• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Self Help Daily

Inspirational and Self Help Blog with a Save the World Complex...

  • Home
    • Tour Self Help Daily
    • Self Help Daily’s Archives
    • Privacy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact
  • Inspirational Quotes
  • Self Help
    • Positive Thought
    • Health
    • Mental Fitness
    • Relationships
    • Self Growth
    • How to Be Happy
  • Book Reviews
You are here: Home / Self Help / Health / Precautions We Can Take Against The Swine Flu

Precautions We Can Take Against The Swine Flu

May 3, 2009 by Joi Leave a Comment

Book links are usually affiliate links. This means I earn a small percentage when you click through and buy the book. This costs you nothing extra - it simply allows me to keep my cats in the lifestyle they're accustomed to.

Purell Hand SanitizerThe Swine Flu. We’ll remember those words for a long time, won’t we? It’s getting more coverage than Heidi and Spencer put together, which may have prompted Spencer to quip one of my favorite quote of the year, “I’m not even trying to get  pig flu.”

I’ve always been a big hand washer.  Having grown up with more allergies than you could even imagine, my mom always stayed on me about washing my hands.  Not only to get the allergens off, but my allergies often had me swiping at my nose and eyes and she told me horror stories about germs riding into my body through these swipes.

I go through a great deal of hand soap and antibacterial hand gels.

I can’t help but wonder if allergies are part of the reason the Swine Flu is spreading so fast.  The  experts tell us that we catch it when our hands are contaminated, then we pass the contamination into our nose, eyes, or mouth.  With the trees and flowers in beautiful bloom – many of us are swiping, rubbing, and scratching like never before.

Dr. John Boyce, chief of the Infectious Diseases Section at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Connecticut, and lead author of the Centers for Disease Control’s national hand hygiene guidelines for health-care workers recently told CNN.com:

Although little information is available at this time, it appears that this influenza virus spreads from one person to another in the same way as other influenza viruses — by “droplet spread.”

Respiratory droplets are generated when an infected person coughs or sneezes and expels droplets of fluid. Those droplets travel short distances (usually less than three feet) through the air and can be deposited on the mouth or in the nose of people or on surfaces.

Those who develop influenza often shed large amounts of virus in their respiratory secretions for several days after they become ill. Experience with other viruses suggests that individuals with influenza can contaminate their hands when coughing, sneezing or blowing their noses. The virus can survive on the hands for at least one hour.

If a person whose hands are heavily contaminated touches a surface such as a doorknob, table or computer keyboard, they can deposit the virus onto that surface, where it can survive for minutes to several hours. One study conducted with a regular seasonal strain of influenza virus found that the virus could survive on facial tissues for several minutes and for two to eight hours on stainless steel or plastic surfaces.

If another person touches a contaminated surface with his hands when the virus is still alive and then touches his own mouth or nose, he may become infected. Infection might also occur when a person with influenza shakes hands with another person who subsequently touches their own mouth or nose with their fingers.

And there we have the good doctor’s version of the same horror story my mom told me.  I’m running to the store for more antibacterial hand gel.  I always buy in bulk so my daughters can keep some in their purses, so we have some in the car, etc.

Dr. Boyce points out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals wash their hands frequently during influenza outbreaks.  Yes, as a matter of fact, that should probably go without saying – but it’s one of those things that most of us simply have to be reminded of and encouraged to do.

Either plain soap or antimicrobial soap will reduce the amount of virus on the hands. To ensure decontamination, be sure to wash your hands vigorously and keep both soap and water on your hands for at least 15 seconds.

When sinks are not readily available, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are a convenient and effective way of eliminate the virus from hands. Use an amount of sanitizer at least the size of quarter or enough to keep your hands wet for at least 15 to 20 seconds while you’re rubbing them together.

Those who are ill need to remember to wash their hands very frequently as well – and anything they touch should be kindly but thoroughly cleaned!

A final word – and you can also file this under It Goes Without Saying – be sure to tell the children  in your life to frequently wash their hands.  Kids tend to approach  life with an all or nothing attitude and often think of hand washing as an elaborate scheme adults use to slow them down.  During outbreaks like this, I’d be willing to chance the eye rolls and stand behind them while they scrub away.  1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi…

The CDC recommends that if you do get sick – do everyone, including yourself, a favor and stay home.  Don’t go to work, don’t go shopping, don’t go to Starbucks (please, please, please don’t go to Starbucks).  More information about swine flu can be found at the CDC’s web site.

Be safe, be cautious, be well, and wash your hands so often they’d swear you’ve developed an obsession.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Swine Flu

Previous Post: « Coping with Symptoms of Menopause, From Both Sides of the Fence
Next Post: The Denim Diet by Kami Gray is a Book You Need to Read Right Away »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Self Help Blog

Cat on Pine Mountain , Kentucky

Welcome to Self Help Daily, a blog devoted to helping you get the most from life by getting the most from yourself!

Read the story behind the picture above in How to Live in the Moment.

Positive Affirmation Cards


Positive Affirmation Cards (Amazon)

Contact Joi

My name is Joi (“Joy”)! I am the animal lover behind Self Help Daily.

To contact me, please do so through e-mail (joitsigers @ gmail.com). Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you! ~ Joi

Self Help Blog Updates

  • Five Ways That You May Be Affecting Your Brain Health Without Realizing It
  • Create a Zen Room in Your Home (Perfect for Creating a Home Sweet Haven)
  • Quick Thought About Interests… Basically, the More You Have, the Better!
  • How Podcasts Grew to Be Full of Information on Motivation
  • 4 Ways You Can Try To Quit Smoking
  • Simple Ways To Make Your Working Life Easier And Less Stressful
  • Exercise Options That Will Improve Your Physical and Mental Health
  • How to Look and Feel Your Best Everyday

Featured Quote Graphics

Don't Quit Quote Graphic

Dr. Seuss Quote About Being Who You Are

Booker T. Washington Quote About Hate

Wayne Dyer Quote About Karma

Quote About Habits

Footer

Inspirational Quotes

  • Abraham Lincoln Quotes
  • Billy Graham Quotes
  • Booker T. Washington Quotes
  • Dale Carnegie Quotes
  • Maya Angelou Quotes
  • Mark Twain Quotes
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes
  • Norman Vincent Peale Quotes

More Inspirational Quotes

❖ Self Help Daily Updates



Overcoming Empty Nest Syndrome

One of the questions I hear the most from my readers is, "How can I cope with empty nest syndrome?" I'll try to deal with this sensitive subject as often as possible. If you have any suggestions, I hope you'll contribute to the conversations!

  • Coping With Empty Nest Syndrome
  • Don't Just Cope in an Empty Nest, Thrive!
  • How to Be Happy in an Empty Nest
  • Overcoming Empty Nest Syndrome
Copyright Self Help Daily 2021