ABC's On Flu & Colds- How To Keep From Getting Them

" Nearly every adult in America has had a bout with the flu. And once you get knocked down by influenza, you're flat on your back.
No single malady keeps more people out of work, and even the combined muscle of big business, science and government hasn't been enough to crush this microscopic troublemaker. Vaccines have progressed in flu prevention, but the closest we've seen to a cure is chicken soup and a hug.

How the flu spreads

Like all viruses, influenza needs a host in order to survive and multiply. The flu spreads from one person to another when tiny droplets of contaminated saliva are airborne by a cough or a sneeze. Hanging in the air, they find a new home when inhaled into an unsuspecting host.
Flu virus can also survive for several hours on a surface—telephone handset, a copying machine, a doorknob, a screwdriver—before a host comes along, gets the virus on his or her hands and then internalizes the virus by touching the eyes, nose or mouth.
Its possible to pass the flu along 24 hours before you even exhibit symptoms. The virus has a quick incubation period, and most people will fall ill within one to three days of becoming infected. You may still be contagious up to a week after symptoms first set in (a few days longer for children). In otherwise healthy adults, influenza lasts between seven and 14 days, with at least three days of severe symptoms.

A few ideas you can use and share in the workplace to help stop the spread of flu germs:

*- If you know you're sick with the flu, stay home.
*- Get a flu shot, which not only protects you but helps prevent contagion.
*- Within a day of becoming ill, ask your doctor about antiviral medications, which can shorten the episode and contain the virus.
*- Be especially cautious between late December and early March, the peak of flu season.
*- Sneeze or cough into your elbow, not into your hands.
*- Clean phones, doorknobs and desktops with alcohol swabs.
*- Throw used tissues away!
*- Wash your hands and face often with hot, soapy water.

*- Avoid close contact with people who are infected.
*- Wash your hands often to help protect you from germs. Studies suggest that flu viruses can live on surfaces for two to eight hours.
*- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
*- Ask your doctor about antiviral drugs, which are not a substitute for the flu shot, but they do add another level of protection.
*- If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick, so you'll be less likely to pass on the virus. "

What's Your Sign?

" Myth:

It's nice to think that we have control over our own destinies -- that we can be in command of our long-term life choices as well as our day-to-day decisions about what we do, where we do it and how we get it all done.

Reality:

We're lucky if we can plan the next five minutes.
The truth is, we can't control whether we get sick, how we'll do from the moment we wake-up, how much sleep we'll get tonight -- never mind how much happiness you want in, a lifetime -- it wouldn't hurt to have a cheat sheet handy.

Your Horoscope:

Whether you're an Scorpion (me), Leo, Gemini or Libra (the sun's in your house as we speak!), you might not have checked your sign's forecast ever since that less-than-fateful day in fourth grade when it promised that "you will soon meet the man of your dreams," and you're still looking for Mr. Right. Or maybe it said to "prepare for an interesting and invigorating life change in the near future" just days before your company decided to downsize.

Sure, it's not foolproof, but every once in a while, it's nice to put your future on autopilot.

Anyway, now-days horoscopes do less predicting of the future and more making of recommendations.
For instance, your horoscope today might be something like: "Combine your two favorite things: friends and art. Make some impromptu plans with friends you haven't seen in a while -- hit a museum, sculpture garden or gallery crawl. It'll refresh you in all the ways you require, or maybe mke life worth waking up that day."

Or:

Someone's standing on a soapbox, but you don't have to be an audience of one. Politely excuse yourself, or you could get stuck listening to their complaints and ramblings all day. You have your own life to lead.

Know someone who could use some zodiac sign salvation? Forward this if you want, me I like to read my daily if I can. Then check back and see if any of it was true on how my day went, also if it tells me to be carefull that day or watch my temper I do ...JUST..in case...lol"