HOW TO PREVENT SWINE FLU

With the massive amount of media coverage today on every cable news network and website, swine flu is getting an unbelievable amount of attention, and rightfully so. World health agencies are scrambling to produce mass amounts of vaccines, and only the coming days will tell of their success. In the mean time, there are things you can do to help lessen your chances of catching the now infamous swine flu virus. The steps you can take to help prevent you or your family from contracting it are extremely simple and easy, but we figured it wouldn’t hurt to give you a refresher course. 1. WASH YOUR HANDS – Yes, we used caps because as simple as this sounds, you would be amazed at how many people do not wash their hands at home or in public (even after a restroom trip). The simple act of soaping up with warm water will reduce your chances of catching almost anything, and if you’re not in the habit of doing this, then you need to start ASAP, especially if you live in any of the affected areas. I can’t imagine that you’re so important and busy that you can’t take literally 3 minutes to wash your hands. Just do it. 2. Face Mask – As we typically see in Asian countries during an outbreak, people wear face masks for a good reason. While it’s not the total solution, it can help prevent you from inhaling any airborne particles of the virus. If you’re in an area that has confirmed cases of swine flu, the last thing you want to do is talk to someone face to face and accidentally catch a particle of their saliva in your mouth (which happens all the time, you just don’t notice it). Face masks are really inexpensive, and can be easily obtained. Here are a few that we recommend: 3. Limit physical contact – Most times it would be seen as a rude or disrespectful gesture to not shake hands, kiss, or hug (depending on what country you’re in), but I’m sure no one would have a problem with holding back physical contact during a time of worldwide emergency. The less you touch other people, the lesser chance you have of coming into contact with the virus. 4. Limit public transportation – Everyone has to work, travel, etc…but if you’re in an area of swine flu outbreak, you might want to consider limiting your time on the bus, subway, airports, or any kind of public transportation. This is only temporary, of course, but could make the difference of coming into contact with the virus or not.