- there aren’t any pills to prevent swine flu
There isn’t a medicine to prevent swine flu. But there are common-sense steps you can take to help prevent catching it. And if you’ve got it, prevent passing it on to strangers, family, and friends.
if you’ve got flu…
- Stay at home. Don’t go visiting family or friends. And don’t go to crowded places, like schools, churches, or shopping malls.
- Cover your mouth and nose every time you cough or sneeze.
The government spokesman on the radio has been recommending sneezing into a tissue, and then disposing of the tissue in a waste-bin.
- dispose of soiled tissues safely
I think the recommendation is good for some, but not for others, for two reasons.
First, there are many, many people in South Africa with compromised immune systems (the ones most likely to get flu), who are having a challenge scratching enough money together for food: they’re not going to buy expensive tissues to sneeze into.
And second, there’s a culture in this beautiful country of throwing unwanted stuff onto the ground and walking away from it. There’s already too much litter: we don’t need germ-ridden tissues blowing about as well.
Here’s a photo I took with the cell-phone this morning, while out with the dog…
don't want the packaging?... throw it in the bush!
A litter-free suggestion is to raise your bent arm, bend your head down to it, and cough or sneeze into your elbow region. Yes, most of the droplets you blast out will be caught by your clothes, but they won’t be spread into the air around you for other people to breathe in.
- Your flu virus can be transferred from your hands to other surfaces.
- wash your hands frequently
After picking your nose, picking your teeth, or sneezing and coughing onto your hand, you’ll have flu virus on your fingers you’ll daub all over the place.
Bugs can’t be seen with the naked eye, so wash your hands frequently, even though you don’t think you need to. Make sure your paws are clean before eating your meals, and especially if you prepare food for other people.
Don’t worry too much if you haven’t got the alcohol-based soap the government chappie recommends, or any soap at all. Rub your hands strongly together, while holding them under running water. The friction of skin-on-skin will remove dead skin cells and surface dirt that could be contaminated with your flu virus.
Dry your hands on a paper towel (dispose of it carefully), or with a clean towel (wash it often), or by rubbing them together in the air (but please don’t blow on them to speed the drying!).
- Resist kissing your loved ones. You’ll give them your flu virus from your wet lips.
- Avoid shaking hands with people, unless you know your hand is clean… and you can be sure their hand doesn’t have any germs on it you might get.
if you haven’t got flu…
Keep your eyes open for what people around you are doing. Is someone next to you in the shop coughing, or sneezing? Are they making any effort to cover their mouth and nose?
There’s no need to run away screaming. Just put a few metres between you and sneezer. In a supermarket, move to another aisle, or move behind the thoughtless person. If you’re outside, go up-wind so their germs blow away from you.
And breathe through your nose: it’s a natural filter.
inform yourself…
There’s been a lot of scare-mongering about swine flu. It’s always sad when people die, but please let’s keep a proper perspective about the numbers. In one day in South Africa…
- 222 people attempt suicide, 22 of whom are successful.
- 1,400 or more new people get infected with HIV.
The daily statistics are alarming… much more alarming than swine flu statistics. So far, there have been six confirmed deaths from swine flu in South Africa since the first reported case in June (as at 16 August).
There’s a very informative, common-sense article about swine flu, written by Dr Mercola in April this year. He regularly updates it. It was one of the most widely-read posts on the internet. If you’ve not had a chance to read it yet, you can go to it with this link.
And he writes openly and honestly about the vaccines being rushed through development. Are they being tested thoroughly? Are they safe? Dr Mercola’s article on the subject makes very interesting reading.
your immune system…
Like the common cold and other flu’s, swine flu is sent through the air in tiny droplets of moisture when someone who’s got it coughs or sneezes. If you breathe in the droplets, you’ll breathe in the virus.
But if you’ve got a strong, virulent immune system, there’s a good chance the virus will be attacked and destroyed by your own specialised ‘killer’ white blood cells before it can multiply. And even if it does manage to get a hold, your symptoms will be mild and you’ll manage to shake it off and get back to normal quickly.
For your immune strength…
- Avoid things that reduce the power of your immune system, like smoking, drugs (including alcohol), late nights, stress, irregular meals, fried foods, and sugary drinks.
Instead, do the things your mother told you… get enough sleep (so your body can rejuvenate); eat all your veggies (to get disease-fighting vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants); drink plenty of clean water (to flush out toxins), and go out in the open air and exercise.
And here’s our advice to add to your mother’s… take GNLD Carotenoid Complex.
We make sure we have it every day: wouldn’t be without it, especially with all the germs floating about nowadays. It’s proven by American Government scientists, and many other University scientists, to increase the numbers of the special defence and attack cells of the immune system. Powerful protection.
If you want to find out about the unique supplement, and how you can get it, there’s lots of info on our other blog in this post.
What do you think about the swine flu ’scare’? Let’s hear your views, ideas, and suggestions in the comment box below.
