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12 Ways to be Healthier
Copyright 2005. http://www.health-care-information.org
Want to loose weight, sleep better and boost your immune system?
1 Have a lie down
Back pain can be avoided and the damage repaired with one easy exercise, which is lie down on the floor...
Cognitive Mental Health Disorders
Therapists around the globe are constantly searching for answers
that help them understand mental illnesses. Cognitive disorders
including, dementia, delirium, alcohol-induced disorders, and
other related disorders are under constant studies....
Factors That Will Affect Sperm Health
The Sperm DNA Integrity assay (SDIA) like the Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) is a tool for measuring clinically important properties of sperm nuclear chromatin integrity. Chromatin is that portion of the cell nucleus which contains the...
New 'Executive Alcohol/Opiate Detox' attracts celebrities to Palm Beach
People from various walks of life such as business executives,
professional athletes, celebrities, politicians, and even the
armed forces and the religious world are flocking to Palm Beach
from different parts of the globe, and not...
Six Ways To Reduce Cold And Flu Symptoms
There are little things we can do everyday to stay healthy.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we catch a cold or flu.
Antibiotics are ineffectual in treating viruses. However, there
are some alternative methods we can use to lessen flu and...
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Bird Flu: Personal Preparedness Must Include These 4 Critical Areas
The recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been powerful
reminders of how destructive the forces of nature can be, and
how preparation for them can mitigate their effects. Avian
influenza, commonly referred to as "bird flu," is a powerful
force of nature that we must prepare for--or suffer the
potentially devastating health and financial consequences. Bird
flu is a viral contagious disease, just like the regular
seasonal flu, but it might turn out to be 70 times more deadly.
And, because of the nature of the virus, it might be most deadly
for healthy children and adults, and pregnant women--just like
the so-called Spanish flu of 1918-19 was.
The report of the U.S. National Intelligence Council's 2020
Project, Mapping the Global Future, identified a global pandemic
(an epidemic that is worldwide) as the single most important
threat to the global economy. According to Shigeru Omi, regional
director of the World Health Organization, "The world is now in
the gravest possible danger of a pandemic." And according to Dr.
Robert Webster, a world-renowned influenza researcher at St.
Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, "We
could be heading for a global catastrophe." Infectious-disease
experts have repeatedly warned that it's not a question of
whether a bird-flu pandemic is coming; it's only a question of
when.
Judging from the federal government's incredibly inadequate
response at all levels to hurricane Katrina--which is emblematic
of its ineptness in dealing with large national emergencies, its
slow and superficial response to bird flu to date, and its lack
of leadership on this issue--it is clear that you cannot count
on the government to protect you. You must take the initiative
to prepare yourself and your family for the coming bird-flu
pandemic.
There are four essential areas that you must address to prepare
for the bird-flu pandemic: 1) "social distancing"; 2)
commodities--including food, 3) personal protective equipment
(PPE), and 4) financial preparation. Social distancing refers to
your living and work situations when the pandemic strikes.
Without going to extremes, you want you and your family to be as
far away from other people as possible. Bird flu is just like
the regular seasonal flu in that you become infected from other
people, not birds. (Although it might be possible to acquire the
viral infection from birds, it is much more likely that, if you
do become infected, you will have acquired the virus from
another person, not a bird.)
The bird-flu virus is extremely contagious; it is transmitted
though casual contact with a contagious person (who might not
have any symptoms during the first 24 hours of infection),
through touching contaminated objects, and through the air.
Because of this, you want to stay away from people as much as
possible, and that means spending more time at home. Your
children will not be at school, they will be home. If your home
is on the 73rd floor in an apartment building in New York City,
how are you going to avoid other people? You might want to think
of an alternative living situation for a few months.
The same principle applies to your work setting. If you can
telecommute, that is the best scenario. If you don't telecommute
now, but because of the type of work you do it might be a
possibility, discuss it with your employer. If you will have to
continue to work closely with others at your job site, what can
be done there to help protect you and others from infection? How
can policies and procedures be amended to minimize contact with
coworkers or customers? Are there hand-washing stations
available? What are your employer's plans for dealing with the
coming pandemic? Discuss these and related issues with your
employer and coworkers.
The second area that must be addressed is
"commodities--including food." There will be sporadic
difficulties manufacturing or producing goods--because workers
around the globe will be sick or otherwise absent from work.
There also will be supply chain disruptions--both because
workers will be sick or otherwise absent from work, and because
of regional, national and/or international restrictions on
travel. These problems will cause a decrease or the
unavailability of most or all of the products we easily have
access to now.
Commodities such as soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, and
virtually everything you can buy at stores such as Wal-Mart will
be difficult or impossible to obtain--for periods of weeks or
months at a time. This includes the most
important
commodity--food. The federal government is always telling us to
stock up on emergency supplies for three days. This will not be
sufficient preparation for the coming deadly bird-flu pandemic.
There will likely be limited food available in stores. In
addition, stores are places you want to avoid anyway, because
potentially contagious people might be there. Stock up now so
that you have sufficient commodities, including food, for a
period of months.
The third area to address is so-called personal protective
equipment (PPE), which you will have to use, depending upon
circumstances. PPE includes special face masks, called N95
respirators, which help prevent infection through inhalation of
the virus. Remember that avian influenza ("bird flu") is a very
contagious disease that can be transmitted through the air. The
only way to counter this source of infection is through the use
of special N95 respirators. These are disposable face masks that
can be worn for up to eight hours.
N95 masks were the type of masks worn by hospital workers during
the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic that
struck a number of cities around the world, including Toronto,
Canada. Surgical masks or other common face masks, sometimes
used when sanding or painting and so forth, are not effective.
Other elements of PPE include disposable latex or vinyl gloves,
eye goggles or face shields, gowns impervious to liquids, and
sometimes disposable booties or disposable head caps. Keep in
mind that during the pandemic, most people who become infected
will have to be cared for at home, not in crowded and
overwhelmed hospitals. This means that caregivers taking care of
loved ones at home need to be protected from the virus, just
like hospital workers working in hospitals. The only way to be
protected is to wear PPE. (Just washing your hands--the federal
government's primary recommendation for caregivers at home--will
not be enough.) Once the pandemic starts, demand for PPE will be
huge and supplies will be in very short supply--or nonexistent.
Buy now or suffer the consequences later.
The last area that must be addressed before the bird-flu
pandemic strikes is personal finances. This is an area that
governments at all levels have been mute on. However, preparing
your finances to sustain yourself and your family during (and
after) the pandemic could prove to be the most important area of
preparation. Although the bird-flu virus is deadly and many of
us will fall ill, most of us will not die from it--only one to
two percent of the population will likely die. The vast majority
will live--but under what circumstances?
Think of hurricane Katrina--where most people survived--but
where hundreds of thousands are now homeless and underemployed
or unemployed. Because of the potentially severe local,
national, and international economic consequences of the
bird-flu pandemic, many of us will suffer financially.
Businesses around the world will not be able to make or
distribute products or provide services. There will be layoffs
and some companies will go out of business altogether. At a
minimum, people will be out of work for periods of weeks or
months. Your child or children, if you have any, will be at
home--not in school or day care. Will that force one parent to
stay home from work to care for them? How will you pay your rent
or mortgage and your bills under these circumstances?
At Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure." When it comes to bird-flu preparation could make
the difference between life and death, how much you and your
family eat, and whether or not you can pay your bills, including
your rent or mortgage. The government will not resolve these
issues for you. Just like Smoky the Bear's admonition, "Only you
can prevent forest fires." Only you can take stock of this
situation and do something about it. Think about it--and then do
something about it.
Bradford Frank, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. The Frank Group P.O. Box
138 Lakewood, NY 14750 http://www.AvoidBirdFlu.com
About the author:
The Author Bradford Frank, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A. Dr. Frank
graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in
chemistry and his M.D. degree. He completed two residencies, one
in family practice and one in psychiatry. He is board certified
in psychiatry as well as addiction medicine and geriatric
medicine, and is a clinical assistant professor at the
University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical
Sciences, Buffalo, N.Y.
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