Simple Tips to Avoid H1N1

In Honor of Halloween and all the grimmy, sticky kids running around grabbing and tackling each other, sneezing, coughing, and breathing on each other from their sugar highs, here are some tips to avoid the dreaded flu:

Remember: The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat.

Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

It's possible to prevent proliferation: While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections:

1. Use Frequent hand-washing (can't say it enough).


2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don 't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton swabs dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C. *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

7. Consider taking Quercitin C supplementation or eating foods high in Quercitin: such as apples, and blueberries.