Posts Tagged ‘Germs’

Author: Caroline Osborne

It’s in the news every day – swine flu is spreading, more cases confirmed, more countries affected, schools closed…

Will it be a flu pandemic like 1918, which lasted over a year and killed 50 million people worldwide, or will it fizzle out like in 1976, when more people died from the vaccine than from the flu? (25 from the vaccine, 1 from the flu.)

I wasn’t around in 1918, so I can’t say what it was like, but this latest strain appears to be milder than the usual flu’s. When you have flu, you might feel like death warmed up, but flu is normally only life threatening to the very old, the very young and those who already have serious health problems.

This latest flu is no different – most of the deaths (and there haven’t been many) have been people in these vulnerable groups.

For healthy adults and older children, you’re not likely to die of flu, swine flu or any other. If you want to avoid it, concentrate on staying well, not on worrying about getting ill (worrying lowers your immune function).

• Take lots of vitamin C, which helps your immune system.

• Avoid sugary, fatty and processed foods and artificial additives. These sap your body’s energy as it works hard to digest them and clear them out.

• Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables for their vitamins and minerals, and to keep your blood pH alkaline. Germs of any sort can’t survive well in an alkaline environment.

• Get plenty of exercise. Exercise encourages deep breathing and stimulates your blood flow, getting more oxygen to every cell of your body. Bacteria and viruses don’t like too much oxygen, but your cells like plenty.

The best protection for small babies is their mother’s milk. For weaned babies and toddlers, and the elderly, the tips above will help – lots of vitamin C, lots of good food, stay off the junk food, moderate exercise and lots of fresh air.

If you don’t want to rely only on your immune system, you can use the added protection of plant power. The Four Thieves’ Vinegar was proved to be potent against the most contagious and deadly of diseases.

The Four Thieves used common herbs to protect themselves from infection while robbing from houses whose owners had died of plague. They themselves never got ill.

The herbs they used were ones that you might well have in your garden – rosemary, thyme, sage and lavender. Not only do these herbs smell wonderful; they are powerful disinfectants. The original four thieves sprinkled themselves with a vinegar infusion of these herbs before entering the streets and houses where plague was rife.

You can use these herbs in lots of ways: carry sprigs of them around with you, place them in vases round the house, or make an infusion (i.e. pour boiling water over the fresh or dried herbs, like making tea) and add it to your bath, rinse your clothes with it, use it around the house as a disinfectant.

If you are planning further ahead, you can make the vinegar infusion. Place a handful of each herb in a jar of cider vinegar. (Cider vinegar is another natural antiseptic.) Leave it to infuse for six weeks then strain off the herbs. You can keep the liquid in a spray bottle for convenience. Spray it round the house or on yourself – the smell of vinegar will soon go, leaving a subtle smell of the herbs.

If you prefer, you can use essential oils instead. They have the same antiviral and antibacterial properties as the whole plant, in a more concentrated form. (Never use them undiluted on your skin.) I often use thyme oil as a disinfectant. Tea tree, from Australia, is even stronger. Tea tree and lavender are two oils that are safe to use undiluted.

Herbs and their essential oils are made of many different molecules, so that viruses and bacteria can never develop resistance to them in the way that they do to chemical drugs. Also, they don’t have harmful side effects. Have you read the list of side effects of the common flu drugs?

About the Author:

Caroline Osborne from www.natural-health-for-you.com says: I love to communicate with people especially about health. I am more and more convinced that nutrition is the key to health and to understanding ill health. I hope I can convince you of the importance of paying attention to good nutrition.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Swine Flu – Should You Panic? (or How To Avoid Swine Flu.)

Author: Krissy Dyes

By now almost everyone has heard the news about the spread of Swine Flu. Parents are still wondering if it will reach the school their child attends. In some areas, there is a sense of worry bordering on panic.

In a field that helps people become home business entrepreneurs, there is opportunity to talk with many people in a wide range of careers. Up until today, you may have thought that the current economy was the major factor affecting income earned. It turns out that Swine Flu can also impact daily business. During a coaching session with a customer, I learned she is concerned her events business may suffer.

In a situation where business has slowed due to the economy, her local city government may cancel all local events where there will be large gatherings of people. An events coordinator develops and coordinates events like weddings, parties, community gatherings, city meetings and ceremonies. When a virus such as Swine Flu comes along, it could be spread easily at events such as these. Other businesses, campuses, factories and places where disease could be transferred easily might experience these types of shut downs.

During these times it is important to remember you can control what you and your family do to help prevent the spread of disease and germs. There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

The Center for Disease Control recommends some basics:

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, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol based hand cleaners are also effective.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Avoid close contact with sick people.

Influenza is thought to spread mainly person to person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them. Staying home is not an option for some people and it can be risking their job if they do not go into work. Many people do not realize that everyone has the choice of working from home at some point. Some have to work towards that goal and be employed outside the home while building their own independent source of income at home in the evenings. Most agree it is a sacrifice well worth it when they achieve their goal of being at home full time.

As a home business coach and trainer, I work with a large amount of moms who either already stay home and earn income or whom are working towards the goal of replacing their outside income so they can stay home. My primary objective is to coach and work alongside these women helping them to achieve these goals so they can live a better life with their families. In my work, I have seen that both the stay at home mom and the work outside the home mom have much common ground. They want the best life they can give their children. Overall, both groups of moms have the same concerns about their kid’s overall wellbeing in child care settings like daycare, the child care at the gym or Sunday school class. I enjoy working with these mothers to help them find solutions and bring them closer to their goals of being financially independent from the comfort of their own home.

*You may reprint this article in newsletters, ezines, websites, etc. if you include the author’s information below.

*You may reprint this article in newsletters, ezines, websites, etc. if you include the author’s information below.

About the Author:

Krissy Dyes is the cofounder/owner of the successful online community of FourPointGroup http://www.FourPointInfo.com With no experience in entrepreneurship, she got her start in the wake of 9/11. As a stay at home mom, she wanted something that would allow her to stay home, not keep inventory, or do heavy selling. Partnering up with a group of women with similar interests, she built a highly successful business helping people generate a side stream or replacement income using the Internet. She specializes in helping moms become owners of their own businesses at home without a huge startup. She is an experienced author, coach, mentor, public speaker and trainer. You can reach her for more information by visiting her website.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Swine Flu Impacts More than Your Health

Author: Byron J Richards

Up to this point most deaths from the new swine flu have occurred in Mexico, striking indiscriminately at young and old. What alarms health officials is the ability of this flu to kill seemingly healthy young adults, which is a prerequisite for a pandemic. I have received a number of questions from concerned individuals wondering if boosting their immune system would make them more susceptible to a problem, a question I will cover in detail.

First, let’s put what we do know in perspective. Many of the Mexicans who have died are lower income individuals living in unsanitary and crowded conditions which are ideal breeding grounds for germs. It has been reported that they cannot afford to take time off work to seek medical care. Their diets are often lacking in key nutrients that would help the immune system behave normally. Nevertheless, there is still serious and legitimate concern that young adults can be killed by this flu.

The first death in the U.S. occurred in a 23-month-old Mexican infant who was in Texas at the time of outbreak. What has concerned health authorities here is that they were unable to save the child despite the use of anti-viral drugs, breathing assistance, and the best care that could be mustered.

The flu pandemic of 1918, also a swine flu, struck many young adults. Only recently did scientists figure out that this earlier swine flu was able to hijack the host’s own immune response and ramp up the inflammatory aspect of that immune response and thereby increase its level of attack in a healthy person.

It is important to understand that your immune system is not just one type of response, it is many. If you get the flu you absolutely must have the energy and nutrition to be able to make antibodies. The speed and efficiency you can do this will determine the severity of infection and your odds of survival.

For example, in cases where humans contracted the bird flu in Asia, if they began making enough antibodies to the infection by day 7 they lived, if they didn’t start mounting an effective response by day 9 they died. This pattern appears similar to the current reports of people dying in Mexico – by the 9th day of a significant battle it is too late unless your own immune system has kicked into gear. In this context you must have the nutritional horsepower to fuel antibody production or you could be in for a very unpleasant experience.

Another aspect of your immune response is its initial inflammatory reaction – which is of course normal. This is one aspect of immunity that occurs before antibodies are made, and is part of the process that leads to antibodies being made. It is possible for a younger or healthier person to have a more exaggerated inflammation response than an elderly person, infant, or person with compromised immunity. In this scenario, inflammatory cytokines may become their own problem – think of this as a “cytokine storm.” This was the case with the similar flu in 1918.

This problem does not mean that you should not attempt to naturally boost your immune system. It does mean that you should use nutrients as part of your immune support protocol that reduce inflammation so as to help “put a lid” on how much inflammation is generated. The single best nutrient for this is quercetin, which has been proven to help prevent the flu. However, there are many nutrients that are anti-inflammatory in nature and any of them would be helpful, including the fresh fruit and vegetables that should be part of your diet.

It is also important to understand that a younger adult who is stressed out, not sleeping enough, eating poorly, is too anxious or wound up, and is in a general trend of wear and tear has already primed the inflammatory pump. This means that a flu entering into such a person is much more likely to have a magnified inflammatory response because this person’s anti-inflammatory and relaxation reserves are already running on empty.

During the time of a potential flu pandemic the last thing you want to do is let yourself get worn down. Besides lifestyle management, any nutrients that help you sleep better, feel calmer, or manage stress better will also help your immune system not hyper-react to a problem.

While this may seem like common sense, there are many people out there who are generally healthy but are running their bodies into the ground trying to get things done. This is definitely a time to re-evaluate your priorities as doing so can put you into a high risk category if this flu begins to spread.

In my recent article, Tips for the Flu Season, I have given a thorough review of nutrition that can help you effectively boost and support your own immune system. You need to be able to make immune troops on demand, have them well armed, while at the same time minimizing the inflammatory aspect of fighting a bug. Of course, if you do develop a problem seek medical care.

About the Author:

What you need to know – Swine Flu Podcast & Articles
Byron J. Richards, Founder/Director of Wellness Resources, Inc, is a Board-Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a world renowned natural health expert. Richards is the first to explain the relevance of leptin and its link to solving obesity. For a fully referenced article:The New Swine Flu – Why Are Younger Adults Dying?

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The New Swine Flu – Why Are Younger Adults Dying?

Author: Stig Kristoffersen

How to protect yourself against Swine Flu

Stay informed. L?sten to news and look at nat?onal helath web pages that will be updated regularly as information becomes available.

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, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Stay home if you get sick. Publ?c Health author?t?es 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.

Develop a family emergency plan as a precaution. This should include storing a supply of food, medicines, facemasks, alcohol-based hand rubs and other essential supplies.

Australia

112 Suspected cases

Austria

1

Brazil

1 possible

Britain

8

Canada

70

Chile

8 Suspected cases

China

1

Colombia

9 Suspected cases

Denmark

1 case

France

2

Germany

6 cases

Ireland

1 Suspected cases

Israel

3

Mexico

506 confirmed. 19 deaths.

Netherlands

1

New Zealand

4 confirmed

South Korea

1 suspected

Spain

13 confirmed cases

Sweden

5 suspected

Switzerland

1 confirmed

United Kingdom

15 cases

USA

226 cases – As of May 3, 2009

H1N1 Swine Flu Timeline Statistics

3 May 2009 – As of 0600 GMT, 3 May 2009, 17 countries have officially reported 787 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

2 May 2009 – As of 18:00 GMT+1, 2 May 2009, 16 countries have officially reported 658 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

1 May 2009 – As of 06:00 GMT, 1 May 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 331 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

30 April 2009 – As of 17:00 GMT, 30 April 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 257 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

29 April 2009 – As of 18:00 GMT, 29 April 2009, nine countries have officially reported 148 cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection.

28 April 2009 – As of 19:15 GMT, 28 April 2009, seven countries have officially reported cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 infection.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus.

About the Author:

He has a background as civil engineer and geoscientist. He has worked mainly within the oil and gas industry from the mid 1980s. He has written a few fictional novels as well as being the author of some professional litterature within oil and gas sector, he is now an editor of some web sites.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – How to protect yourself against Swine Flu

Author: Richard Stoyeck

Don’t kid yourself, if you have Swine Flu, you can have the best doctors in the world taking care of you, but the name of the game is Flu Prevention, and the question is how do you resist getting the Swine Flu or any other flu for that matter? You need to get the germ into your body in order to contract the Swine Flu, and that means it has to get into an opening.

Even if you get the germ on your skin, it doesn’t guarantee you will contract Swine Flu because it must enter via the mouth, nose, or eyes. Those are the pathways into the body. If you have or are having a surgical procedure done, such as a hospital patient, than the surgical site itself is also a pathway for germs to enter the body.

I am going to give you a few basic ideas about how to prevent the Swine Flu, and for that matter, colds and viruses in general.

- Wash those hands, and keep washing them. Every time, you shake hands with someone, you are shaking hands with everyone else they have shaken hands with, since they last washed their hands. If you do shake hands, then before you touch any other part of your body including your nose, mouth, and eyes, you must get those hands clean.

- A person who is infected can pass the germ to you a day before symptoms appear, and up to 7 days after symptoms appear. You get the virus by contact with such a person directly, or by contact with an object that they touched. It is debatable how long an object such as a doorknob can retain the live germ.

- Beware of door handles. About the most germ infested surface you can touch is a door handle or the faucets you turn the water on and off with, especially in bathrooms that others use. Once you touch either of these objects, it is as though you never washed your hands at all. Our suggestion is to use the same paper towel you dry your hands with as a barrier between your now germ free hand and the door knob or water faucet.

- At work, we keep bottles of Windex handy. Just spray the bathroom doors, and the faucets and the door handles to people’s offices and let the air dry them which only takes a minute or two. If you immediately dry the surface, you destroy most of the germ inhibiting barrier.

- Go to a major discounter like Wal-Mart and stock up on hand sanitizers. Easily carried 2 to 4 oz bottles that can fit in your pocket, are less than a $1 and give one to each member of the family. They are fabulous for cleaning hands, and the residue evaporates within seconds. Doctors use them all the time. It’s cheap insurance.

- If and when the Swine Flu hits your area, than order some masks that are N95 rated. They are recommended by the Center for Disease Control, and are very inexpensive. Go online and Google “Swine Flu Masks”, and check prices.

Follow these simple rules religiously, and we think the Swine Flu will be bypassing you and your house this season. Good luck.

About the Author:

Richard C. Stoyeck is recognized as a leading expert on hospital health care. He runs a Medical Research think tank at Rockefeller Capital Partners, LLC in Westport CT. For information about how to Survive Your Hospital Stay, or finding good doctors and surgeons, visit www.Hospital-Health-Care.net and get a free download on the “Coming Revolution in Heart Disease.”

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Swine Flu or Not – It’s really up to YOU!!!!