Don’t let fear of H1N1 control your life

A few weeks ago, I wrote about becoming a germophobe. Little did I know how soon I would need to be one.

It started with fatigue, then a temperature, then sore throat and a cough. One of us in the house was sick.

Then came the news reports: no vaccine yet, not enough vaccine when it’s available, one shot or two? Followed quickly by stories of epidemics at college campuses across the country.

The reality is that the H1N1 flu virus is back with a vengeance, but that it’s still pretty mild. It’s a respiratory illness (as opposed to what’s called the “stomach flu”). That’s probably why it’s most dangerous for those who have respiratory problems already, like asthma.

The one thing we can count on with H1N1 is surprise: how fast it’s moving, how many are infected. Let’s hope there are no surprises like mutations in H1N1’s future!

Meanwhile, what’s a person to do? The Web site
Symptoms include fever (100 degrees or more), lack of energy, lack of appetite, and coughing. These are similar to seasonal flu. Some people with novel H1N1 flu also have runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms can be mild to severe. Call your doctor if symptoms are severe or prolonged, or if they seem to get better but then get worse. Pre-existing health conditions can make H1N1 flu a serious matter; check with your doctor about this.



While it’s important to recognize symptoms, it’s even more important to take preventive measures and to stay home if you’re sick.

Prevention includes frequent hand-washing (hot water, lots of soap, vigorous rubbing for as long as it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday”) or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes. Cover your cough (cough into your elbow if you can). Stay at least 6 feet away from people who are coughing or sneezing, they literally could be spraying the virus on you. Throw away used tissues.

Above all, if you’re sick, stay home. In fact, stay in just one room of your home, to keep from infecting others. You still need to wash your hands a lot, even more often now. This may get to be a problem when there are lots of people staying home from work, or keeping kids home from school. But even more will be staying home if you don’t.

It’s far too early to panic, despite what TV news throws at us daily. But it is certainly time to be cautious.

Soon the vaccine will be available. (Check flu.gov or your local county public health department; we’ll try to keep up on this as well.)