swine flu & Scarby

[cowgrrl]

I know everyones been hearing all about this but another reminder can't hurt.

I work at a preschool & we have been bleaching & cleaning everything that can be hosed down.  I've used more hand sanitizer in the past few days than I have in the past few months! 

AFA Scarby this weekend I'm bringing extra hand sanitizer & will possibly forgo the speciality vendor soaps in the privies & instead use the regular stuff.  I'd highly suggest trying not to touch people as much as possible.  I know it can be a problem when we're booty to booty on the benches but, for example, if approached by any merchants or their 'try this' people, I'm going to try & not have any physical contact.  Yes, I will still hug my children 

Anyone know if you can wipe down a wooden mug with a bleach wipe?

[CatAshtrophy]

Fort Worth ISD (a bit north of Waxahachie) has closed down the whole district until May 8. Other districts in the north Texas area have closed down some schools as well. The districts recommend that children not go to group daycare settings when the schools have been closed.

I still plan to be at Scarby. I'll just be making sure I do an even better job of washing my hands, and I wont share drinks with people.

[Wolfden]

I would not recommend using bleach on a wooden mug, even one that has been sealed with a food grade polyurethane. The chlorine reacts with water and becomes very acidic dissolving the coating and penetrating the wood. Plain soap and water works just as well for washing mugs as it does on your hands, and overuse of hand sanitizer can actually increase your risk of contracting a virus. The sanitizing agent (usually Triclosan) is found in almost all soap products today and viruses and bacteria have become very resistant to it. Ordinary soap and water won't kill the germs but it does remove them from your hands and washes them down the drain. Lather and scrub your hands for 45 - 60 seconds and you should be good. Use a paper towel to turn the faucet on/off so you do not reinfect your hands. I certainly recommend frequent hand washing and cleaning of any drinking vessels since swine flu, or any flu for that matter, is usually contracted by touching an infected surface then rubbing your eyes or touching your nose and mouth. Keep in mind that viruses are inhibited or destroyed by heat, humidity and especially the UV rays in sunlight, all things found in abundance at Scarby. Since we usually carry our mugs on our belts they are exposed all day to sunlight which will effectively sanitize them better than any chemical.

I spent many years as a paramedic and have seen and been exposed to many infectious outbreaks so here is my advice: Keep the swine flu scare in perspective, it is really no worse than the more common forms of influenza we deal with every year.

[sapphire_skye01]

Thank you for this post.

[Blue66669]

Seriously....

The pigs aren't dying.... why should I be afraid??

*someone pass me the loki, cuz i heard once that nothing can live in an alcohol environment LOL*

[DonaCatalina]

The Scare is almost worse then the Flu.
http://www.cdc.gov/

What should I do to keep from getting the flu?
First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
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
Fever with a rash
In 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

[lilaney]

simple precautions will save many.

Stuff we all learned along the way in life.
~Cover your coughes and sneezes
~Wash your hands

The difference with this flu and others is not much.
There is G.I. issues and this one spreads FAST.

Please be aware of your own body. If you feel poorly, trust me the faire will be here next weekend.
*Hugs*
Take care of yourselves and see you out there!

[Cobaltblu]

I noticed late last night the WHO raised the pandemic alert to 5 which means an imminent worldwide pandemic and the virus has spread all around the world based on a recent outbreak map.

I don't know if that means anything since we always hear politicians and governments and organizations issuing alerts with alarming language but when they are questioned they always tell people to live their normal life and try not to overreact.

If you raise an alert to "imminent worldwide pandemic" level, the way I read that is people should board up their windows and buy guns and canned foods and go live up in the mountains.

But on a lighter note a plague or pandemic fits in with the atmosphere of the renaissance/medieval times.

They say we are getting out of the flu season which is good but TRF is in the winter when flu starts to spread again so who knows maybe cast members will wear surgical masks.

The big question is whether hoards of people (hundreds of thousands) will even want to congregate together in open spaces such as renaissance faires in Texas which has swine flu cases and is right next to the mexican border (I already heard of many schools closing in Texas).

Regards,

CB

[SirRichardBear]

Interesting study showed that people that use hand sanitizer are three times as likely to get sick than those that just use hot water and regular soap.   Comman sense is the best medicine no reason to be afraid of the person next to you freash air, sunshine, Hot Water and regular soap all work wonders against things like the flu.

Many of us older folks survived the days before the 24 hour news day when they didn't close schools and parks etc just because the flu was going around.

[Capt Gabriela Fullpepper]

The MAJOR issue with this flu is the Media. In 1976 they started a huge scare with H1N1 aka Swine flu that did nothing. In 1999/2000 they caused a HUGE scare with Y2K... Nothing bad happened. In 2004 they caused a HUGE scare with West Nile and it went no where.

The media is doing no one favors on this causing the scare. As SirRichardBear said wash your hands, stay healthy, drink plenty of liquids. The facts of the matter is excatly HOW many people have caught this flu and how many have died in relationship. How many where young, old or already sick. The 23 month old baby that died in Texas was visiting from Mexica and had been sick prior to catching this flu. Ad the little boy in Mexico that the news agencies reported on was sick for three days and recovered just fine. No one is doing justice and giving 100% of the facts. Also and I am not being racist here is many down south are not clean. Having done post construction cleaning on homes and business you would be grossed out by how many of them will leave body waste in the corner of a home. Or NOT wash hands after going to the bathroom. OH it's not above them to spit on a door knob to get revenge on us gringo's. The fact of the matter is keeping yourself clean, and healthy.

Don't let the media scare the daylights out of you.

Any flu can kill you, it doesn't take Swine flu. Heck even the common cold can kill you if your not healty, or you are sick, old or young.

[Capt. Morgan]

Instead of Purell, why not use something a tad more of "the time period" (give or take a few hundred years) 

Vinegar of the Four Thieves...According to herbalist Elizabeth Kastner:

"During the height of the plague in France in 1721, it was discovered that the homes of disease victims were being ransacked. At first, no effort was made to find the criminals, since all knew they were fools, soon to die of the plague.

"As time went on, it became apparent that the thieves were continuing in their raids... and quite inexplicably, avoiding falling victim to the disease. Soon, they became highly sought -- not due to their crimes, but in an effort to learn their secret.

"When they were finally captured, they refused to speak until a bargain was offered: remain silent and hang. Divulge the secret to their resistance to the deadly plague and walk away.

"It seems that the mother of several of the boys was a midwife and had a recipe which used plants which were easily wildcrafted... yet, she knew that this would change immediately if anyone learned the formula, so she swore her children to secrecy. Her sons saved their necks and shared the recipe for the disinfectant, which is still used in France to this day."

Four Thieves Vinegar Recipe: Use equal parts of the following herbs:
Lavender
Sage
Thyme
Melissa (lemon balm)
Hyssop
Peppermint
A handful of garlic cloves

Blend ingredients in a glass jar and cover completely with organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, which is available in most health food stores. Cold infuse (let sit at room temperature in a cool place) for six weeks and then strain off herbs and garlic.

You can also use it as a topical spray to disinfect surfaces -- including skin -- and/or you can take it as a tincture. All of the ingredients in Four Thieves Vinegar are either potent antibacterials or antivirals!

[captmarga]

Interesting study showed that people that use hand sanitizer are three times as likely to get sick than those that just use hot water and regular soap.   Comman sense is the best medicine no reason to be afraid of the person next to you freash air, sunshine, Hot Water and regular soap all work wonders against things like the flu.

Many of us older folks survived the days before the 24 hour news day when they didn't close schools and parks etc just because the flu was going around.

Any Mayfest... it's been canceled this weekend due to the scare. 

One would think Mayfest is cursed - but it's just because it's in May, I guess.  I remember The Hailstorm which pounded it a decade ago. 

Capt. Marga

[Broadside]

[Nicolas-Antoine]

Interesting study showed that people that use hand sanitizer are three times as likely to get sick than those that just use hot water and regular soap.   Comman sense is the best medicine no reason to be afraid of the person next to you freash air, sunshine, Hot Water and regular soap all work wonders against things like the flu.

Many of us older folks survived the days before the 24 hour news day when they didn't close schools and parks etc just because the flu was going around.

So true - we have become such an overly used antibiotic society that we are killing our body's natural ability to fight infection.

[Bonny Pearl]

I noticed late last night the WHO raised the pandemic alert to 5 which means an imminent worldwide pandemic and the virus has spread all around the world based on a recent outbreak map.

I don't know if that means anything since we always hear politicians and governments and organizations issuing alerts with alarming language but when they are questioned they always tell people to live their normal life and try not to overreact.

If you raise an alert to "imminent worldwide pandemic" level, the way I read that is people should board up their windows and buy guns and canned foods and go live up in the mountains.

But on a lighter note a plague or pandemic fits in with the atmosphere of the renaissance/medieval times.

They say we are getting out of the flu season which is good but TRF is in the winter when flu starts to spread again so who knows maybe cast members will wear surgical masks.

The big question is whether hoards of people (hundreds of thousands) will even want to congregate together in open spaces such as renaissance faires in Texas which has swine flu cases and is right next to the mexican border (I already heard of many schools closing in Texas).

Regards,

CB

From what I understand, the reason for WHO raising to a level 5 was a 'heads up' for poorer countries and to officially ramp up production of the drugs needed.