Originally Posted By knoxvelour <<You'll find lots and lots of info on flu prevention here on the CDC website - <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu/>>" target="_blank">http://www.cdc.gov/flu/>> ;</a> Shouldn' that be the OCD website?
Originally Posted By sweetpea70 ^^^ of which I am President. The only thing I am more obsessed about than DL is germs. Combine the two and LOOK OUT!
Originally Posted By suesmouse Hubby and I were in Dl over Christmas and I was sick, very sick. BUT, it was from eating at the airport in Denver before we left. I had Salmonella poisoning and spent 4 days in bed on antibiotics with a fever and it was coming out both ends! The house call doctor came up to our room at the DL Hotel at 5 in the morning and gave me a shot and some meds to take. We ended up having to add 3 days onto the end of our trip, thank god there were cancellations so we got to stay at the DL Hotel and we had a little fun. I am going to take Airborne and packages of Wet ones with me so I do not get the flu when we go in two weeks for my birthday!!!! I cannot take another trip there in bed. A couple of trips ago I caught a bug and was down for 2 days while there but managed to get over it preety quick with Airborne. This flu sounds treacherous and I DO NOT want it! Maybe I will wear a mask, LOL. suesmouse
Originally Posted By lilprincess ^^ ick, i had salmonella once it was terrible, everything goes straight through you. It took a good 2 weeks for me to keep anything in my body. rubbing your hands together until you feel the heat (friction) is enough to kill most of the bacteria on your hands, too, if you happen to find yourself without any other options. another thing to keep in mind is that you should not just think about these things for trips, if you have a strong immune system across the board you will avoid viral/bacterial infections. Eat well and exercise, take care of youself and you put yourself ahead of the game.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy <Nothing like being 36 years old and having to call in sick to your boss and explain you have Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.> Hey, it coulda been worse---at least you didn't have to call in saying you had Dutch Elm Disease! After all, Suzanne did once. ;-) (and had to be quarantined, LOL!)
Originally Posted By jonvn "Go to your local Pharmacy and purchase a small box of paper face masks that help protect you from airborne viruses." Unless they are specifically designed to stop viruses, and those are expensive, then a paper mask does absolutely no good. Hand sanitizers don't really help you any more than soap and water. The best way to protect yourself is soap and water. If you don't have a sink nearby, sanitizers can be useful, but otherwise, you should use soap and hot water.
Originally Posted By Mr X Interesting...I'll have to mention that to my many Japanese friends who swear by "the mask" throughout winter (either they are sick, and don't want to get sicker...or else they are around sick people and want to avoid getting sick). So, the paper masks really do nothing?
Originally Posted By jonvn They have to be the right kind, otherwise the virus or bacteria can just go through the weave of the paper as if it were not there. It would be like trying to catch an anchovy with a fishnet that had 2 foot openinings on it. Repeated use of any mask is also not good. Here is one article I found: <a href="http://www.drmartinwilliams.com/component/option" target="_blank">http://www.drmartinwilliams.co m/component/option</a>,com_simpleboard/Itemid,137/func,view/id,1071/catid,7/
Originally Posted By Mr X I'll have to look into this more...thanks for the info Jon... In general, people in japan don masks at the drop of a hat. It'd be fun to be able to tell them why they're wasting their energy.
Originally Posted By bobiascastle my hubby & i always have the prell sanitizer on our key chains (you can get them at walgreens, walmart, target etc.) & make a conscious effort to use it as much as we can while there. also just taking a baby wipe & wiping your hands every once in a while can help. may not keep you from getting sick every time but can't hurt. also i give my kids airborne for 2 days before we go (same as when we go on a plane) & while we are there. someone usually gets sick with something but we have never gotten flu sick. hopefully we wont either. sorry for all the people who have. (
Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"Hand sanitizers don't really help you any more than soap and water. The best way to protect yourself is soap and water."<<< If you do not wash your hands long enough and with a little bit of action you will not kill all the germs. I don't think that anyone is saying that hand sanitizers are better than soap-but are responding to your statement " the sanitizing stuff doesn't really do much for you" which is untrue. Last week's "Parade" section of the paper had an article about just that by their 2 contributing Doctors.
Originally Posted By dlkozy And from the NY Times: "Many such sanitizers — whether a brand name or a generic version — work well, and are increasingly found in hallway dispensers in hospitals, schools, day care centers and even atop the gangways of cruise ships as one more safeguard against the hand-to-mouth spread of disease. Several studies from such settings have shown that use of the alcohol-based rubs on hands that aren't visibly soiled seems particularly helpful in curbing the spread of bad stomach and intestinal bugs. But a study published in this month's issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases found that at least one brand of sanitizer found on store shelves, as well as some recipes for homemade versions circulating on Web sites about crafts or directed at parents, contain significantly less than the 60 percent minimum alcohol concentration that health officials deem necessary to kill most harmful bacteria and viruses. "What this should say to the consumer is that they need to look carefully at the label before they buy any of these products," said Elaine Larson, professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia's nursing school. "Check the bottle for active ingredients. It might say ethyl alcohol, ethanol, isopropanol or some other variation, and those are all fine. But make sure that whichever of those alcohols is listed, its concentration is between 60 and 95 percent. Less than that isn't enough." Check your labels!
Originally Posted By bobiascastle well no matter what you believe all i was saying is that is can't hurt.
Originally Posted By dlkozy Yep! I agree-just the fact that the hand sanitizer SMELLS clean-makes me happy! :0)
Originally Posted By jonvn If you use a hand sanitizer, and dirt is still on your hands, it leaves a false impression, and your hands are still germ carriers. Also, you can use them all you want, but people do touch their faces, noses and mouths multiple times per minute, unconciously. You have to make a determined effort to not do so.
Originally Posted By dlkozy And if you "wash" your hands and you do not do so long enough or with enough vigor-you also leave a "false impression" and "your hands are still germ carriers".
Originally Posted By jonvn Yes. You need to properly wash your hands with soap and water. Hand sanitizers are often and easily misused. You get more protection from soap and water.
Originally Posted By MickeyMommy Just saw this thread, and I am so sorry that you and your family were so sick SuzieQ. But to those who promote the idea of flu shots, I thought I would mention that most flu shots use a preservative that contains mercury, which is a poison. As the parent of two vaccine injured children, I have spent thousands of hours researching the subject of vaccine safety, and there are large subsets of people that react negatively to them. Mercury is a neurotoxin and can cause or increase autoimmune dysfunction. If you don't want mercury in your flu vaccine, ask for a Thimerosal free vaccine. 9/10th's of all flu shots have the mercury preservative thimerosal because it is cheaper to make, so you have to ask for it. If your doctor scolds you for being silly and that there is such a small amount of mercury in the shot that it is not enough to cause you harm, tell him/her that you rather not take the chance. Who knows what the magic number is of how much poison will cause us harm?
