular" flu shots. Two reasons: One is that if we get sick, I want to have a good idea which flu it was. Two is that we always get the flu shot and I figured it was better to go to a doctors office now or a minute clinic-instead of going when everybody and their brother is sick. There was a LONG line when I sent, so people might want to think about getting theirs now- I expect it will get worse.

2. I stocked up on some stuff- like tylenol, crackers, soup, etc...not mass quantities, but enough to get me through the "worst case" scenario of me getting it while my husband is out of town. (and having to take care of the girls). If I am sick as a dog I won't want to go to the store. Or if my girls are sick, I would like to pay attention to them instead of leaving one and having to go shop.

3. I am trying to stay a little more on top of things like laundry and cleaning.

Basically, none of these things will make a huge difference, but it makes me feel better.

The main thing I think is getting that other flu shot (the regualar one). We get it every year and have never gotten the regular flu since we started doing that. I know it doesn't work all of the time but it is pretty darn close. I have friends that think it is stupid to get it, despite their kids getting a high fever and symptoms every year and missing a week of school. One in particular- everytime it happens they say the doctor said it wasn't the flu which is crap because it always happens when the flu is rampant and it goes through their family just like the flu!

An addendum to this. Keep in mind that H1N1 has the very same symptoms as the 'regular' flu and has pretty much the same severity. Where H1N1 really differs is in the secondary rate of infection. The secondary rate of infection for the regular seasonal flu is around 10% while H1N1 is 25%. This simply means that 1 in 10 that come in contact with seasonal flu will contract it while 1 in 4 will contract H1N1. Symptoms tend to appear with H1N1 in 1-4 days after exposure and a person remains infective for around 7 days. The major concern right now is in the number of people that may be sick at a given time. Most likely, if one member of a household gets it, the rest will too. Thus, it is a good idea to have some plan of how to deal with it. Although no one has a clue on how extensive this flu may be, it is very likely to impact all of us in one way or another.

I thought you were going to ask if we have a zombie plan!

ifloat wrote:I thought you were going to ask if we have a zombie plan!

Tomorrow... gotta get through these flu preps first!! It's always something!!!!

Interesting. I don't have a plan. My oldest is a freshman in college and during the welcome ceremony the dean said that they have an online plan in place if the close campus. That is when the seriousness of "swine" flue really hit me. There is a high school in Nebraska that is said to be closed due to the flu.

I haven't been too worried because we never seem to get the flu--I just assumed that we have strong immunity systems. Now hearing how much easier it is to catch I might make some plans. I will probably just keep stocked up.

I have heard a few negative things about the vaccine but I haven't researched it myself yet. Has anyone here?

Gina

Interesting. I don't have a plan. My oldest is a freshman in college and during the welcome ceremony the dean said that they have an online plan in place if the close campus. That is when the seriousness of "swine" flue really hit me. There is a high school in Nebraska that is said to be closed due to the flu.

I haven't been too worried because we never seem to get the flu--I just assumed that we have strong immunity systems. Now hearing how much easier it is to catch I might make some plans. I will probably just keep stocked up.

I have heard a few negative things about the vaccine but I haven't researched it myself yet. Has anyone here?

Gina

Gina, you said you had heard negative things about the H1N1 vaccine. Like what?

As far as I know, it is still expected to be available in late Oct. However, it is possible that two vaccinations will be required rather than one, but that is not definite yet.

I work for Public Heakth and we have a plan alright as above. I just hope we are overreacting!

DELETED

SJfromNJ wrote:I never had the flu nor have I ever had a flu vaccine.

I tend to get a stomach bug once a year for only a day or two.

Same here.
I was my hands all the time and use hand sanitizer when I am not near a sink with soap.
I do not touch handrails in my office or out in public and always sanitize the grocery cart handles before using. Just little things that I think make a big difference

I am not a germophobe but people can be nasty dirty and it has seemed to keep me healthy for quite some time!

I don't want to alarm anyone. I will just tell you what I have been told and what I have learned and you can decide for yourselves. There is mercury in the flu vaccine. Vaccines with mercury have been considered to contribute to autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other neurological problems.

I did a little research and found out that we can ask for a flu vaccine that doesn't contain mercury. The mercury seems to be used to keep the medicine from getting contaminated. So, really this is a non-factor.

You might already know that "swine flu" isn't new. It was a problem way back in the 70's. There were some problems with the vaccine at that time because of paralysis caused by something called Guillain-Barre. There was a link between Guillain-Barre and the swine flu vaccine. The government ended up paying a settlement to people who got Guillain-Barre after getting the vaccine. I would hope that they have made changes to the vaccine but I haven’t specifically heard of any changes.

I am glad that thread was started. It got me to finally do the research. I use to be the type of person that just trusted recommendations made by the government or health professionals. I have changed and question everything. If anyone finds any research that shows the vaccine has changed and what those changes are will you please post it.

Gina

GinaXOXO wrote:I don't want to alarm anyone. I will just tell you what I have been told and what I have learned and you can decide for yourselves. There is mercury in the flu vaccine. Vaccines with mercury have been considered to contribute to autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other neurological problems.

I did a little research and found out that we can ask for a flu vaccine that doesn't contain mercury. The mercury seems to be used to keep the medicine from getting contaminated. So, really this is a non-factor.

You might already know that "swine flu" isn't new. It was a problem way back in the 70's. There were some problems with the vaccine at that time because of paralysis caused by something called Guillain-Barre. There was a link between Guillain-Barre and the swine flu vaccine. The government ended up paying a settlement to people who got Guillain-Barre after getting the vaccine. I would hope that they have made changes to the vaccine but I haven’t specifically heard of any changes.

I am glad that thread was started. It got me to finally do the research. I use to be the type of person that just trusted recommendations made by the government or health professionals. I have changed and question everything. If anyone finds any research that shows the vaccine has changed and what those changes are will you please post it.

Gina

I totally agree, Gina. I believe it was Gerald Ford who really advocated hard for people to get the vaccine back during the 70's "outbreak" of Swine Flu...The result was that people died or became very ill (neurological) from the vaccine, but nobody died from swine flu.

Working in biotech, you'd think I'd be lining my family up for the shot. Not a chance.