The Facts about Swine Flu - Sensible Family Safety

Trying to protect your family from the swine flu? Arming yourself with the facts about swine flu can go a long way to giving you success and some peace of mind.

An active family is hard to keep up with. Different schedules for employment, school, and household responsibilities make it difficult to protect your family from exposure. Implementing some simple methods of protection based on the facts about swine flu can limit exposure and tip the scales in your favor.

The swine flu can be thwarted using the same precautions as you would for the seasonal flu. Effective defense measures are base on good common sense. When it comes to swine flu and ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is one of the facts about swine flu not stressed enough.

The first line of defense is hand washing. Do this regularly, impressing upon all family members its importance. Start by setting a good example. Soap and water with 15 seconds of scrubbing the hands works wonders. Also an alcohol based hand sanitizer is effective. Have these items available in several places around the home and encourage their use.

Although the swine flu can get airborne, the fact is, physical contact is by far the biggest transmission vehicle. Door handles, refrigerator, phones, keyboards and any other things touched in your home can spread the virus between individuals. Proper hand washing and keeping these items clean and disinfected will limit exposure.

Keep plenty of tissues for use and be sure they are properly disposed of. Eyes, nose and mouth are the main areas of concern so stress the importance of keeping ones hands out of these areas unless using tissues. Coughing and sneezing is inevitable. Be sure this is done into a tissue or piece of clothing. One’s elbow or shoulder is better in a pinch but coughing and sneezing into the open air or one’s hands is to be avoided. Again, after any of these events, be sure to encourage proper hand washing.

If there becomes confirmed cases of swine flu in your community, limit your public exposure as much as possible and be sure all hands are cleaned when returning home. Be sure not to share drinking or eating utensils and wash these in a dishwasher if possible. If a family member seems to have flu symptoms keep them home. The contagious period is about seven days long after symptoms manifest themselves. Keep the above measures in effect to limit exposure to other family members. If any symptoms persist or seem unusual be sure to see a doctor for expert medical advice.

One thing to remember is not to overreact in any of this. Encouragement to follow these principles and not enforcing strict rules will go a long way to maintaining a cooperative spirit among all family members. You don’t need a rebellion on your hands. If someone becomes ill it will most likely be over in a week or two and things will be back to normal. Knowing the facts about swine flu and not overreacting to this pandemic will go a long way to the health and happiness of your family.

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