8 Ways to Avoid H1N1

With the spread of H1N1, many ideas have formed on ways to avoid the virus. This year’s flu season has been intense already, but there are some simple and logical ways to lessen the possibility of contracting H1N1 and other vicious illnesses.

1. Avoid Store Samples: Though they may be tempting, store samples are an easy place for germs and bacteria.

2. Avoid buffets and salad bars: Another common location for germs can be found in local buffets or salad bars, where the food is exposed to the open-air for an extended period of time.

3. Cook more – Cook more nutritiously! It is often difficult to cook when you are always on the go, but cooking your own food is more nutritious and less likely to be passed through a variety of people to get to your plate. Add garlic, chilies, and ginger to your entrees, as they have properties that aid circulation and respiratory health. Eat lean protein and good fats to boost immunity. Avoid refined sugars and processed foods that wear down the body.

4. Load up on Vitamin D – A good dose of vitamin D is essential to immunity, as it prevents the immune response from overreacting and reduces inflammation. Studies indicate that individuals with higher levels of vitamin D are less likely to come down with the flu.

5. Antioxidants - Eat foods with antioxidant-rich properties, such as citrus, berries, and dark green vegetables. Supplement with vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene, as well as B vitamins to support your immune system.

6. Wash Hands - Common objects we touch easily spread germs, like money, shopping carts, door handles, shaking hands, etc. Use warm water and soap for 15 to 20 seconds to disinfect the skin. You can also carry hand sanitizer to kill germs.

7. More Sleep & Less Stress: The body needs rest and relaxation to function optimally. Adequate sleep can help you manage stress and aid the proper function of your nervous system, whereas sleep deprivation can have very negative effects on the immune system.

8. Avoid those that are sick - An airborne virus can be caught in less than 6 to 10 feet. Don’t lock yourself up in your house until spring, but if you are around people that are coughing or sneezing, stay more at bay.

References:

1. Gombart A. (2009 August 8). Key feature of immune system survived in humans, other primates for 60 million years. Retrieved on October 15, 2009 from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-08/osu-kfo081809.php

2. Willingham, V. (2009, Oct. 12). To fight flu, arm your immune system with diet, rest. Retrieved on October 15, 2009 from
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/12/immune.system.H1N1/index.html

What is H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)?

What is H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)?
Novel H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic of novel H1N1 flu was underway.

How does novel H1N1 virus spread?
Spread of novel H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person-to-person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something – such as a surface or object – with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people?
The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.

Prevention & Treatment

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against novel H1N1 virus. However, a novel H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and may be ready for the public in the fall. As always, a vaccine will be available to protect against seasonal influenza.

There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza.

Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners* are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

Novartis : Experimental Swine Flu Vaccine Produced

The vaccine hasn't yet been tested and cannot be used in humans yet. It was made in cells, rather than grown in eggs as is usually the case with vaccines, the company said.

But because vaccines grown in cells account for less than 5 percent of the world's flu vaccine capacity, Novartis' announcement is unlikely to provide a major boost to the world's pandemic vaccine supply.

The announcement comes a day after WHO declared swine flu, also known as A(H1N1), a pandemic. The move indicates that a global outbreak is under way. WHO says drugmakers will likely have vaccines approved and ready for sale after September.

Novartis said it would use the first batch of vaccine for laboratory testing. It may also be tested in humans, the company said.

The vaccine was produced at a Novartis plant in Marburg, Germany. Novartis said the facility could potentially produce millions of doses of vaccine a week.

A second plant is being built in Holly Springs, North Carolina, the company said.

Novartis said more than 30 governments have requested vaccine supplies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, which placed a $289 million order in May.

Swine flue : six stages of sickness

Current H1N1
Pandemic Rating:

Stage 6

The World Health Organization tracks outbreaks in the following six stage to assess the potential for a new global flu outbreak.

Phase
1

There are no viruses circulating in animals that have been reported to cause infections in humans.

Phase
2

An animal flu virus has caused infections in humans in the past and is considered to be a potential pandemic threat.

Phase
3

An animal or mixed animal-human virus has caused occasional cases or small clusters of disease, but the virus does not spread easily.

Phase
4

The new virus can cause sustained outbreaks and is adapting itself to human spread.

Phase
5

The virus has spread into at least two countries and is causing even bigger outbreaks.

Phase
6

More outbreaks in at least two regions of the world; the pandemic is under way.

WHO: Swine flu now a pandemic, 1st in 41 years

GENEVA -Swine flu is now formally a pandemic, a declaration by U.N. health officials that will speed vaccine production and spur government spending to combat the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.

Thursday's announcement by the World Health Organization doesn't mean the virus is any more lethal — only that its spread is considered unstoppable.

Since it was first detected in late April in Mexico and the United States, swine flu has reached 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people. Most who catch the bug have only mild symptoms and don't need medical treatment.

WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan made the long-awaited declaration after the U.N. agency held an emergency meeting with flu experts and said she was moving to phase 6 — the agency's highest alert level — which means a pandemic is under way.

So far, swine flu has caused 144 deaths, compared with ordinary flu that kills up to 500,000 people a year.

The pandemic decision might have been made much earlier if WHO had more accurate information about swine flu's rising sweep through Europe. Chan said she called the emergency meeting with flu experts after concerns were raised that some countries, such as Britain, were not accurately reporting their cases.

In Chile, authorities have identified almost 1,700 cases to WHO.

Many health experts said the world has been in a pandemic for weeks but WHO became too bogged down by politics to declare one. In May, several countries urged WHO not to declare a pandemic, fearing it would cause social and economic turmoil. At the time, WHO said it would rewrite its pandemic definition to avoid announcing one.

But with the recent surge in cases across Europe, Chile, Australia and Japan, the agency was under increasing pressure to acknowledge a pandemic.

The decision to make pandemic vaccine is a gamble. Most flu vaccine makers cannot make both regular seasonal flu vaccine and pandemic vaccine at the same time. That means they must decide which one the world will need more.

Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it could start commercial production of pandemic vaccine in July but that it would take months before large quantities are available.

Glaxo spokesman Stephen Rea said the company's first doses of vaccine would be reserved for countries who had ordered it in advance, including Belgium, Britain and France. He said Glaxo would also donate 50 million doses to WHO for poor countries.

Pascal Barollier, a spokesman for Sanofi-Aventis, said they were also working on a pandemic vaccine but WHO had not yet asked them to start making mass quantities of it.

The U.N. is keen to avoid panic. "We must guard against rash and discriminatory action, such as travel bans or trade restrictions," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Fear has already gripped Argentina, where thousands have flooded hospitals this week, bringing emergency health services in Buenos Aires to the brink of collapse during winter weather. Last month, a bus arriving in Argentina from Chile was stoned by people who thought a passenger had swine flu.

Mushrooms can beat swine flu

BOSTON - The ordinary white button mushroom can help you beat the swine flu with an immunity boost, researchers at Tufts University say.

This lowly fungus, which was thought for many years to have no medicinal or nutritional value, actually bolsters immunity systems, the researchers say.

The Tufts study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, showed that grocery-store button mushrooms have as much antioxidant oomph as more exotic Asian mushrooms, long-prized for their ability to heal and to prevent disease.

Common button mushrooms also contain polysaccharides and ergothioneine, along with other substances that jump-start the immune system. And they raise levels of cytokines, which are hormone-like proteins that help defend against viruses and tumors, the study found.

How many mushrooms are enough, and how should they be prepared? Holistic health counselor Margie King suggests one-half cup serving a day for full health benefits. You can add them to stews and soups or just put them in tossed salads, she says.

Dietitian Glenn Cardwell calls mushrooms one of nature’s “true superfoods” and says, “While it is always tempting to reach for a quick fix vitamin or medical supplement, real food alternatives, such as the mushroom, are a healthier long term choice.”

N-95 Masks Do Protect from Swine Flu but They Will Not Protect You

N-95 respirator masks are the newest hot selling item for "flu preparedness", but do they work? Yes. And No. N-95 respirator masks were designed to protect healthcare workers from `airborne` illnesses such as tuberculosis, chicken pox and the flu. They DO work under tightly controlled circumstances, but the general public is not likely to be in those tightly controlled circumstances, so they will likely not benefit from them.

Face masks were first used during the 1918 flu epidemic as `protection` against the flu. It likely did not do any good, but laws were enacted and people who didn`t wear them were considered "mask slackers" who could be fined, imprisoned or simply ostracized. With the swine flu claiming more and more victims in the US, people are beginning to react by wearing masks again. But this time, the higher technology N-95 Respirator Mask is all the rage.

The N-95 is NOT your grandfather`s surgical mask or even the same as surgical masks worn by doctors and nurses today like you see in operating rooms. They are specialized pieces of equipment that were designed to protect hospital workers against `airborne` illnesses like tuberculosis, chicken pox and influenza. All of these are very small infectious particles that remain airborne after being exhaled by an infected person. There has been a lot of misinformation about these masks. Some say that they work, some say that they don`t. So what is the truth?

The fact is that N 95 respirators DO protect wearers against the flu- at least in theory and when used properly. The N 95 respirators ARE Airtight and Are Designed to protect the wearer from airborne particles as small as Mycobacterium Tubuculosis- approximately 45 nanometers in width or about 1/2 micron. The swine flu virus, by contrast, is almost twice as large at approximately 80-120 nanometers. In the hospital setting when used by trained practitioners, as set by Centers for Disease Control guidelines, these masks are VERY EFFECTIVE at preventing transmission of these tiny particles

But there are several reasons why the N-95 respirators are unlikely to work for the general public. The first reason is that it is difficult to get the right fit. Health care workers who wear surgical masks are told, "Here, put this on". Surgical masks can be worn by anyone, anywhere for long periods of time. As shown by people in China wearing masks while riding bicycles to work or even jogging, they are pretty comfortable and easy to use. But a health care worker who uses an N-95 must actually go through a short training session. First, the approximate correct size for your face is chosen and placed tightly onto the face with 2 tight straps fitting onto the head. Second, the metal band on the nose bridge is smoothed down to get a tight fit. Once a correct fit is approximated, the head is placed into a large plastic tube to approximate a confined space. A trainer, usually a nurse, sticks a spray bottle into a small hole and continuously sprays a saccharine solution into the plastic tube while the wearer turns the head from side to side and up and down to make sure that there are no air leaks. If the saccharine solution is tasted, then a good `fit` has not been obtained and the procedure is repeated with another sized mask until an airtight seal is obtained: sometimes difficult for those with particularly small or large faces or those who have facial hair.

The second reason is that N 95 Respirators are uncomfortable, hot and tight. While a surgical mask can be worn for hours without any problems, an N-95 respirator becomes uncomfortable and claustrophobic even in a cool hospital room within just minutes. After caring for someone for even a short while, the breath feels hot and uncomfortable and most begin to sweat- some people sweat PROFUSELY! Taking off the mask after wearing one for only a short while feels as if you stepped into a cool fresh breeze after just getting out of a sauna. Wearing one in an air conditioned theater while just sitting and watching a movie would be unbearable. Wearing one while riding a bicycle or while shopping would be just simply impossible.

Any mask- whether it is surgical or an N-95 is designed to be used for less than 20 minutes at a time. This is because the mask itself will become saturated with condensation from exhaled breath. And once it is saturated, then the pore filter size may be changed making the mask ineffective and potentially even trapping the offending viruses right against the wet mask- Right Next to the Face!

So, while N-95 masks DO effectively protect health care workers from even face to face transmission of airborne contaminants such as the flu, inappropriate usage by untrained lay people in real world circumstances would likely make them ineffective and nullify any of the potential protective effects of these effective filtration devices.