Commonsense Pandemic Influenza Planning

Is there any practical pandemic influenza planning that you can do to protect yourself and you family from a sudden and incredibly contagious illness, such an ebola virus or the bird flu? Well, the first thing you can do is stop worrying about it. The odds of a pandemic happening anywhere in the world, let alone Europe or North America, are less than you dying in your bathroom. If you need proof, check out a study done by MIT scientists that came out in April, 2008 "American Journal of Public Health".

Emergencies Happen

However, just because you can go lax on pandemic influenza planning, doesn’t mean that you are safe and sound from any other emergencies. Some health agencies, emergency services and highway managers have praised Bush's 2005 bird flu protection plan – even though bird flu has turned out to be less threatening than getting killed in an aardvark stampede. This helped the country to think of getting help and aid to all of its citizens whenever a disaster strikes.

Stock Those Shelves

Pandemic influenza planning can be seen as emergency planning. For yourself and you family, you should always have some things on hand, just in case. These include:

A few days worth of fresh water for you and your pets
Extra flashlight and batteries
Battery-powered radio
First aid kit
A week's worth of tinned food for you and your pets

In this way, you can at least hole up in your house (or what's left of it) and wait for emergency services to arrive. In the pandemic influenza planning proposals, your home may be quarantined, which is another reason you would need the stockpile of food and water.

Turn Your Head And Cough

If you are wondering about pandemic influenza planning in your area, be sure to look it up on the web. Chances are, there won't be anything you don’t already know. Medical experts who study pandemic flu information advise people that the best way to combat any strain of sickness is with frequent hand washing, drinking plenty of fluids, not smoking and being generally in good health.
Other tips include always covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, try to stay away from sick people and getting enough sleep. Just getting enough sleep can insure that your body has the strength to fight an invading cell. By practicing a good diet, exercise and hygiene, you are already pandemic influenza planning.