New Swine Flu Guidelines for Colleges, Work

Aug. 20, 2009 — Health officials want colleges, universities, and businesses to get up to speed on how to deal with swine flu this fall and winter.

The CDC today released new guidelines for colleges and universities about how to handle H1N1 swine flu, and yesterday issued guidelines for businesses that may find themselves short-staffed due to swine flu.

Swine Flu at Colleges and Universities

Apart from swine flu prevention tips that apply to everyone — such as washing your hands, coughing into a tissue or your sleeve, cleaning shared surfaces like doorknobs, and staying home when you’re sick — the CDC has specific recommendations for college students living on campus.

The key guideline is for people with flu-like illness to avoid other people until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more, or signs of fever, without use of fever-reducing medicines.

That means not going to classes, not going out to meals, not socializing in person, and avoiding close contact such as kissing, sharing eating or drinking utensils, or having other contact that would make it easy for the H1N1 virus to spread. The basic idea is to stay at least 6 feet away from people the sick person lives with.

Some students may have their own dorm rooms or temporarily move to a private home off campus. But if they have roommates, the CDC says the sick person should stay at least 6 feet away from people they live with and wear a surgical mask if close contact can’t be avoided, and that shared bathrooms be avoided or cleaned frequently.

The CDC encourages colleges and universities to plan the solutions that would work best for their own particular situation and suggests considering setting up temporary, alternate housing — such as a gym — where sick students can recover.

To make that easier, the CDC suggests enlisting a friend to help out as a swine flu “buddy” who can bring in food, class notes, and other necessities.

Young adults have been hard hit by swine flu. The CDC advises college-age students to  to find out if they’ve got high risk conditions that could make swine flu more severe.

Managing Swine Flu at Work

The CDC’s swine flu guidance for businesses and employers focuses on preparing for people to be out sick — and on reassuring staff that staying home won’t cost them their job.

As with college students, the CDC’s main point is that workers with flu-like symptoms should stay home and not come back to work until at least 24 hours after they are free of a fever, or signs of a fever, without using fever-reducing medicines.

The CDC also urges employers to come up with flexible leave policies, in case workers need to stay home and care for a child who is sick or whose school or child care program has closed due to swine flu.

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Although these guidlenes are comprehensive, they leave out an essential new tool in decreasing risk of the spread of Swine Flu. This is a washable keyboard. This is a waterproof, durable , heavy duty keyboard that is simple to clean. Becasue keyboards can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria, it’s important to keep them clean. The can be purchased at wetkeys.com. 

I was watching CNN (The Situation Room) last night, then checked Bloomberg News and the Center for Disease Control website and saw that Swine Flu is definitely coming. They are talking about school closing to control contamination.

I am so glad I heard about the sale at wetkeys.com. I purchased my washable keyboard, and purchased one for my kid as well for 50% off. This will help keep us disease free during these scary times. These are durable, waterproof, silicon keyboards that can be cleaned with soap and water as often as necessary.   

CNN says Swine Flu is coming and it’s going to be bad for kids this back to school season. I am so glad I purchased my kids washable keyboards at wetkeys.com on sale at 50% off.

This durable, waterproof, silicon keyboard is an important part of keeping your kids healthy. Also, advise your kids not to share their keyboards.   

Bloomberg — Swine flu vaccines under development by drugmakers may not provide immunity until the last week of November, too late to hold off outbreaks triggered by infected students returning to schools in the U.S. and Europe.

Just 45 million of 195 million doses ordered for the U.S. will be delivered by mid-October, said health officials who lowered their estimates yesterday. The vaccine will probably require two shots given three weeks apart, and the body won’t produce antibodies for two additional weeks, according to an Aug. 7 report by the Department of Health and Human Services.

H1N1 has reached more than 170 countries and territories in the four months since being identified, the Geneva-based World Health Organization said.

Protection Priorities

Authorities want to ensure adequate supplies to protect health-care workers, pregnant women, people at risk of developing severe complications from flu and children, whose close contact in tightly packed schoolrooms and in other social settings makes them the biggest spreaders of the virus.

Part of the U.S. plan to vaccinate children is to encourage state and local health departments to set up school-based vaccine clinics. In the U.K., most shots will be given by family doctors and nurses who provide routine health care including seasonal flu shots, according to the Department of Health.

Schools that arrange in-house immunizations will face logistical hurdles, said Mel Riddile, the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ associate director for high school services in the U.S. Riddile, a former principal at a Fairfax County, Virginia, high school, said it typically took a month just for all 2,500 students to turn in their emergency medical information forms at the beginning of the school year.

Along with hand washing, washable keyboards are a great way to help stay protected against viruses, such as the flu. Since keyboards are the other thing you touch all day, being able to wash and disinfect them helps decrease harmful germ contamination. Get a washable keyboard at WETKEYS.com. 

Swine Flu Shots May Be Too Little, Too Late to Halt Outbreaks

WETKEYS “How to Clean” FAQ

 If you know how to wash your hands with soap and water, washing your keyboard can be just as easy. Please consult our

 WETKEYS.com offers many brands of computer accessories.Please refer to the specific product manufacturers’ information for details on how best to clean a particular item.  Always observe the preparation instructions and use of all cleaning fluids and wear the appropriate protective clothing, rubber gloves or safety glasses as necessary.

 Note:  In order to maintain sanitary conditions, your keyboard and mouse should be washed prior to initial use.  It is also important to wash a keyboard and mouse on a regularly scheduled interval appropriate for your use environment. 

 General Washing Instructions

         1.     Log out and turn OFF the POWER to your computer if your product is corded (not wireless).  Wireless units can be washed with batteries inside - be sure to disable the connection to the computer or accidental keystrokes may enter or delete important data.

         2.     Disconnect the Keyboard / Mouse. (If you are using a USB - PS/2 adapter, please remove it completely before cleaning.)

3.       It is important that before you wash a CORDED product you ensure that the USB Plug (connector) is safely away from the sink and remains dry.

4.       Clean the surface of the product by wiping, gently brushing, spraying or dipping it. DO NOT “SOAK” Units.  Use only rags, sponges or soft bristle brushes. DO NOT USE ANY BUFFING PADS, SCRUBBING PADS OR OTHER ABRASIVE CLEANERS.

DO NOT place the USB or PS/2 connector into the fluid.

5.       Either wipe with dry cloth or shake gently and allow to air dry.  Never hang a keyboard or mouse by its cord or damage to the watertight seal can occur.

6.       Reconnect the keyboard/mouse.

7.       Restart Computer.

 Best Practice Wash Procedure For Healthcare.

 Read more about how to clean your keyboard. 

Anyone seen the sale at wetkeys.com? Awesome washable, flexible, heavy duty keyboard is 50% off while supplies last!

Not only is this durable, waterproof, silicon keyboard a steal but it helps maintain a clean environment by being an easily cleanable sanitary keyboard. Treat your children to a healthy gadget for back to  school!

I don’t know about you but I do everything I can as a parent to keep my kids from getting sick, and back to school season seems to coincide with flu season every year. To help fight against getting sick, I purchase all kinds of healthy stuff for my kids.

One of these things is a washable keyboard. This is a waterproof, heavy duty,  sanitary, silicon keyboard. You or your kids can just wipe it down with antibacterial soap when it gets dirty. This is especially important when a shared keyboard is involved, which is a great breeding ground for harmful germs and bacteria. I got mine at wetkeys.com.

Have you seen the sale on washable full size keyboards at wetkeys.com? These are heavy  duty, waterproof, silicon keyboards that are flexible keyboards. You can wash them as often as you like.

These keyboards are on sale for 50% off while supplies last, so you should order one as soon as possible. They make great back to school gifts and help in remaining flu and cold free because they’re washable.

If you are concerned about your kids getting sick, then one thing you can do to help prevent illness is buying a washable keyboard. This is a durable, waterproof, silicon keyboard that can be washed as often as necessary.

These are especially important when keyboards are shared, like at school. When it comes to your kids, take every precaution necessary. Get yours at wetkeys.com today.

Back-to-school Swine Flu (H1N1) precautions and treatment

August 14, 6:26 AMLA Parenting ExaminerRebecca Lacko

With summer winding down and schools preparing to reopen, another possible H1N1 virus outbreak poses a threat to the 6-24 year old age group which the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has targeted as being at high risk for contracting the virus.

At this time, the CDC does not consider novel H1N1 “swine” flu to be more dangerous than other types of seasonal flu, but it does state that the disease burden of swine flu is greater on young people. 

Dr. Martha Howard offers parents her advice for effective ways to protect children from getting the disease.

Avoid close contact with sick people. Dr. Howard advises children carry tissues and hand sanitizer, and know how to use them: Sneeze or cough into the tissue, throw it in the wastebasket (not on the desk); Put a dime size blob of hand sanitizer on hands and rub together until dry. She also warns against children sharing drinks or food, and not to touch their eyes nose or mouth with their hands. 

Vaccination Precautions Dr. Howard says it is not wise to receive swine flu vaccination for grade school children at this time. “There are generally about 100 child deaths per year in the United States from flu. Even if that is doubled by swine flu, I do not feel it is worth the risk of exposing your child to possible long-term problems with immunity,” she reports.

• The vaccines being developed are to contain the “adjuvant”—a chemical that induces greater immune response—squalene, which is known to cause a harmful immune response in rats resembling rheumatoid arthritis.
• There are currently no other vaccines containing squalene that have been approved for use in the United States.

Natural and Homeopathic Alternatives A recent study reported in American Family Physician Journal (August 2009), showed that elderly patients taking 600 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) twice daily over the flu season were much less likely to have clinical influenza illness (29% vs. 51% of controls), and when they did have it, episodes were much less severe. In addition, cell mediated immunity was improved in the people receiving NAC, and not in the controls.

Dr. Howard recommends giving children N-acetylcysteine in a dose that is proportional by weight to the adult dose of 600 milligrams twice a day. (A 70 pound child would be given 300 milligrams twice a day. A 35 pound child would be given 150 milligrams twice a day, and so on. For children under 2, consult a physician.)

Treatment for Children who Contract the Virus Dr. Howard recommends supportive treatment: rest, fluids, and Chinese herbs.

• The combination of two readily available formulas, Zhong Gan Ling and Yin Chiao Chieh Du Pian (both available online) is effective for treating flu.
• Keep children home if they are sick for 7 days after symptoms begin or until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer. This is to keep from infecting others and spreading the virus further.

 Emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention, according to the CDC:

• 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

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Great article here but one important tip missing. Another health precaution for back to schoolers is a washable heavy duty silicon keyboard from WETKEYS. This item is a waterproof cleanable keyboard, from which germs can easily be wiped away without damaging it. Go to wetkeys.com for yours today.