Practicing Good Hygiene Can Help You Keep From Getting The Bird Flu
October 11th, 2008

There are several things you can do to help keep you and your family from contracting the Bird Flu. Be sure and avoid close contact with those who are sick. Also, stay at home when you are sick yourself and keep your family home as well. Be sure to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and practice good hand washing practices. Always avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, and remember to practice a healthy lifestyle.



One of the ways you can practice good hygiene and encourage good health habits is to avoid close contact with people who are sick. One way to ensure that you and your family stay healthy is to avoid places and situations where there are large crowds of people. Shopping malls, concerts and movie theaters are examples of places where large groups of people come into close contact with one another. If a bird flu outbreak occurs, the best place for you and your family is at home. Be sure to stay home if you are sick, and keep children home for the same reason. If you or a family member has been ill, or has a compromised immune system, it would be especially important to stay away from other people who may be infected.

Stay at home when you are sick. When you become infected with a virus, whether it is the bird flu or not, it is important that you stay home. Staying home will not only keep others from contracting the virus, but it will also protect your fragile immune system from any other virus’s that are out there. Keeping your children home is very important since the spread of germs in a school setting is very fast. Children in day care should also be kept home if they are ill to prevent others from getting sick.

In the event of a pandemic, schools, day care, trade schools, and colleges may be closed to prevent the spread of the flu. It is important to watch for these closures and be prepared in case your child cannot go to school or day care. Talk wit your child’s teachers or principal to determine what would happen in the event that the school is closed to prevent the spread of bird flu. Be sure to offer your help, and talk to your child’s teacher about possible learning activities that could be offered to your child in this case. Also try to plan learning and recreational activities that could occupy and entertain your family, and that don’t involve places like movie theaters or shopping malls, which may also be closed.

Be sure to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing to help prevent the spread of the virus. Germs are spread from person to person in the form of “droplet spread”, which are the respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, these droplets are sent through the air and are deposited in the mouth or nose of people nearby. Also, the germs can be contracted when someone touches the droplets from an infected person on a surface and then touches their own eyes, nose, or mouth. Some viruses and bacteria can live for 2 hours or longer on many surfaces. This is why it is important to cover your mouth and nose and remind children to do the same, when coughing or sneezing.

Good hand washing practices are the best way to prevent the spread of germs. Whether you use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, or you wash your hands with soap and water, it is important to frequently wash your hands to prevent infection and the spread of viruses such as the bird flu. Reminding children to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while washing their hands will help them to thoroughly clean all the germs off their hands. Good hand washing should take about 15-20 seconds and hands should be washed with warm water and soap. If an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is used, you should rub your hands until the sanitizer is dry.

Try to avoid touching your eyes, hands, or mouth to prevent the spread of germs. When you come into contact with germs, those germs can most easily enter your body through openings in your eyes, cuts or open sores on your hands, nose, or in your mouth. Therefore, it is important to avoid touching these areas and to encourage children to do the same if you want to prevent illness.

Practicing an overall healthy lifestyle will help keep you from getting sick. Doing things like staying physically active, managing your stress levels, eating nutritious food, getting enough rest, as well as drinking plenty of fluids will help keep your body healthy enough to fight illness. Practicing good hygiene and living a healthy life will help keep you from getting the bird flu.

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