New Year Resolutions to Prevent Swine Flu

Here’s wishing all our readers a happy 2010. Let’s make some New Year resolutions to ensure that the H1N1 Swine flu virus has the least chance to spread and we can all be safe and healthy in this coming year:

• Wash hands frequently, with soap and water. This is particularly important when one has been touching public surfaces, which harbour any number of potential infections.
• Soap and water may not always be around or available, and for situations such as this, it is prudent to keep a hand sanitizer handy. This is a useful thing to carry around in one’s bag or briefcase that can eliminate a number of infective organisms when it is not possible to find soap and water.
• Avoid touching the face. The germs that your hand carries are thus easily transferred to the face; particularly the mouth and nose.
• Sneeze into a handkerchief or paper napkin when possible  and if none of those are available, rather than sneeze into your hand, try and sneeze into the crook of your elbow; germs are transmitted less readily from there to others and other surfaces.
• If you are sick with flu like symptoms, try to stay home, limiting contact with others and trying to avoid crowds and other public places.
• If exhibiting flu like symptoms, it is important to visit a doctor so that the symptoms can be evaluated and tests conducted to determine if it is swine flu that causes them. Then the correct course of action can be prescribed.
• Do not use tamiflu as a preventive, it is not meant to prevent swine flu, rather to treat it. Besides using it for no reason makes the virus more resistant to the drug and ultimately less effective when one really needs it.
• When traveling, follow swine flu dos and don’ts vigilantly.
• Maintain high degrees of hygiene and make sure that all produce consumed has been thoroughly washed.
• Eat and drink well and exercise adequately to build up the body’s immunity to disease in general and swine flu in particular.
• As and when available in India, take the swine flu shot to prevent contracting it and passing it on to other, perhaps more vulnerable people.
• Children and pregnant women who are more susceptible should be all the more cautious and observe these guidelines.

So let’s make the attempt this year to minimize the spread of swine flu and stay healthy and stay safe during the coming year.

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