The news is full of alerts about the swine flu now. It is now credited with 103 deaths in Mexico and has been slowly spreading to the US. It has been reported in 5 states including California, Texas and New York.
Hopefully it will be contained here before it becomes a major concern but since it does appear to be a serious strain of flu, I want to alert my readers. As we get older, our immune systems are not as strong but most of us Baby Boomers are still healthy enough that the flu would just be a very unpleasant illness.
The main reason I’m writing this post is that so many of us now are caregivers for parents who are now in their 80′s and even 90′s who may not be able to fight off a severe case of this flu strain. My mother is now 89 and she already has enough health problems that I worry this flu would be too much for her.
For their benefit we need to take what precautions we can to avoid catching the flu and passing it to them. Right now all we can do is wash our hands often in hot water and be observant when we are out in public. Try to avoid people with coughs and cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze.
These are just common sense but it amazes me how many people act like they don’t have any sense at all these days.
If you or your parents do start showing symptoms (fever, cough, body aches), you may want to contact your doctor. At present, Tamiflu seems to be effective at treating these early cases in the US.
I hope this threat will be over soon because this time of year we all want to get out and travel. Wash your hands and enjoy the good weather.
