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Again, what appears to be a wake-up call is issued! You will read below:
The poll, conducted in a national sample of Americans from Nov. 12-18, shows that about half of Americans are worried that they or their families will get sick if they travel by airplane this year.
The poll suggests the other half of us should worry, too.
The thing with Swine flu is that it can turn deadly.
The case of a 23-y.0. girl in California became ill with fever, temp and chest x-ray showed a "minor shadow," and was felt to represent a "mild pneumonia." initial H1N1 testing was negative. The next day, the patient was much worse, the chest x-ray showed a large part of the lung was now white on x-ray. The "mild case" was suddenly severe pneumonia. A lung biopsy confirmed H1N1. The patient died five days later . . . (10 days from the onset of symptoms).
"Even if a peak has occurred, half the people who are going to get sick haven't gotten sick yet."
The Last Wave, starring Richard Chamberlain

Friends have asked again about taking antiviral meds for suspected H1N1.
This is the latest: Treatment is recommended for all outpatients with confirmed or suspected influenza if they belong to groups known to be at higher risk for complications. These groups include:
* Children younger than 2 years;
* Persons aged 65 years or older;
* Pregnant females;
* Persons of any age with chronic medical or immunosuppressive conditions; and
* Persons younger than 19 years who are on chronic aspirin therapy.
In addition to Vitamin D, 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU/day, keep these tips in mind.
This was just sent to me by a friend, and I hope this blog entry will be a good way to pass this along to my friends:
Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS, DRM, DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).
The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know
The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
3. *Gargle twice a day 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 show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water . *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*
Neti pots and sinus rinse kits are available at the drug store and relatively inexpensive....under $15.