Now that the 2009-2010 flu season is winding down, make plans to keep your family happy and healthy with these simple steps:

Flu Shots: All for One and One for All

•     All for One    During the 2010-2011 flu season, plan to have everyone                          in your family vaccinated against the seasonal flu. A                          CDC advisory panel recommends everyone in the U.S. --                          except babies younger than 6 months -- receive the                          vaccine. This includes healthy young people, a group                          disproportionately affected by H1N1.



•     One for All    The 2010-2011 flu shot will be enhanced with H1N1                          protection. Including the H1N1 virus in the seasonal flu                          vaccine makes vaccine distribution simpler. Rather than                          trying to figure out who qualifies for the H1N1 vaccine,                          everyone will get H1N1 coverage with the seasonal flu                          shot.

Prepare for Another Peak

According to the CDC, H1N1 is still circulating. The U.S. H1N1 epidemic peaked in October 2009, but another surge is expected worldwide as winter hits the Southern Hemisphere. Continued vaccination is critical to prevent another wave of flu outbreaks, so if you haven't yet been vaccinated, do it now.

If H1N1 has made its way through your house, it’s time to show the nasty bug the door. Here’s how:

• •    Trash it. Throw away any disposables used by sick family members      and wash your hands afterward.
• •    Wipe it out. Use a household disinfectant to wipe off surfaces like      bedside tables, bathroom surfaces, and toys.
• •    Wash it with hot water. Utensils and dishes don’t need to be cleaned      separately, just ensure they’re extra clean by using hot water, or the      sanitary setting on your dish washer, before putting them back into      use.
• •    Strip it down. Remove bed sheets and towels from sick bay for      washing. When you carry them to the laundry room, avoid "hugging"      the linens – you don’t want to contaminate yourself. Wash your hands      after handling the dirty linens, and use hot water in the washer and the      high-heat setting for the dryer.

'Tis the season for all kinds of socializing. Whether you're caring for someone with H1N1, or just trying to make the neighborhood open house infection-free, here are simple steps for a healthy holiday.

Caretaking:

• •    Limit caretakers. Have one adult caretaker for all sick family members.      While it might not be the most pleasant holiday for the designated      caregiver, this strategy will significantly reduce the chance that      everyone will get sick. Choose an adult who isn’t at increased risk of      severe illness from flu (pregnant women and people with asthma      should not be designated caregivers, for example). And be sure to tuck      a special gift under the tree for Santa's very important helper.
• •    Ditch diaper duty. Here's a gift for the H1N1 caregiver this holiday      season: You're officially off diaper duty! Sick family members and      those who care for them should avoid caring for infants and others at      high risk for flu complications. But if you don't have anyone to take the      task, wear a facemask, and wash up regularly or use a hand sanitizer.
• •    Freshen up. By now, the entire extended family is tired of washing      their hands and using hand sanitizer multiple times each day. Give the      hand-washing a fresh start with holiday scented soaps and sanitizers.      Relieve chapping from frequent washing with ginger, pomegranate or      similarly scented lotions.

Merry-making:

• •    Phone home. Technology is your friend this holiday season. If a family      member has H1N1, season’s greeting should come by way of fiber      optics. A video chat online using Skype or a similar service can help      family and friends share in lighting candles and unwrapping gifts—even      modeling hand-knit hats from great aunts!
• •    High risk? Low exposure. If you're at high risk for complications from      flu, reign in your reindeer. When you do make merry, avoid any      socializing with anyone with H1N1; at minimum, stay at least six feet      away. If you face a special moment when close contact is essential,      ask friends or family with H1N1 to wear facemasks. And after you've      shared your holiday ritual, wash hands with soap and warm water, or      use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• •    Minus the mistletoe. Holiday hugs, kisses, and well wishes are a great      way to spread festive cheer. But it might not be the only thing you’re      spreading if you've been exposed to someone with H1N1. Keep it clean      by washing with soap and water after every contact with a person who      is sick with H1N1, and avoid that person's room and bathroom.
• •    Decorate with disposables. When decorating for the holidays, save      your festive hand towels for next season. Instead, choose holiday-     themed disposable towels for drying hands after hand washing. For      your own family, dedicate cloth towels to each person in the household      until the risk of H1N1 subsides.
• •    Vent hot air. Open houses and large family gatherings can be healthier      affairs if you keep the air circulating. Crack open windows around your      home to maintain good air ventilation in shared household areas.
• •    Go antiviral. If a family member has H1N1, ask your healthcare      provider about medications that can be used to prevent the flu from      spreading during the holidays.

Someone in your House has H1N1. So where do you put them (without making them feel more miserable)?

When a loved one at home is sick with H1N1, you’re faced with a tough choice. Do you isolate them (and risk more suffering) or let them mingle (and risk getting everyone else sick, too)? Here’s how to make the best of it:

• •    Keep your family member comfortable but separate, in a spare      bedroom or similar, away from the common areas of the house. Try to      keep the door closed to avoid the airborne spread of germs.
• •    Aside from trips to the doctor or pharmacy, keep family members with      H1N1 at home, and away from others as much as possible. Keep the      travel ban in effect for at least 24 hours after his or her fever is gone      (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine).
• •    If your flu-ridden family member needs to leave home for medical care,      they should wear a facemask and cover their nose and mouth when      coughing or sneezing. With very young children, this might be a      challenge. Just do your best.
• •    When a loved one with H1N1 is in common areas of the house, they      should also wear a facemask, and wash hands before and after being      in the common area.
• •    If you have the luxury of an extra bathroom (especially adjacent to the      "sick bay"), have your infected family member use that bathroom only.      Extra bonus points go to the family member who cleans this bathroom      daily with household disinfectant!

How do you take care of family members with H1N1 without getting sick yourself?

While you can’t be 100% risk-free when it comes to the spread of the flu, you can take steps to make catching the virus less likely. The main way the flu spreads is from coughs and sneezes, but it also spreads through touching.

Here’s what to do to reduce the chance that the flu will spread from one family member to others at home:

• •    Check with your Health Care Provider (HCP) about any special care      needed for pregnant family members or if they have a condition such      as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or emphysema.
• •    Also ask your HCP about antiviral medications.
• •    Keep the sick family member away from the rest of the family as much      as you can. Don’t let your sick family member go to work or school.
• •    Sick family members should stay home for 24 hours after the fever is      gone (without fever-reducer) except to go to the drug store or to see      the doctor.
• •    Make sure they get plenty of rest.
• •    Offer lots of clear fluids (such as water, broth, sports drinks, and      electrolyte beverages for infants) to keep from being dehydrated.
• •    Cover coughs and sneezes. Wash hands often with soap and water.      As a backup, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• •    Have the family member wear a facemask if possible when they’re in      the rest of the house, especially if others are at risk for flu      complications. For more info, go to
       Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use
• •    Keep a look out for emergency warning signs in case your loved one      needs medical attention.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four vaccines for use against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

The vaccines—made by CSL Limited, MedImmune LLC, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited, and sanofi pasteur Inc.—will be distributed nationally after the initial lots become available. This is expected to occur within the next four weeks.

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm182624.htm

Preliminary tests of an H1N1 swine flu vaccine conducted in Australia and Britain show that a single dose creates enough antibodies to protect against the virus within about 10 days.

That's a potentially significant development, because it was thought that two shots would be needed to provide full immunity to the virus. A one-dose protocol would greatly expand the supply of vaccine and hasten individual immunity.

The H1N1 swine flu has already started to spread this fall in the United States and is infecting as many people now as would be expected in the peak of the flu season, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CSL is setting aside 36 million doses of its vaccine for distribution in the United States, Bloomberg News reported.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_89221.html

Swine flu may be grabbing all the headlines, but seasonal flu poses a real threat this fall, too. And the time to act is now, by getting a seasonal flu shot. Then follow it up with an H1N1 swine flu vaccine when the first shipments arrive in mid-October.

That was the message Thursday from U.S. health officials, who noted that seasonal flu puts more than 200,000 Americans in the hospital each year and causes an estimated 36,000 deaths. "This is a serious disease," Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said during a morning press conference. "When it comes to strains of the flu, getting vaccinated -- we know -- is the best line of defense."

About 116 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine will be on hand this year, Sebelius said. The vaccine is available now, and more doses will arrive in the coming weeks, she said.

People should also plan to get vaccinated for the H1N1 swine flu when that vaccine becomes available.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_89216.html

New British research confirms previous reports that the H1N1 swine flu goes deeper into the lungs than ordinary seasonal flu, possibly explaining why it's often more severe in some people.

"Most people infected with swine-origin flu in the current pandemic have experienced relatively mild symptoms," Ten Feizi, a professor at Imperial College London and co-author of a study released Thursday, said in a college news release. "However, some people have had more severe lung infections, which can be worse than those caused by seasonal flu. Our new research shows how the virus does this -- by attaching to receptors mostly found on cells deep in the lungs. This is something seasonal flu cannot do."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_89214.html