Preventive Measures - Flu
Sep 26, 2005
You have read the news about an impending flu pandemic. The following are some of the measures we are taking or will be taking:
- Book with your doctor to be vaccinated as soon as the latest flu vaccine is available. There are some people who are not in favour of vaccination. If so, consider the other strategies below.
- Stock up on the human anti-viral Tamiflu. Do it soon as there may be a rush should an outbreak occur. Follow your doctors instructions. Tamiflu works in slowing down viral replication. Therefore you have to take it within 24 hours of first onset. Discuss with your doctor the best strategy. High risk individuals (those who work with poultry, in crowded places, etc. may want to go on preventive dosage for a period of time). If your doctor do not have tamiflu or the vaccine in stock, email us and we will give you the name and number of a clinic that stocks them.
- Pick up Qi Gong. Qi Gong can boost your immune system and help to lessen the effect of viral infections. Call Adeline 012 3317173, Alice 03 78776411 or Mandy 03 42571311 for our qi gong classes which are aimed at boosting immune systems. It is FREE for our customers but places are limited. For non-customers, the charges are RM500 per person. Our qi gong classes are divided to 3 stages:
- Stage One : Activation and Raising the Qi vibrations.
- Stage Two : Moving the Qi – the Orbit.
- Stage Three: Shaolin Health Exercises.
We have made arrangement with the local distributor of Qlink for participants to purchase one at a special price for a limited period. The Qlink works synergistically with Qi Gong exercises.
The following tips are by Kathleen Doheny writing in Natural Health (http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/health/13) under the heading, "The Taming of the Flu":
- Stay away from crowds. Spend your evenings at home.
- Get enough sleep. Do not let your immune system become weak as that’s when the virus will overwhelm you.
- Eat well. Stop processed foods. Prepare your body for a battle.
- Wash your hands or use sanitizers regularly. There are alcohol-based, non toxic chemical santisers which you should use whenever your hands come in contact with, for example, the doors of public toilets, etc. Do not touch your face, eyes, nose, etc. with your hands without first washing. We keep a bottle of sanitizer in our car at all times.
- The following supplements may help prepare your body for a battle. Research have shown promising results:
- Elderberry This is a traditional remedy for colds and flu. A study published in The Israel Medical Association Journal found that black elderberry extract activates the immune system by boosting the production of cytokines, which are small protein molecules secreted by immune cells. The Journal of Internal Medicine Research reported a study where patients who took elderberry syrup reported relief four days earlier than those who took a placebo.
- Zinc A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine reported that patients who took zinc lozenges reported shorter duration of symptoms, as much as half the time. Zinc lozenges must be taken at the outset of disease to be effective. For dosage and duration of treatment, consult your doctor.
- Echinacea This is a classic treatment for throat infection including colds and flu. Though an American study showed no difference between the group taking Echinacea and a placebo, studies in Europe, notably in Germany have shown otherwise.
- Homeopathy Homeopathic remedy for flu includes oscillococcinum and dolivaxil. Get the latest preparations from the latest viral strains in the case of dolivaxil.
- Chinese medicine There are some standard Chinese herbal preparations for flu. Consult your physician and stock the preparations. Try Tung Shin Hospital, they have a competent TMC unit.
- Green Tea Drink hot green tea. Green tea have been found to boost your immune system and there’s nothing like hot green tea when you are down with the flu.
Good luck
3 comments
Pls provide clinic which can purchase Tamiflu from. I am one of your regular customer.
Regarding the advice given for preparation for a flu pandemic:
Washing hands in a paranoid way has been a media "fad" for years, and is meaningless, as far I have been able to determine. Of course, if one handles dirt, or chemically-treated materials, or animal carcasses or meat or animal products of any kind, or if one prepares food, diligent hand care is always required ~ two washings with good soap and soft brush, or the wearing of rubber gloves.
I'm talking about the media hype that keeps the public paranoid about touching ANYthing without washing hands, which is having the effect of saying to forget about how you cough or sneeze, because "infections are spread by hand," which is a total sham. If it were true, all the cashiers would be sick all the time, from handling the money.
I recently wrote to the United States Center for Disease Control asking for their advice on the subject of how influenza is spread. The person who answered me apparently had a different boss from the person who put together the research findings. The official CDC research plainly states that transmission by hands touching things in public places has a negligible to nil effect in the transmission of influenza. The CDC scientists state that the way flu is spread from person to person is by unprotected coughing and sneezing.
But the person who answered me INTERPRETED the CDC's own quotations in a way that obscured the importance of coughing and sneezing as the avenue of flu transmission, and instead magnified the SUGGESTION that flu germs are passed hand to hand. She even gave me a link to a website that promotes hand washing.
The number one preventative measure MUST be to train the global public to thoroughly cover their coughs and sneezes with several thicknesses of fabric or tissue paper. This will trap the airborne water droplets that contain the viruses. Influenza is caused by the quantity of viruses that come into the body. It is a matter of HOW MANY GERMS that get into you. One or two or a few hundred germs cannot possibly cause an infection. A cough or sneeze creates a dense, invisible cloud of germs that stay viable and virulent for a long time. People MUST be instructed NOT to cough or sneeze in public unless they cover it with fabric or paper tissue.
Preventative measure number two is to train the public to be aware of the "germ clouds" (about the size of a cigarette smoker's exhaled cloud of smoke) caused by a cough or sneeze, and to NOT BREATHE when your head is in such a germ cloud. When a person coughs or sneezes, make note of where that person is standing, and where the germ cloud is. Then, just stay away from it. If you MUST pass through it, simply hold your breath. The cloud will dissipate in a few minutes, and no longer be contagious.
Number three is to train people to keep windows or other openings ajar just a bit, to allow the air to circulate quickly out of one's room. Germ levels build up in confined rooms where no doors or windows are kept open. As I remember, Malaysia is not likely to have this problem, as most houses have many open windows and spaces in walls and ceilings. But in closed, air-conditioned spaces, the germs can build up, unless the airconditioner is set to bring in fresh air.
If these three things are consistently broadcast on television and radio, I think the incidence of colds and flu will drop to a very tiny figure.
Think how much money the drug companies make off of cold and flu medicines! It must be in the trillions of dollars worldwide. Who do you think is actively promoting the false message of "wash your hands, and keep coughing all you like in public"? They never tell you who they are on all those posters they paste up everywhere. Why are they afraid to attach their name to that advice?
I am a substitute school teacher in Los Angeles, which I've done for 22 years. I have taught about 50,000 children all over this county, and have paid close attention to the incidence of colds and flu, as well as the public "information" schemes that mold the public's behavior.
Kim
La Mirada, California
A good way to protect yourself is to use N95 face masks. N95 will filter out viruses.
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