I am not quite sure whether my constant sneezing is caused by pollen or by a flu virus. I prefer pollen.
I am not ignorant and know that H1N1 has caught much attention these days because people are getting sick or dying. I was not so worried until Mama called and emailed and highly suggested me to wear a facemask outdoors.
Naturally she is worried, especially bombed by panic-promoting Taiwanese media as often as 24/7.
Therefore, I took a look at the news source, WHO, and directly copied and pasted this message from the WHO website:
"As of 0600 GMT, 3 May 2009, 17 countries have officially reported 787 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection.
Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths. The higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.
The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (70), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (6), Ireland (1), Israel (3), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (15)".
Let me direct you the US stats data at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
It says that as of May 3, 2009, 11:00 AM ET, there are 7 cases confirmed in New Jersey and 63 cases in New York.
So... what should I do? Do I follow what CDC recommends?
1. Wash my hands. ---- I do after walking through the hospital to get food in the cafeteria. I do before eating.
2. Stay in good general health. ---- I think I do except for the seasonal sneezing. The trees, however, are too beautiful to be cut dead entirely by my limited power.
3. Get plenty of sleep. ---- I have slept quite a lot recently. It is also seasonal. One of my allergic reaction is getting drowsy easily. I fell asleep while reading Angels and Demons (because I liked Da Vinci Code) or One Piece (Japanese manga 海賊王). Both were supposed to keep a reader awake.
4. Be physically active. ---- I take walks, practice yoga, and try to tango at least once a week. I am being lazy recently, however, because I am drowsy.
5. Manage my stress. ---- I did have some stress before April 29. But I am fine and happy now.
6. Drink plenty of fluids. ---- Coffee, tea, and water are my life. I also celebrated May 1 by having half bottle of wine followed by a dizzy head carrying a smiley face. I also bought half dozen of the seasonal selection of Blue Moon! This is my favorite beer of 2009.
7. Eat nutritious food. ---- I had much fruit and milk this week. Kim and Chris cooked tasty Indian food with chicken and various veggies on the last day of my postdoc fellowship. The wine I just mentioned was going very well with the Sicilian style rib eye steak served in a fine restaurant in my neighborhood. It immediately became my favorite steak of 2009. Yes, I also had much chocolate and green tea ice cream recently. They were all very nutritious.
8. Try not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. ---- This rule is difficult to follow because how I would know whether a surface is contaminated. And try not to touch it? Alright, alright I will try very very hard. No touch at all.
9. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. ---- How close is close? Um... I do shake hands with stroke patients. They are sick indeed, but I cannot avoid them. I promise I will wash hands before rubbing my eyes.
My conclusion is that wearing a facemask to work or to take a walk is overreacting to the current situation, Mama.
However, I did not go to a tango practica today. The reasons are that I woke up with a series of sneezes and felt a bit under weather, and that it has been raining. It will be a pain for me to hold an umbrella with constant sneezes so that I am not able to hold the umbrella still, which condition may attract attention inducing thoughts in people's head that "This girl is sick, and we should avoid close contact with her", and I will get no leader to dance with me.
Be calm and continue your usual life style with an further healthier habits. We will be fine.
