A million deaths. That's what a United Nations report is predicting for the H1N1 flu virus this year - a million people dead from seasonal flu.
I have to admit that all the doom and gloom has me more than a little jumpy when someone next to me coughs or sneezes - especially without covering their mouth. There are, however, preventive measures you can take to avoid coming down with the flu, let alone being one of the U.N. statistics.
With the help of the Centers for Disease Control here are a few things you should consider this flu season.
First, learn how to cough or sneeze. If Elmo can do it, so can you. If it takes a terrycloth puppet with an annoying voice to tell you to cough and sneeze into your sleeve, then I am all for it. If you need to know why you shouldn't sneeze into your hand, think about not where your hand has been, but where it's going next - like that door handle, or that telephone, or that item on the shelf at the PX that you put back because you'd rather wait until payday - that's where the germs you conveniently put into the palm of your hand are going to go and wait for the next person to open the door, pick up the phone or buy that item.
Next get the vaccine. Yeah, you might need two vaccines this year, but big deal. One of them is squirted up your nose. It's not like you are going to deflate when they stick you with a needle.
The vaccine helps two ways.
The obvious way is that it helps you fight the flu. The vaccine actually trains your body on what to be on the lookout for, and then launches white blood cells to counter the virus that has entered the body.
The other way that the vaccine helps is that if you don't get the flu, or when you are exposed to flu viruses, your body will reduce the germ's effectiveness and you won't be as likely to pass it on to someone else - like me.
A simple measure to help reduce getting the flu is washing your hands. Again, Elmo has to tell you to stick those nasty paws under water and use soap. Just wetting your hands doesn't get it either. You need to use soap, then rub the soap on the hands long enough to actually loosen any germ that has hitched a ride. The Canadian Health Ministry recommends you sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself, which is ample time to lose the germs. I recommend you sing "Happy Birthday" to yourself and not out loud. Variations of this method include reciting the Soldier's Creed, the Army values or, for the English major in all of us, Ogden Nash's limerick, "A flea and a fly in a flue."
And you should wash your hands a lot. You should especially wash them after touching another person's hands, opening public doors, before eating and before touching your eyes or nose.
And if you can't wash with soap and water, use some hand sanitizer.
One really important aspect of fighting the flu is that if you do feel flu-ish, then stay home. Gallivanting around just helps spread those germs. Stay home, drink plenty of fluids, and get rest. Once you've gotten the flu, the best way to deal with it is to ride it out. For more information on the flu virus and how to deal with it, go to <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/flu" target="_blank">www.cdc.gov/flu</a>. The Centers for Disease Control have tons of information on symptoms, when to go to the doctor, and how long you should stay home after your flu fever is gone.
Staying healthy takes work and being alert to those who aren't so healthy around us. Whether you are a Soldier or one of the many civilians that support the military here on Fort Leonard Wood, your work requires you to be in contact and the proximity to lots of people each day. Taking a few simple precautions may not prevent you from getting the flu, but then again, those precautions could save your life.
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