This wouldn’t be a health blog without me chiming in my two cents about how to stay healthy this season. There is much discussion about the value of supplementing Vitamin D to boost the immune system. Before I get into the article, please read How to Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Vitamin D. One thing to keep in mind is the source of Vitamin D. While I agree that Cod liver Oil is a great choice for adults and children, I do not feel comfortable with any of the brands readily available due to over processing. From what I can see, “Blue Ice High-Vitamin Fermented Cod Liver Oil” seems to be the best choice out there due.
Many people are nervous about the swine flu. Moms are extremely worried about their kids catching it, but it is my opinion that once you take basic swine flu precautions, many of which are guidelines for health living anyway, you and your family should be fine. The vast majority of those who do get the flu this season will recover normally, provided they take preventative steps to bolster their immune system. There is no need to panic. Follow this list of ten swine flu precautions to help keep yourself and your family healthy this flu season.
Swine Flu Precautions: Common Sense Precautions
A word about the following precautions: You can do all the right things such as eat well, take whole food supplements, avoid sick people, wash your hands etc and still get sick. One of the most often overlooked causes for sickness (as well as disease) is lack of adequate sleep and chronic high stress levels. Until you address these two highly damaging lifestyle issues, it will be difficult to achieve any kind of lasting and abundant health.
That being said, the following precautions are not just for swine flu. You should practice these habits every year during flu season.
1. If you’re sick, stay home! This is one of the best ways to prevent spreading of disease. While it’s true that symptoms often show up after you’ve already been contagious for a day or two, there’s no reason to expose others to your illness once you know for sure that you are sick. Staying home with a sick child may be a great inconvenience, but you really do need to do the right thing here and keep your child home until at least 24 hours after her fever is gone.
2. Try to avoid being in close contact with people who are obviously sick. Don’t worry about being polite! If you find yourself sitting next to someone who’s coughing, get up if you can and move to a different location.
3. Wash your hands frequently. No need for fancy antibacterial soaps. Simply washing your hands with soap and water is enough. If soap and water are not available, sparingly use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
4. Try not to touch your face. We tend to constantly touch our faces – especially kids. Be conscious of this habit as it can spread germs, especially when you touch your nose and mouth or rub your eyes. Try to teach your children to be aware of this habit too. This might prove challenging with small kids, but you should at least try.
5. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. As a last resort, if you don’t have any tissues, you can cough into your elbow. Do NOT cough or sneeze into your hands!
6. Avoid shaking hands! If you must, wash your hands afterwards or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer.
7. Wipe counters and knobs around the house every night using a natural antibacterial cloth such as those made by Norwex. The influenza virus can survive on surfaces and can infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after deposited on a surface. It is also a good idea to regularly wipe Children’s toys.
Swine Flu Precautions: Alternative Medicine Precautions
8. Use a Neti pot to cleanse your nose. Sinus irrigation is a natural treatment for chronic sinus conditions and for allergies that can also help prevent seasonal flu and swine flu. A clean nose is an important part of your overall health. Sinus irrigation with a Neti pot is considered safe for pregnant women and for young children over two years old. Neti pots cost around $10 and are available over-the-counter at drug stores, health food stores, and online.
9. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water. This simple step prevents the H1N1 virus from breeding and multiplying in your throat. It’s easy and inexpensive, yet a powerful way to keep yourself healthy. Another easy way to keep your throat clear is to drink plenty of warm liquids such as tea.
10. Cleaning your nostrils once a day with warm salt water is another excellent natural precaution against swine flu. It works by preventing the virus from multiplying. Simply blow your nose and swab both nostrils with cotton balls dipped in warm salt water.
Whether you go with a traditional approach to preventing swine flu, or employ natural swine flu precautions, you should always boost your natural immunity with foods that are naturally rich in Vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, papaya, mango and kiwi. Remember to reduce your stress as much as possible. Cutting back on coffee or switching to green tea will give much needed relief to your adrenals and help you relax.
You might also find the following articles helpful:
What Most Doctors Won’t Tell You About Colds and Flus
Why I Never Get Flu Shots or Snorts
And before you get the shot, please view this video regarding the ingredients and possible risks. Regardless, I believe in informed decisions….not made from fear alone.
These are my thoughts on living a healthy and simple life. I'm a modern mom with some traditional ideas. At home, I try to clear the confusion from all the conflicting health and parenting advice with some common sense and a natural philosophy. This is the sanest way I know how to navigate the 21 century.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Monica, thanks for the above. Point no 2 is the most difficult for me to keep to, because I work in an office with an open-floor plan, where at least 2-3 colleagues are always coughing and sneezing. Although I always suggest that sick people should stay home, the management does not sufficiently reinforce this message and people feel pressured to be here even when it is obvious that they are in no condition to do so. Quite short-sighted, really. Whereas at the bus station, I can get up and move away from obviously sick people, I can’t do the same at the place where I spend most of my day. G.
Thanks Monica for putting so much efforts to aware us how to prevent from a deadly disease know as H1N1.It is fact you will meet the person who are sick but best way is to prevent you from disease. You take other precaution & try to keep distance from the infected person.
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