Make Healthy Habits a Part of Your Routine October 8, 2009 - “Taking a few simple, common-sense precautions is still the most important thing you can do to keep from getting either seasonal or novel H1N1 flu – or spreading it to others,” says Mary Servis, RN, Rainy Lake Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer. The Minnesota Department of Health recommends the following: Stay home from work or school – and generally avoid going out in public – if you are sick with symptoms of the flu. Cover your nose and mouth with your sleeve or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Clean your hands frequently and thoroughly – with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer solution. Get vaccinated against the flu. Avoid contact with others who may be ill. Clean your hands after shaking hands or having other close contact with others and before eating or preparing food, or touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Be aware of the symptoms of H1N1 flu – which are generally the same as those for seasonal flu. H1N1 symptoms include fever of 100 degrees or more with sore throat or cough. H1N1 symptoms may also include runny or stuffy nose body aches headache chills fatigue In some cases, symptoms of novel H1N1 can also include vomiting and diarrhea – which are not typically symptoms of seasonal flu. If you are an employer, encourage your employees to stay home if they are sick with flu symptoms. In general, if you are ill with flu symptoms, stay home from work, school or other places where people gather until 24 hours after your fever subsides. Stricter guidelines apply to children or staff in day care settings or early education programs attended by children under five years of age. In programs serving children under five, children and staff with flu symptoms should stay home until seven days after their symptoms first appeared – or 24 hours after their symptoms go away – whichever is longer. The stricter child care recommendations also apply to facilities where children under five and older children are both present, unless the two groups – as well as staff who interact with them – can be kept separate. Contact your health care provider if you are severely ill with flu symptoms, or if you have flu symptoms and you are pregnant, or you have an underlying health problem or condition. If you decide you need to talk to a health care provider, take steps to avoid exposing others to the flu: Call first to see if you need to actually see your provider in person. If you do need to see your provider, steps can be taken to avoid exposing other patients to the flu.