Time to panic?? - SEE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM

I am certain that I am not the only person being bombarded with images of mask-clad adults scurrying through deserted city streets. Add to that the headlines being broadcast everywhere you go and the serious tone to the questions floating through the Twittersphere and on Facebook and you have a small situation reaching near mass-hysterical proportions.

Yes, I am writing about “Swine Flu.” You can imagine the fear-laced emails I have been receiving from new parents who are terrified about what to do with their babies. They have gone out of their way to keep their foetus safe through the pregnancy and birth and now they have this potential health care crisis looming over their heads.

Certainly I want to stress that the people who are at the greatest risk of developing this illness are the SAME group who are vulnerable at any other time a flu-bug passes through your community: infants, the elderly and the infirm.

Does this mean you should close the blinds, lock the doors and avoid answering the phone? Absolutely not! What I encourage you to do is to respect the needs of your baby above the wants of other people.

When you go out, don’t leave your baby in the car seat. This creates an atmosphere where people feel invited to greet your baby, touch him and pinch his little bunches of fat near the knees. Put your baby in your sling. Despite a desperately misinformed article on the Yummy Mummy site recently, ring slings are PERFECTLY safe if you know how to use them (just like most anything) and babies are kept away from the hands of strangers.

Wash your hands often and with soap and water, NOT hand-sanitizer or anti-bacterial soap (AB soap). The FDA was quick, in 2005, to point out that the AB soaps in homes are no more effective then traditional soap and, due to the chemicals found in said AB soaps have the possibility of being more dangerous then regular bars of soap.

And if you need an argument against using hand-sanitizer then you need only Google “what are the dangers of hand sanitizers” and you will start to see some of the risks associated with ingestion of the alcohol and Triclosan found in it. (Here is an example from Snopes) If you use it to protect yourself because you have been somewhere where you are at a noticeably increased risk, i.e.: a hospital emergency room, then be sure to wash your hands with regular soap and water immediately afterwards.

Another simple way to protect your baby, other than avoiding travel to areas where the numbers of infected are particularly high, is to breastfeed your baby. Remember, your baby tells your body what they need protection from and antibodies to. If you are breastfeeding then you will begin making the necessary antibodies very quickly for your exposed child. This isn’t just about Swine Flu either. Breastfeeding increases protection from any and all of the illnesses your family may come in contact with. Not breastfeeding puts your baby in an elevated risk category.

Ultimately, exercise caution. Go out into the world and soak up some sunshine. Walk through the tress and along the paths where buds are just forming on the branches. Savour the smells of the freshly blooming spring flowers. Avoid spending all of your time inside. At the end of it all remember, don’t panic. And when you get home, wash your hands.

*** RECENT ARTICLE BY DR. JAY GORDON ABOUT H1N1, SEPTEMBER 01, 2009 IS ANOTHER BRILLIANT EXAMPLE ABOUT WHY NOT TO PANIC ABOUT THIS ILLNESS!!! ***

Posted by Sam