Healthy Leaders

Happy Breathing!

From Dr. Vinay Goyal who is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) with over 20 years of clinical experience. Presently, he is heading Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre. The following message given by him sure makes a lot of sense and seems like it could be important for all of us to know, particularly if you have young ones under your care.

The only portals of entry into the body are the nostrils and mouth/throat. The H1N1 virus which has now spread world wide is reaching global epidemic proportions. It is almost impossible to not come into contact with H1N1 in spite of all your precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not as much of a problem as proliferation. In order to prevent proliferation while you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection (namely, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections) there are some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, that are quite effective and can be practiced in a simple manner:

1. Frequent hand-washing (has been well highlighted in all official communications).

2.  Observe the "Keep your Hands off the face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap someone).

3.  Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't like salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. So whip it while you are still healthy. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4.  Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population. The are saline nasal washes for over the counter purchase.

5.  Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (like citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6.  Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throatinto the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.