Maybe its something you’re already worrying about maybe not, but wherever you stand know there’s many things you can do to prepare for Swine flu, and of course common seasonal flu as well.

1) Understand what we’re dealing with: First, how bad is this flu really? There are so many versions flying around its easy to get confused, and when you do more research it’s even worse. Type A flu or Swine flu is still influenza, it’s still a flu, so don’t expect aliens bursting out of your chest or something outrageous. Many people in USA that had Swine flu are so far reporting a “mild” regular flu, fever, muscle ache and such. Here in Argentina, reports of Swine flu started as soon as winter approached, with the first cold days. Swine flu was already here but it didn’t get that bad until then. Here the situation was different. People that had Swine flu would usually experience a very strong flu, compared to the regular seasonal one. High fever, headache, body pain and diarrhea. It affected young healthy people, not only older folks or those of high risk groups, and it usually ended up in pneumonia. My 7 year old son had it and the fever was very high. He had pneumonia. Amoxicilin didn’t work, so the doctors gave him Clarithromycin and that stopped the infection. People that took Tamiflu within 24 hs did much better, unfortunately my son got sick before the Swine flu was even mentioned on the news. He’s well now but again, worst flu I’ve ever seen, and the many doctors I’ve talked to said the same story: The strength, how easily it spread, none of them had ever seen anything like it. Our mortality rate is 2.5%, which is very high, almost 10 times as high. Among children, it sure is a number to worry about: 5% mortality rate for children, according to the SADIP Argentine society of Pediatric Infectology, as reported by Telam, the government news agency. Health conditions in Argentina are far from what you can expect in the USA, but it’s still a significant percentage.

2) Washing hands at all times: As many times as needed. When on the street, after touching anything, specially money, doors, getting into a Taxi, elevator buttons or touching anything that has been touched by people during the day, you need to wash your hands. For this, alcohol gel hand sanitizers are particularly useful. In my home, each family member has a small bottle and we refill it with a big bottle every couple days or so.
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Small tip: It’s winter, and you are using a lot of alcohol gel, hands soon start to dry up and even crack. Stock up on some bottles of hand skin care creams. Even if you never used such a product in your life, know that specially if you’re a guy that does a lot of manual labor, cracked skin is no joke and can be very painful, even cause an infection.

3) Respirators and eye protection: During peaks, the worst of the season where every living creature seems to be sick, I strongly advice everyone to take extra measures to avoid catching Swine Flu. Get over what other people may think: You should never have cared about that in the first place. If the virus is spreading fast and you simply can’t avoid going to indoor places where people gather such as the office, meetings or public transportation you need to wear a respirator. Swine flu isn’t some deadly biological weapon that requires a fallout suit to protect yourself. The virus travels in small droplets of spit and fluids when people talk and specially when they sneeze and cough. This is what infects most people, along with touching surfaces that had been touched by a sick person as well. Imagine blowing his nose, opening the door, and you happen to open that same door next. So, in a crowded areas you want to keep those droplets away. For this you need a respirator. Respirators should be tested first because the one you need varies since there’s not one size fits all. Usually they come for small or larger faces. When you breathe in you should feel the respirator sucking against your face. I’ve used these for a long time and I assure you, the respirators with the exhaust valve are worth every dollar.
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The regular ones get wet soon and its harder to breathe after a couple hours or less, and respirators can be a problem if you have a respiratory or cardiac condition. Also, if someone with poor manners happens to sneeze next to you without covering his face, those droplets suspended in the air can get in you through your eyes, so its better to use tightly fitting shades or translucent safety glasses. I prefer the regular safety shades because they fit tight, wrap around the face, look like normal sunglasses and I wear them most of the time for that purpose in spite of the flu. With eye protection and a properly fitting respirator, you are supposed to have a +95% safety margin, that’s almost what condoms offer against STD, so while not perfect, its as good as it gets.

4) Go see the doctor: Should be obvious enough but well, sometimes it isn’t. If you experience signs of flu don’t wait and see you doctor right away. Don’t suppose its “normal” flu. More than likely, it isn’t. You should get tested for Swine flu immediately, because Tamiflu wont do you any good a couple days later. What happened here in Argentina is that when the flu got bad and waiting rooms were full of sick people, people stopped going to the doctor when in doubt, worried about catching the virus on the waiting room. This made people stay home, even people with other problems that required medical assistance. Ironically, during the worst of the pandemic, waiting rooms where almost empty. Keep in mind that the sooner you get diagnosed and treated properly, the more you reduce the chances of greater complications.

5)Quarantine: No doubt this is the best thing you can do to avoid getting sick. It’s not easy. Bugging in is stressful, you needs to have your preps ready (food, water, home supplies) and for most people its not even an option because of work obligations. Having said that, there are many that can somewhat handle things and rearrange their schedule. If things are meant to get worse, having stayed home for a month already may be a lifesaver. Be prepared for stress and irritated moods, specially kids, they don’t like staying indoors for too long. Here in Argentina, after classes where suspended, the teachers gave the parents (wear a respirator when going to pick this up) booklets to homeschool kids during the time classes where suspended. It’s another way to keep children busy and compensate for the time they are not going to school.

6)Have supplies: If things happen to get bad, there’s a chance that not only classes will be suspended, but also other activities as well. The idea here is to do damage control and stop the flu from spreading even further. Usually this measure is taken a week or two too late, so we all have to be big boys and girls and make mature decisions about sending our kids to school or not, or taking a few holyday days from work until things become more clear. Since we’re trying to avoid contact with other people, it’s important to have your preparedness supplies ready, most important food and water, and whatever else you think you’ll be needing.

7) Keep updated on your State and local news: You need to know what’s going on. Keep in mind that today a person can be anywhere in the world within hours. And I’m not joking, by the time the news says there are reports of a disease in your State, you might already be infected. Timing is everything. If you keep hearing about Swine flu cases in your area, seriously consider your next move. Maybe a week off is a good idea until you see what’s happening at a local level. Call the school parents. Other kids getting sick? I’d call in sick just in case.

Swine flu may be just a regular flu, or like in our case, a bit worse, but there’s no need to go nuts and you certainly can take a few steps to prepare for it better.

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre