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Overview
Staying safe relies on good planning and preparation. And that is especially true for a flu pandemic. To help you prepare for such an event, there are checklists that make getting ready easier. Locate a checklist.
Because the current H1N1 swine flu is a new type of flu you will not have any protection from a seasonal flu shot or from having had the flu before. And because we have not experienced this particular flu strain, there is no way to predict how severe or virulent the flu will be.
What follows are steps you can take to stay healthy, know whether you need to seek medical help, and how to take care of a sick person in your home. Additional resources are at the end of the page.
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Stay Healthy
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Will the seasonal flu shot protect me against pandemic influenza? |
- No, it won't protect you against pandemic influenza. But flu shots can help you to stay healthy.
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- Get a flu shot to help protect yourself from seasonal flu.
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- Get a pneumonia shot to prevent secondary infection if you are over the age of 65 or have a chronic illness such as diabetes or asthma. For specific guidelines, talk to your health care provider or call the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hotline at 1-800-232-4636.
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- Make sure that your family's immunizations are up-to-date.
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Follow the same actions that you take to prevent any flu -stay healthy yourself and avoid the germs and viruses spread by people who are sick with the flu.
Take common-sense steps to limit the spread of germs. Make good hygiene a habit.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- Put used tissues in a wastebasket.
- Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue.
- Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
- Stay at home if you are sick.
It is always a good idea to practice good health habits.
- Eat a balanced diet. Be sure to eat a variety of foods, including plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products. Also include low-fat dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish, and beans. Drink lots of water and go easy on salt, sugar, alcohol, and saturated fat.
- Exercise on a regular basis and get plenty of rest.
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Symptoms & When to Get Medical Help
Symptoms
The symptoms of this new H1N1 swine flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of sick people also reported diarrhea and vomiting.
The high-risk groups for this new flu are not known at this time, but they may be the same as for seasonal influenza. People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include
- people age 65 years and older,
- children younger than 5 years old,
- pregnant women,
- people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and
- people whose immune systems are not strong (such as chemotherapy patients or those infected with HIV).
More on what to do if you get flu-like symptoms
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When to Get Medical Help
For Children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
- Fast breathing or trouble breathing
- Bluish or gray skin color
- Not drinking enough fluids
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Not waking up or not interacting
- Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
- Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
For adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
- Sudden dizziness
- Confusion
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
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If You are Sick, Stay Home from School and Work
You may be ill for a week or longer. You should stay home and avoid contact with other persons, except to seek medical care. If you leave the house to seek medical care, wear a mask or cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. In general you should avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness. With seasonal flu, people may be contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to up to 7 days after they get sick. Children, especially younger children, might be contagious for longer periods.
More information about the amount of time persons with influenza-like illness should be away from others.
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How to Care for a Sick Person at Home
People with H1N1 swine flu who are cared for at home should:
- check with their health care provider about any special care they might need if they are pregnant or have a health condition such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or emphysema
- check with their health care provider about whether they should take antiviral medications
- stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer
- get plenty of rest
- drink clear fluids (such as water, broth, sports drinks, electrolyte beverages for infants) to keep from being dehydrated
- cover coughs and sneezes. Clean hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often and especially after using tissues and after coughing or sneezing into hands.
- avoid close contact with others - do not go to work or school while ill
- be watchful for emergency warning signs (see above) that might indicate you need to seek medical attention
When providing care to a household member who is sick with influenza, the most important ways to protect yourself and others who are not sick are to:
- keep the sick person away from other people as much as possible (see "placement of the sick person")
- remind the sick person to cover their coughs, and clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after coughing and/or sneezing.
- have everyone in the household clean their hands often, using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub
- ask your healthcare provider if household contacts of the sick person - particularly those contacts who may have chronic health conditions - should take antiviral medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) to prevent the flu.
More information on caring for a sick person at home
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More Resources
How to Clean and Disinfect Surfaces at Home and in Public Places (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use to Reduce Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Transmission (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
HHS YouTube Video: H1N1: What if a family member gets infected?
CDC YouTube Video: Symptoms of Swine Flu
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