Staying Healthy

Planning Ahead

Why This is Important

1. Very few people are in a position to close the door and not leave home for three months. Most of us cannot afford to quit our jobs. Certain public safety jobs carry a duty to serve.  In most cases, there will still be bills to be paid for housing, utilities, and unanticipated needs, such as a medical emergency.  

2.  If possible, businesses need to stay functioning.  Both people and businesses need to remain healthy and viable to get us through up to three waves of the flu spread over a year and a half.  However, there may be times when businesses and/or people need to make the decision to 'shelter in place' for a week or more if the pandemic is in full force in the area, and the death rate is high.  When the pandemic is waning in the area, then businesses can reopen.

3.  Staying healthy is more than just 'washing your hands' and 'covering your sneeze.' Protect yourself and your family at home and ANYTIME you leave home and come back again. Staying healthy is intentional. It requires systematically using infection control practices to minimize your risk.

Act Now to Minimize Your Risk

1.  Get your yearly flu vaccine shot.  While the current vaccine won't protect you from avian flu or any other "new" strains of the virus, it can help you stay healthy (by protecting you from some flu virus strains).  This may help your body to fight the virus better if you do become infected, especially if the pandemic virus is a mixed strain containing components of seasonal flu.

2. Get a pneumonia vaccine shot. In past influenza pandemics, many victims succumbed to secondary pneumonia infection. While the pneumonia vaccine cannot protect against all types of pneumonia, it can improve your chances of surviving the pandemic. The vaccine is especially recommended for people over the age of 65 or those who have chronic illnesses such as diabetes or asthma.

3. Make critical purchases now.

• Hand soap and/or hand sanitizer
• Unscented household bleach
• Medical gloves
• Splash-proof safety goggles
• Respirators 
  

See: Staying Healthy – Respirators for important information on respirators.

4. Get preventative or elective medical procedures done now, when there is medical care. Healthcare practitioners may not be available in a pandemic.  We recommend you download   Where There is No Doctor at The Hesparian Foundation Web site.

5. Get dental work done now.  Tooth and mouth infections are urgent medical issues.  These may get into the bloodstream and cause serious illness.  New technologies and methods, such as lasers and sedation, have made dental work virtually pain free. Keep children up to date on their dental checkups.

In a pandemic, your family's daily routine needs to include brushing, flossing, and mouth rinses.  A dentist may not be available.  We recommend you download Where There is No Dentist at The Hesperian Foundation Web site.

Respirators

Why This is Important  

To protect yourself, you need to know your vulnerabilities. The pandemic flu virus can infect you by two means:

• Breathing in droplets containing infectious material. A RESPIRATOR IS A FACE COVERING THAT PROTECTS THE WEARER FROM  INHALING GERMS.  Keep reading to learn how to protect yourself.
  
  
• Contact between infectious material and the lining of the eyes, nose or mouth.(See: Staying Healthy: Good Practices)

Respirator Types

NOTE:   Respirators provide protection only when worn properly.  Follow instructions exactly.  A respirator should cover the nose with no gaps between the respirator and the side of the wearer's face.




NOTE:  Only purchase a 'NIOSH' certified respirator

Surgical masks only prevent the wearer from spreading germs. Respirators (which often look like surgical masks) protect the wearer from inhaling germs.

The OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic Respirators classifies particulate respirators and particulate filters as follows:

An N95 respirator is one of nine types of particulate respirators. Respirator filters that remove at least 95 percent of airborne particles during "worst case" testing using the "most-penetrating" size of particle are given a 95 rating. Those that filter out at least 99 percent of the particles under the same conditions receive a 99 rating, and those that filter at least 99.97 percent (essentially 100 percent) receive a 100 rating. In addition, filters in this family are given a designation of N, R, or P to convey their ability to function in the presence of oils that are found in some work environments.

1. "N" if they are Not resistant to oil.
   (e.g., N95, N99, N100)
   
   
2. "R" if they are somewhat Resistant to oil.
   (e.g., R95, R99, R100)
   
   
3. "P" if they are strongly resistant
   (i.e., oil Proof). (e.g., P95, P99, P100)

This rating is important in work settings where oils may be present because some industrial oils can degrade the filter performance to the point that it does not filter adequately. Thus, the three filter efficiencies combined with the three oil designations lead to nine types of particulate respirator filter materials. It should be noted that any of the various types of filters listed here would be acceptable for protection against pandemic influenza in workplaces that do not contain oils, particularly if the N95 filter type was unavailable due to shortages.

Example Respirators

P100 half face respirator, reusable

• Comfortable for extended wearing (several hours)
• Uses replaceable filters                         
• Relatively easy to obtain a good fit, and verify the fit
• More expensive than disposable respirator

N100 disposable respirator

• Relatively expensive for one-time use
• Requires careful fitting to prevent leakage

 N95 disposable vented respirator

• Requires careful fitting to prevent leakage
• Uncomfortable for extended wearing
• Relatively inexpensive

N95 disposable respirator

• Requires careful fitting to prevent leakage
• Uncomfortable for extended wearing
• Becomes moist quickly, losing effectiveness
• Relatively inexpensive

Which Respirator Should I Use?

There is a lack of consensus and conflicting recommendations for respirators within the scientific and public health communities.  Therefore, we cannot recommend any model.  Instead, we offer our personal preference.  

Our top choice for personal use is the N-100 or P-100 half face piece respirator, reusable. This mask filters particles smaller than the flu virus.        (P-100 shown)

1. N100 disposable respirator
2. N95 disposable vented respirator
3. N95 disposable respirator

Disposable respirators are designed for one-time use.  Reusable respirators have replaceable filters.  

 

Why This Is Important

There is no way to guarantee that you will not be infected if a pandemic occurs. However, there are ways you can minimize your risk of infection after a pandemic starts.

Minimizing Your Risk in a Pandemic

1. The number one way to minimize your risk of infection is to shelter in place while the virus is circulating in your community. This  means staying at home, or voluntary self-isolation. Doing this will require you to be fully prepared in almost all aspects of daily life. Realistically, few people are in this position. The next best thing is to prepare as much as possible, to minimize the times that you do leave your home.


2. Wash your hands frequently. Frequent hand washing is an important defense against the flu. Keep anti-bacterial liquid hand soap at every sink. Wash your hands several times each day. Make sure that you use proper hand washing technique. During a pandemic, this needs to become an obsession.

• rub hands together vigorously for 15-30 seconds
• cleanse all sides
• pay attention to nails, rings, watches
• ensure hands are completely dry when done

3. If you can’t wash your hands, use hand sanitizer. You risk infection every time you touch a door knob, handlebar of a grocery cart, or ATM pad. Since it’s not feasible to wash your hands every time you touch something that may carry the virus, carry hand sanitizer with you at all times.

NOTE: The alcohol content must be at least 60% to be effective for infection control.



4. Exercise social distancing. The most effective way to prevent becoming infected with avian influenza is to avoid exposure to infected people. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine who is infected and who is not. By the times symptoms appear, the person has already been contagious. A perfectly healthy looking person can spread the disease. You cannot tell by looking. Social distancing - deliberately limiting contact with people (especially large groups of people) - is a reasonable precaution to take in the event of a pandemic. Avoid close contact. OSHA recommends a six foot separation from others in the workplace.

• Try to work from home. A surprising variety of jobs can now be accomplished remotely, and employers will likely be willing--or even required--to accommodate telecommuting if a pandemic strikes.
  
  
• Even in the absence of a pandemic, staying home when sick is a good idea. More productivity is lost because sick workers come to work and infect others than if they had stayed home during their illness.
  
  
• Keep children home from school. Any parent knows that kids pick up all kinds of bugs at school. Pandemic flu is one bug that you certainly don't wan t your kids picking up. A very important way communities can prevent the spread of pandemic influenza will be to close schools and daycare centers very early on – preferably even before anyone at the school or in your town is infected. The earlier schools close, the better this tech nique will work. However, even if your schools do not close, YOU will want your children to be at home. Make plans now to be able to keep your kids home from school. Go to your school and pick up the forms you will have to file in order to home school your children legally. Gather the learning materials you will need to have on hand.
  
  
• Avoid public transportation. Buses, planes, subways, and trains all have large numbers of people in close quarters. Mass transportation is NOT recommended during the period of time that pandemic flu is actively being spread from person to person. This includes recreational transportation such as ships and long distance railways.
  
  
• Stay away from public events. During a pandemic, governments may cancel public events. If they don’t, stay away from public events anyway. Any large gathering of people in close proximity creates a high-risk situation. This includes elevators, waiting in lines, and sitting in a restaurant.
  
  
5. Wear a respirator. In a pandemic, it is important to protect yourself from inhalation of the virus if you're out in public. It is critical if you are in a high-risk job with known exposure.

6. Protect your eyes. The flu virus can be spread if contaminated droplets (from a sneeze, for example) enter the eyes. Wear splash-proof safety goggles. An example of this is the 3M Model 1621 safety goggle. Swim goggles can also be used.

7. Wear medical gloves. Gloves can prevent germs from getting on your hands, where they can be absorbed directly through open cuts or spread to other parts of your body. Latex or nitrile medical gloves or heavy-duty rubber gloves can be used to protect the hands. The gloves should be removed if torn or damaged, and hands should be thoroughly washed after removal of gloves.

8. Protect your pets. The avian influenza virus has spread to many species. Pets are in potential danger when they come into  contact with infected birds or other animals, and these routes of infection will continue even if the virus mutates so that human-to-human transmission becomes the greatest threat. Avoid handling wild birds and try to prevent domestic animals (such as house cats) from coming into contact with birds.