The Daily Green had some good advice on dealing with N1H1 at back-to-school time. It’s a new virus, so there’s no telling how bad it will be this fall and winter, but so far H1N1 — the swine flu — has proven to be a virulent, but not altogether debilitating strain of the flu.
It’s important to remember that swine flu is just an influenza virus, similar to the one that circulates every winter. “The same basic rules apply to stop the spread of infection,” Imus writes. “Stay home if you think you are sick, wash your hands frequently (use a healthy hand sanitizer when soap and water are unavailable), and cover your coughs and sneezes.” By “healthy hand sanitizers,” Imus means those that use essential oils, rather than synthetic pesticides, to fight bacteria; antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers often contribute to the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria and other environmental problems, and are blamed for thousands of poisonings every year.