Swine flu appears to be rather hard hitting this year in the Carolina’s, A few days ago it was reported that a prison was pretty much quarantined; now it is a hospital in North Carolina having troubles with the pesky H1N1 virus.
The Transylvania Regional Hospital is asking for limited visits from outsiders in an attempt to limit the spread of the Swine Flu virus. As infection rates spike in the eastern US everyone wants to keep those that are already most prone to illness safe.
So they are asking you to limit your visits and leave the kids at home. That makes good sense. It will also protect your children from all the nasty things they can catch at hospitals.
Also as you should do multiple times throughout the day anyway, they ask that you wash your hands before and after you visit your friends and family staying in the hospital.
If you were one of the lucky people to both catch and survive the Swine Flu during the 2009-2010 pandemic, the according to a new study, your immune system may have become supercharged. It seems that the Swine Flu virus was totally unknown to many that caught it and the body did not know how to cure it.
Somewhere in the vicinity of 60 million people came down with the Swine Flu last year, and even though death by flu was much lighter than in prior years, there were still around 18,000 deaths from the disease. What is surprising is what comes to the survivors is a type of super immunity. They seem to have antibodies that are capable to kill any type of flu virus and not just the swine flu.
Research has shown that survivors of the H1N1 virus have an amazing immune response. The researchers say that five of the antibodies they have identified are capable of fighting off all known seasonal flu’s, the Spanish flu virus that killed around 50 million people in the 1918 pandemic and even the bird flu variant H5N1.
The researchers feel that it is how unique the Swine Flu was that triggered that kind of reaction from the immune system. Since the body did not know what the exact invasion was, it began to create antibodies for everything taking hints from every flu virus it had encountered to date. By the time a person had completely recovered they seemed to be immune to every type of flu around. Researchers are unsure if the H1N1 vaccine will give the same type of immunity that actually having the swine flu will give. More research is needed.
Now onto the really interesting part, An Oxford University Virus expert Dr. Sarah Gilbert is feeling that this immunity from swine flu survivors in the relatively near future could lead to a super vaccine. This vaccine could give you immunity to every type of flu, a universal influenza vaccine.
Did you know that there is some speculation that all of the large number of new people washing their hands maybe what saved the world from swine flu last year? There are many at the WHO and the CDC that believe this is what saved a lot of people and delayed the swine flu virus from really taking hold, giving the authorities enough time to develop a vaccine. You can read the original article in this business week article, and like they say, It just goes to show you that your mother was always right!
Did you know that there are government people that sit in the bathroom and spy on you? Last year they noted that 85 percent of the people using public restrooms were now washing their hands. That is apparently the largest volume of the public since they began tracking how many people are washing their hands in public restrooms.
Do Clean Hands Really Matter?
So why is it so important to wash your hands regularly? Cleaning out the dirt and grime on your hands does a couple of things, first you get rid of any viruses that you may have already picked up, second you remove all of the dirt and grime that gives germs and virus a place to hide. Nearly every surface you touch will have been touched by others. If it is a public place where many people go daily it will have been touched a lot! And a virus can live outside of the host for a long time. Swine flu will live outside the body for around 5 hours. But can be washed of and cause you no damage if you get your hands clean before you give the H1N1 Virus an opportunity to enter your body.
How does the Virus Enter my Body
One of the simplest ways that H1N1 enters into your body is from your hands. It can work just like this, you go into the grocery store, and you pull open the door handle which has been opened hundreds of times today. Now the virus has lodged itself onto your hand, you have an itchy eyebrow and rub that hand across your eye to scratch it. Congratulations, you have just caught the flu! It really is that simple and that is why it’s so important to keep your hands washed.
Proper Hand Washing Technique
So washing our hands is pretty simple right? Well actually few people perform the task correctly. You need to begin with warm water as that helps to break up the grease and grime that may reside on your hands. There is no need for using anti bacteria soap however as normal soap will work just fine. Begin by getting your hands wet and adding in the soap, work the lather around your entire hands and between your fingers. You will need to wash for 20 to thirty seconds for this process to be effective. Now rinse and dry your hands and you are finished!
There You Have it
If you follow this process every time you use a public restroom, and anytime you return home from being out you should cut down your family’s rate of infection pretty dramatically. You will give germs little opportunity to grow and no place to hide around you! Now you can leave the house and have some fun in safety!
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Interesting video about H1N1. Take a look:
Discovery Channel and MYTHBUSTERS have teamed up with the United States Department of Health and Human Services to help inform the public about ways to protect themselves and prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. www.discovery.com In their PSA, hosts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage utilize a high-speed camera to show the invisible aftermath of a sneeze, and offer a simple message for H1N1 virus prevention: One of the single most effective things you can do to stop the spread of flu, is to simply stay home if you feel sick. The PSA will air on Discovery Channel from October 12 through November 8, including primetime airings on October 14, 21 and 28 during the 9PM ET/PT MYTHBUSTERS hour. The effort also includes a dedicated website that will provide viewers with additional resources and easy-to-understand information about H1N1 and educational and classroom resources for teachers and students provided by Discovery Education. Visitors to Discovery Channels H1N1 website can click on the link to www.discoveryeducation.com where parents, educators and students will soon find up-to-date information about the H1N1 virus from trusted sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Education, as well as a variety of activities supporting home and school prevention and preparedness efforts. Discovery Education is also making available to educators a variety of free classroom resources and learning activities. In addition, Discovery Education is providing …
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