H1N1 | Prevention | Blog Mockery

It feels like ages since my last post. In all likelihood it's probably been no more than a week or two, but even catching up on my favorite blogs has become a challenge with my crazy schedule. Pressing forward...

A few weeks ago Brian and I had this conversation about blogs. He doesn't see the point and if I remember correctly I think he referred to them as a waste of time. I am not disagreeing, nor agreeing (there are good and bad points), but I was teased relentlessly for a good 13 minutes over this. I promised him I would find a way to blog about him just so that he could be involved in something he doesn't want to have anything to do with. So, to that point he forwarded me an email today that his mom (a nurse) sent to him, so I feel like it's post worthy. And to abide by my aforementioned promise to stop sending forwards, I give you:

6 Suggestions to Prevent H1N1 | Feeling like a pig (ha!)

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 clean nasal 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 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.

I come from a gargling family, but I usually wait until I am feeling the sore throat coming on. I guess I better switch that around a bit!

Stay well my little blogging world...that may or may not be wasting time in Blogville!