Are you ready for the H1N1 virus?

Pick up a newspaper or news and youâ € ™ ll see all sorts of titles on the H1N1 virus. The lack of vaccines has been the main story of the end, and this issue has overshadowed other key messages.

As owner small business, I wondered how I could continue running things if I got sick of H1N1. In this spirit, have adopted some principles and thought Iâ € ™ d share some of these tips with you.

• Washing your hands is an absolute must, and must be done well. I recently been watching a program and realized that the time taken to wash hands is important. All lathering and rinsing is not good enough. Wash thoroughly, as long as it takes to sing a œHappy birthdayA € € is requested.

• Get the habit of sneezing and coughing in your sleeve. is a difficult question for me to adopt, but I make a conscious effort to remember.

• Encourage children to avoid putting their fingers in their mouth â € "which can be difficult to do but it is worth trying.

• Have you considered who will stay home with your children if they fall ill? A Having your children go to school when they are sick is a no-no.

• Check your medicine cabinet to ensure your pain and fever drugs are not expired, and replace them if they are. Stock up on tissues. It may also be a good idea to buy plain biscuits and soup chicken and noodles, just in case!

• Keep hand sanitizer in your car, purse or briefcase for disinfection fast runner. They are very cheap, to ensure that each member of your family has one.

• Last but not least, as important that work is – and the thousand and one things that we have to do – we must all stay at home if we are experiencing flu-like symptoms.

With proper precautions, we can all weather this storm. Wishing you good health.

About the Author

Opal Rowe is the founder of Nowhere Like Home a home-care service provider located in the Greater Toronto Area that is committed to enhancing the lives of seniors. To find out more about how seniors can live independently at home, visit http://www.NowhereLikeHome.ca or email ORowe@NowhereLikeHome.ca