The Official H1N1 Discussion Thread

[TLinden16]

With all of the threads popping up about H1N1 popping up on the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies, we thought it would make sense to keep it all in one place.

Originally Posted by CDC Tips for Avoiding the Flu

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

Get vaccinated. Vaccination is the best protection we have against flu. Seasonal flu vaccine is available now and initial doses of 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine also are available, with additional doses available later this year.
Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

Take everyday actions to stay healthy.

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. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread that way.
Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

Find healthy ways to deal with stress and anxiety.

Stay informed. This website will be updated regularly as information becomes available.

Call 1-800-CDC-INFO for more information.

Here is the link to the Center for Disese Control and Prevention page about N1H1:

www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Here is the link to the government's page about the flu:

www.flu.gov

Here is the link to prevention and treatment information on the flu.gov website:

http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/...ion/index.html

Here is the link containing information for travellers on the flu.gov website:

http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/...ers/index.html

We will add important information to this thread as it comes available.

[mickeysaver]

Thank you! I work in the healthcare industry and I hear enough panic about this subject at work. I hate coming home to find the DIS littered with more of the same when I am trying to do my trip planning thing.

Creating this single thread was an excellent decision!

[jb01]

I agree creating a official thread is a good move.

[reducereuserecycle]

thought i would share this info as some of the tips were new to me.

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 cleannasal 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.*


5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

[Swimmergirl]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

[B-Ride]

We took a trip to London this summer during what was a real H1N1 panic with a supposed 150,000 new cases during the weeks we were there. Despite all of the panic, our only concession was to carry hand sanitizer and make sure we sanitized before eating. The kids also asked for a shot of sanitizer if they felt the need to scratch their faces.

We followed the same approach on our trip to Disney later in the summer.

[Withacy]

I'd recommend sticking with the CDC lists, not the list circling the internet (and posted above). Even taking vitamin suppliments (as opposed to getting them through your diet) has been questioned in recent studies. As for this email, well, according to snopes.com it's not necessarily all it's cracked up to be. The first two mirror the official CDC list, but the rest aren't recommended by any official health organization (including the CDC or the WHO):

http://www.snopes.com/medical/swineflu/prevent.asp

To sum up what it says, basically, is that it may make you feel better, it won't hurt you - but there's absolutely nothing to suggest that it will keep you from getting the flu.

[mykidsrock76]

I think a lot of people are worried about catching H1N1 at WDW and they have possibly already been around others with it.

It really is everywhere. My DD's school has had many cases of it, but we have told her to just practice good hand washing and using antibacterial gel if possible, and so far she has not come down with it. She did get her vaccination on Thursday, so hopefully she will not come down with it. As soon as the rest of the family can get the vaccine, we will. That truly is the best protection.

Also, the child of a co-worker of mine was diagnosed with H1N1 2 weeks ago and the co-worker never caught it. So, just because you are in proximity to someone with it does not mean you are destined to contract it yourself.

On our upcoming trip, we will practice good hand washing and will carry gel or wipes (and possibly both) just in case. But hopefully by that time we will all have our vaccine. I will not let it ruin our trip.

Just my two cents!

[neonurse]

Someone on another H1N1 thread suggested that alcohol hand sanitizers were antibacterial and not antiviral (flu,colds, etc) so I did a bit of research and this is what I found...

The Centers for Disease Control says the most important way to prevent the transmission of dangerous diseases is to frequently wash your hands with soap and water. If soap and water are not available it is recommended to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.[18][19] Alcohol rubs kill many different kinds of bacteria, including antibiotic resistant bacteria and TB bacteria. It also has high viricidal activity against many different kinds of viruses, including enveloped viruses such as the flu virus, the common cold virus, and HIV, though is notably ineffective against the rabies virus.[20] [21] [22] Alcohol rubs also kill fungi.[23]

According to Rotter (1999), “alcohol rubs are approximately 100 times more effective against viruses than any form of hand washing”.

[GBBTomorrow]

Dr. Nancy on the Today Show says that it's a myth that gargling salt water will help. She says that the water does not reach the places where the virus would be.

(I'm not a doctor, but I heard one on TV.)

[Heidijs]

Well we're home sick with H1N1 already so we're ready to go for January!

[ajpa]

Originally Posted by Heidijs

Well we're home sick with H1N1 already so we're ready to go for January!

Now THAT'S the spirit!
Hope you guys get well soon!

I'm getting the seasonal flu shot today from the doctor (they just got more in - huzzah!) and I will ask about any real things that can be done to avoid catching h1n1.

[Withacy]

The problem isn't just going out when you're sick. People can spread the germs before they even know they're sick.

And then there's my situation. Thursday I started feeling bad. I had a headache, achiness, stomach cramps, a sore throat, a slight fever (and I almost never get fevers, even with a staph infection or sinus infection) and just felt really run down. I stayed home Friday thinking "here it comes!"

And that was it. All weekend I had a moderate, presistant headache, some sinus drainage, a sore throat (but no cough to speak of), felt rung out and a little achy. And I had a very modest fever (between 1 & 2 degrees above my normal).

So now what do I do? I don't feel all that bad, but I still have a tiny fever. My doctor's office really doesn't want to see me because they're overrun. Do I go to work?

Actually, I did, but they sent me home to work from here, so at least I can accomplish something. Do I have the flu? Don't I have the flu? Like I said, I almost never get fevers.

My friend has two children (7 & 10) who just got over the H1N1 (they had the test, and it was confirmed), and they both also had strep. Sounds a lot worse than it was - she said they really weren't very sick (she's a pediatric nurse). She & her husband have pretty much what I have - slight symptons that have persisted for about a week.

So what do you do? Take up the doctor's time when they can't really do anything (they don't want to put you on tamiflu unless you really need it), and they have really sick people there? And if you're not sick, maybe get sick? Then again, you don't want to go out and give it to other people who might have a severe reaction to it - if you ARE sick. One of my closest friends has had a liver transplant.

Except for the fever and intermident stomach cramps, I've had colds that were worse than this. Then again, I've heard anacdotally that a lot of people my age (40's) have had extremely mild cases of flu (H1N1?) this year. So...?

[snookiedoodles]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

thought i would share this info as some of the tips were new to me.

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 cleannasal 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.*


5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Good advise!! Thanks!

[ajpa]

My doctor said that to stay healthy we need to bring her with us to WDW. She offered to also personally ensure that all our meals are delicious.