Second Round of Swine Flu?

Swine Flu. There, I said it. Last fall, people were so "sick" of hearing about the swine flu epidemic. Perhaps it was the overkill that made people not pay to much attention to prevention. Many did do the recommended shots, but when it came to being careful about coming in contact with other people who had it, and just basic preventative skills, many slipped up. Many also ended up in bed for quite some time feeling like death. Round two is coming, so this time, instead of saying to ourselves (I was number one culprit for this by the way) "oh it will be fine", let's be proactive and beat this thing.

Second Round of Swine Flu-What Health Officials Are Doing-Vaccines

WHO says that the Swine Flu may not be beaten until 2011. Thankfully because of the intense campaign to get vaccinated last year, many are already immunized and will be fine. If you were one of the people last year, like myself, who decided against it, you may want to re-think that. Immunizations are readily available, and new studies have concluded that just one round of the H1N1 vaccine will be enough to head off this health issue. 2011 is not that far off, let's end this fight and get our recommended immunizations. Because of such a response to the vaccination program, although another round is already here, the difference in how many people are staggering! You can view how few people re getting Swine flu this round at the CDC's flu weekly website, just scroll down to April 2010.

Second Round of Swine Flu-What Health Officials Are Doing-Anti-Virals

Health officials are also still abiding by the newer guidelines set forth towards the end of the 2009 Swine Flu season when it comes to anti-virals. Officials recommend not using as a preventative measure unless you are a health care worker, child care worker or someone chronically ill. Once a person has contracted the Swine Flu, there is a short forty-eight hour window in which to start taking these anti-virals. Anti-virals are to be used by patients with progressive, and respiratory illness. Another time doctors will treat with anti-virals is if there is pre-existing medical conditions and or hospitalizations. On a personal note, I did get Swine flu last year, and was put on Tamiflu. Worked like a charm. It taught me one thing though, H1N1 is no joke, and I really should have vaccinated.

Second Round of Swine Flu-A Reminder of Basic Hygiene Rules to Avoid Swine Flu

All of my recommendations in the following paragraph should be practiced faithfully, Swine Flu or not. Sometimes we forget though that Swine flu and even worse is out there and we don't take the time to practice these basic hygiene rules.

1) When coughing or sneezing, if tissues are not readily available, do so into your arm. Covering your cough or sneeze wit your hand won't do much good if you then shake someone's hand, or touch a doorknob even hours later.

2) Wash hands frequently. This is a given, but if you actually kept track at how many times you actually do wash your hands a day, I think you'd be in for a big surprise. The number is actually a lot lower than we think.

3) Use hand sanitizer between washes. This is especially when out in public, like grocery shopping, the gym, the library, basically any place you can think of where someone else touched what you are touching. There are now hand sanitizers much more hand friendly if you are one prone to extremely dry hands.

4) If you suspect you are sick, please stay at home away from others. Yes, many have been immunized, but instead of causing a spread to those who aren't, don't take any chances. Call your doctor immediately who will know if Swine flu is in the area and follow his/her recommendations.

In conclusion, this second round isn't much different in what the officials are doing. What we need to do preventively isn't either. The good news is this wave of this stubborn germ is expected to be milder than previous flu seasons because of the intense vaccination programs and immunity from getting it last year.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10640601
http://www.scidev.net/en/news/swine-flu-science-update-4-january-2010.html
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/recommendations.htm