How to Avoid the Flu

I don’t know about where you live, but in my part of the world that porcine flu bug is taking its toll on attendance in classrooms, at church, even on the number of cars on the road. (See? It’s not all bad.) Otherwise known as H1N1, this booger is causing constant fear.

Like other Influenza A viruses, the H1N1 creeper infects only the upper respiratory tract and proliferates there alone. The only portals of entry are nostrils and mouth. While during a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with this pesky bug, it is possible to alter environments conducive to proliferation.

If you want to do so while still healthy, follow these tips.

1. Know that Tamiflu does not kill but it does prevent H1N1 from further proliferation until the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks (its natural cycle). Realize your efforts here can be even more effective than Tamiflu.

2. Wash your hands a lot.

3. See number 2.

4. Tell your hands “Step away from the face.” Resist all those temptations to rub your eyes, rub your nose, touch your finger to your lips to say “shhhh”—to touch any part of face. Especially after you use a public escalator, talk on someone else’s phone, use somebody else’s laptop computer, punch an elevator button, touch a door knob.

5. Gargle twice daily with warm salt water. Use Listerine if you don't trust salt. H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and produce symptoms. This simple gargling action prevents proliferation.

6. Clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. I know—Ewwww! But it beats dealing with the flu’s actual symptoms—know what I mean? Blowing your nose, and blowing hard, once a day as well as swabbing your nostrils with Q-tips dipped in warm salt water is actually quite effective in bringing down viral population.

7. Boost your natural immunity with foods rich in Vitamin C (think: citrus). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure those tablets also have Zinc/bioflavonoids to boost absorption. But in general food is better than pills.

8. Head for Starbucks. Yes! Can you believe it!? You get to drink as much warm fluid as possible. This has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. The liquid washes off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot proliferate or even survive.

9. Cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow or your upper arm rather than into your hands and all over your fingers. You’re less likely to spread the virus this way.

10. When meeting someone for the first time, say, "You'll excuse me if I don't shake your hand...just trying to keep both of us well." I doubt anyone will be offended.

All this stuff is easy. It just takes some time. But I’m guessing you’d rather stick a cotton swab in your nose than wait three hours at a doc-in-the-box (full of other sickies) for medical attention. Yeah, me too.

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