Are you a parent?
- Teach your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Teach your children to cough and sneeze into a tissue or into the inside of their elbow.
- Children who are sick should stay home from school and daycare and stay away from other people until they are better.
The Center for Disease Control provides a wealth of information on what you can do to stay healthy.
Are you an employer? Here are some things you can do to keep your workplace safe:
- If an employee is sick, encourage him/her to stay home.
- Offer work from home options to care for sick relatives.
- Encourage your employees to wash their hands frequently with soap and water or with hand sanitizer if there is no soap or water available.
The United States Department of Labor is an excellent site for employer information.
How do you feel? Some people I talked with recently are not fazed by the infection at all. Others are checking the Center for Disease Control site several times throughout the week to review the latest updates. Where do you fall? Do you have any additional prevention techniques you would like to share?
Basic handwashing is the key! If parents and teachers can teach children to wash their hands before eating, after sneezing or coughing, after recess, etc., the spread of infectious disease will decrease drastically!
I’m more worried at how the media can spin the country into a frenzy.
The Center for Disease Control website (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm) says that an average of 36k people die from regular flu every year. The few cases of H1N1 that have been analyzed reveal similar symptoms ranging from mild to severe. But this quote sums up my thoughts, “Most people who have become ill with this new virus have recovered without requiring medical treatment.”
I will continue raised hygiene practices because being sick is no fun, but the hype around H1N1 is ridiculous.
Michelle,
That is what I continously hear from our family doctor and pediatrician! I even sent a note to my daughter’s school regarding some additional hand-washing routines that can be done to cut down on the spread of diseases. Thanks!
hi_c,
I have to admit when the news first came out some months ago I was one of the ones who check the center for disease control site everyday! However, after learning more about it and talking with doctors my fear level went way down and now it is just about awareness and prevention. thanks!