H1N1 Virus

Thanks to Cindy, a KM mom, for passing this onto me. She got this from New Dawn Midwifery here in Asheville. While long, it's very informative and has a great recipe for making your own elderberry syrup................................

H1N1 is a new virus and people younger than age 60 do not have immunity against this virus, so it is expected to spread easily between people.

As of early September 2009, there are 500+ cases at Cornell University, with several hospitalizations, including one death.

Flu risks in pregnancy:
If early pregnant with severe respiratory illness, risk of miscarriage or premature birth increases.
If later pregnant with severe respiratory illness, a smaller lung capacity can make respiratory symptoms worse.
This flu is more virulent for the young and adults for possible secondary bacterial infections and respiratory failure.
Six percent of confirmed fatal 2009 H1N1 cases thus far have been in pregnant women while only less than 1% of the general population is pregnant.
Flu during pregnancy increases risks in offspring of later developing schizophrenia.

Flu symptoms:
Fever
Muscle aches
Fatigue
Cough
Sore throat
Loss of appetite
Runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

The flu is contagious for about 7 days, or if sicker longer, until 24 hours after clearing of fever.

Pregnant women, call your health care provider if:
You have been exposed to anyone with flu symptoms.
You have any flu symptoms. Please call the first day so that you will have the option of getting the best effect if you choose to use Tamiflu.

Emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Fast breathing or difficulty breathing
Bluish or gray skin color
Unable to drink enough fluids (8 cups/day)
Severe or persistent vomiting
Not waking up or not interacting
In children, being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with fever and worse cough

Primary flu prevention:
As with all health care, your healthy behaviors are the most important factor in maintaining your and your family's health. Her are some ideas:

1. Wash hands for 20 seconds with soap after contact with others and before eating.
2. There is some evidence that hand washing with Hibiclens 4% soap, available at pharmacies, maintains an anti-microbial film on the skin that kills flu viruses up to 6 hours thereafter. Washing in the morning and at lunch can provide all-day protection for workers involved in public service.
3. Avoid using shared hand towels. Use paper towels or air dry hands.
4. Avoid sharing water bottles or glasses, utensils or toothbrushes, or sharing food such as licks of an ice cream cone or finishing another person's leftovers.
5. Cover face with tissue when coughing or sneezing, toss tissue, then wash hands.
6. Obviously, keep tissues strategically throughout your environment or in your pocket.
7. If you don't have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your elbow.
8. Develop habits to avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth when you haven't recently washed your hands.
9. To maintain a healthy immune system, eat a healthy, balanced diet with fruits and vegetables, get good rest, and practice stress reduction.
10. Teach these behaviors to your children.
11. Stay home or keep your children home if having flu symptoms until 24 hours after fever resolves without the influence of fever-reducing medications.
12. Medicines such as antiviral Tamiflu may reduce symptoms and make transmission to others less likely, especially if begun within 2 days of onset of symptoms; this is considered safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, some H1N1 flu strains have become resistant to antiviral medication.
13. Breastfeeding newborns can be protective. Wash hands before and after breastfeeding to lower transmission between mother and baby.
14. If having symptoms, use a face mask when going to see your health care provider; otherwise, stay home.

Natural care products:
Start natural care with the first onset of flu symptoms. Get prepared now.
Warning: Echinacea has not been more effective than a placebo in most randomized trials.
Warning: Zicam or zinc nose sprays/gels have been associated with loss of smell.
Zinc works best when taken regularly (every two hours), using 10 milligrams of elemental zinc per lozenge for not longer than 3 days. Not recommended for children.
Vitamin C: keep it under 2000 mg per day. Try sipping Emergen-C throughout the day.
Garlic is known to boost the immune system and prevent secondary infections such as ear infections, bronchitis, and sinusitis: eat one raw clove twice daily when fighting colds and flu. Do not eat plain! It is yummy to crush fresh clove over most main courses, on salads, in salsa, on potatoes with butter or olive oil, or spread on toast with butter or olive oil.

Elderberry cut the flu duration in half in one small randomized trial. My experience with elderberry has been wonderful, as when it seemed a cold or flu was starting, elderberry ended it before much could happen. I have used elderberry juice from fresh fruits, but a syrup can be made from dried fruits. Look for sources of juice, syrup or dried berries online. Make some syrup now to have throughout the flu season:

Elderberry syrup recipe
1 cup dried berries
3 cups filtered water
1 1/2 cups honey
1 ounce fresh ginger root, grated
Juice of 1 lime

Combine berries, ginger and water in stainless steel or glass pot. Heat on medium until simmering. Continue to gently simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour, or until reduced in volume by half. Remove from heat. Allow decoction to cool slightly. Strain well through cheesecloth, squeezing the juice from the berries. Measure liquid and combine with equal parts honey. Reheat to light boil. Add all the lime juice. Pour into glass jar, date, and store in the refrigerator for up to a year.

Take one tablespoon 2-3x/ day daily during the cold and flu season. For children ages 2-5, use half the adult dose. Dose for ages 6-12 is two teaspoons twice daily. Nursing mothers can take one tablespoon 5 minutes before nursing to pass the benefits along to the baby.

About the H1N1 vaccine:
It is a separate vaccine from the regular seasonal flu vaccine. Both of these vaccines are recommended by the CDC for pregnant women.
H1N1 vaccine will be given in one dose.
The immune response gives protection against flu about 8-10 days after vaccination.
It will be available in mid-October.
It is believed that getting the vaccine in pregnancy will provide some protection for the baby in the first 6 months of life.
It is considered by the CDC to be safe in pregnancy in any trimester.
This vaccine is produced in exactly the same manner as the seasonal flu vaccine and is considered to have a similar safety profile. Serious adverse events with vaccines are so rare, cannot be seen in the smaller clinical trials conducted.

Pregnant women must get the vaccine injection from single dose vial to avoid thymerisol preservative of multidose vial. The flu mist spray is attenuated virus and cannot be given to pregnant women, children under 2, or adults with asthma. This vaccine is made with egg culture, so if there is an egg allergy, the vaccine should not be given.

Risk groups recommended for H1N1 vaccination:
Pregnant women
Care providers of children less than 6 months of age (mothers, fathers, grandparents, daycare providers)
Children over 6 months of age and young adults up to age 24
Adults age 25-64 who have medical risks such as asthma, diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, etc.
Health care workers

Links of interest:
http://www.flu.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance/pregnant.htm
http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/news/20090729/pregnancy-ups-swine-flu-death-risk
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160539.php