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Joined: Apr 2009
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It is here folks. One of the public High Schools had 319 students sick out of 1100 yesterday. They are not testing for H1N1 anymore as it is confirmed it is here. I suspect many of those students are opportunists but non the less, they are probably closing schools for the rest of the week.
I have provisions in my policy for snow days but not pandemics. Hmm, what to do?
Piano Teacher. Church Music Director. Kindermusik Instructor. Mom to four boys.
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What section of the country are you in?
It sounds serious with the numbers you mentioned in your community.
I can imagine that a piano teacher might want to totally close down for a week or more until the crisis is over if only to try to protect ourselves and our families. This would also curtain my going to town or eating out, etc, etc. I have autoimmune problems as do 2 of my daughters and 1 grandchild, so I am extra cautious about illness and disease.
You all take care!
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I have not seen this on any of the national news stations, nor in any of the newpapers.
Where is this happening?
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I don't know where Mrs. A is, but several schools in Nebraska are reporting more than 20 percent of the student body home with flu symptoms.
Until the vaccine is distributed I expect this will happen in some areas. Last I heard the H1N1 vaccine will be available in mid to late October - and once administered takes 8 to 10 days to provide immunity.
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The federal government has several sources of information on seasonal and H1N1 flu. A nice one is www.flu.gov. Within that website there is a specific page with state level information, including news feeds http://www.flu.gov/whereyoulive/healthmap/For those of you concerned about flu, perhaps this will be a helpful resource D
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Yes, I am in Nebraska.
I suspect that many of this kids are using this as an opportunity to get out of school.
My family contracted a terrible flu type bug in the middle of August. Even my husband got terribly sick. We suspected H1N1 but never tested. I cancelled lessons for a week then and don't want to do it again.
Piano Teacher. Church Music Director. Kindermusik Instructor. Mom to four boys.
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This weekend I attended a science lecture about H1N1 given by a public health doctor and researcher. He said to expect about 1/3 absenteeism due to the flu. Sickness will be a bit worse than the usual flus but it is not the "end of civilization as we know it" flu that the media is trying to make you believe. Incubation is about 48 hours but you become contagious around day 2 and stay contagious until about day 6. Therefore, even when you are feeling well, you may still be contagious. (Keep this in mind when your recovering student wants to have a lesson). The doctor said it was advisable to get a flu shot now - even though it is not for the new H1N1 strain. It covers the older flus which might make an appearance. The new vaccine for the new strain of H1N1 won't be available until October because it takes about 6 months to make a vaccine and H1N1 didn't show up until May. Plan on getting this second flu shot for H1N1 when it becomes available. He showed us statistics that verified that flu cases increase dramatically when school is in session and reduce during school breaks, so, yes, your students will be the carriers.
Prophylaxis: Using a regular mask to stay well is useless because the virus dries out quickly and can penetrate the pores of the mask. The sick person should be the one wearing the mask because the virus travels on droplets from the sick person. If you want to buy an N95 mask it will protect you but only if it fits absolutely perfectly. He recommended frequent hand washing and to try not to be in close proximity (10 feet)to the sick person - hard to do when you are teaching piano. When sick you stay home, get plenty of fluids, etc. Your doctor may discourage your coming in for a visit unless you have very severe symptoms or a prolonged high fever.
He also mentioned that people who were around in the 1950's and mid 70's may have a slight resistance to this flu because of its similarity to strains that made the rounds during those years.
So, stay well everyone!
Best regards,
Deborah
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Yes, I am in Nebraska.
I suspect that many of this kids are using this as an opportunity to get out of school.
My family contracted a terrible flu type bug in the middle of August. Even my husband got terribly sick. We suspected H1N1 but never tested. I cancelled lessons for a week then and don't want to do it again. Our local high schools here have a few cases of H1N1 but MANY absenses because parents are keeping their kids home out of fear and kids are cutting class, saying they are sick. We take our son to college tomorrow, to the University of Oregon, for his first year. The health center up there is concerned and advocates the common-sense hygiene practices. My fingers are crossed.
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Yes, I am in Nebraska.
I suspect that many of this kids are using this as an opportunity to get out of school.
My family contracted a terrible flu type bug in the middle of August. Even my husband got terribly sick. We suspected H1N1 but never tested. I cancelled lessons for a week then and don't want to do it again. Our local high schools here have a few cases of H1N1 but MANY absenses because parents are keeping their kids home out of fear and kids are cutting class, saying they are sick. We take our son to college tomorrow, to the University of Oregon, for his first year. The health center up there is concerned and advocates the common-sense hygiene practices. My fingers are crossed. Yes, I agree. I don't think anyone is too worried and many kids are taking advantage of this opportunity. We are fortunate that my family has no health concerns. Thanks for the encouragement.
Piano Teacher. Church Music Director. Kindermusik Instructor. Mom to four boys.
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I purchased a huge pump bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer for just this reason. Students go straight to the pump when they walk in the door and clean their hands before their lesson. I also use a Clorox wipe to wipe down my keys at the end of every day. I've had several students out with the flu recently, and I don't want to catch it! So far, so good.
Private Piano Instructor Member, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
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H1N1 is a virus. Antibacterials won't help - they don't kill viruses. Hand-washing with regular soap would be more effective.
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.comwww.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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I know it's a virus, but if someone has sneezed or coughed into their hand, the gel will kill those germs, right? I would rather they use that than nothing!
Do any of you tell your students to wash their hands before their lesson, or use gel? I actually had parents request this, because with such a large teaching studio with kids at tons of different area schools, they were afraid of germs being spread at the piano. So, I was happy to oblige.
Private Piano Instructor Member, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA)
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I purchased a huge pump bottle of antibacterial hand sanitizer for just this reason. Students go straight to the pump when they walk in the door and clean their hands before their lesson. I also use a Clorox wipe to wipe down my keys at the end of every day. I've had several students out with the flu recently, and I don't want to catch it! So far, so good. I do the same thing. Just be careful as those products can ruin wood finishes.
Piano Teacher. Church Music Director. Kindermusik Instructor. Mom to four boys.
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I know it's a virus, but if someone has sneezed or coughed into their hand, the gel will kill those germs, right? It'll kill a lot of bacteria, but not the virus. "Germ" is a just generic term used to describe various microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, amoebas, etc... Anti-bacterials kill the bacteria and are better than nothing, but nothing really kills viruses. All you can do is scrub them off. Soap and water does the trick nicely. Hand sanitizers are better than nothing, but there's no substitute for good ol' fashioned soap and water.
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.comwww.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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Alcohol based hand sanitizers are effective against the H1N1 flu virus. The non-alcohol based ones are apparently untested or less effective. Remember if you are relying on hand washing, you need to make sure kids wash long enough (a verse of twinkle, twinkle is about the right length) http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa.htm
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I checked the cdc site you mentioned. It states "If soap and water are not available use an alcohol based hand rub". So obviously washing with soap and water is best. As far as the hand sanitizer goes, the site gives a dubious claim that the alcohol "kills germ".
In my opinion it makes people feel better to think they are killing germs, but still doesn't kill the virus. I think it's meant to cover school issues where hand washing is not readily available, and if parents complain they can say "But we're using hand sanitizer which is recommended by the CDC." There is an element of politics involved.
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Actually further down on the website it is made clear that a number of products - including soap and alcohol are effective against influenza virus. But CNN was running an article today suggesting that handwashing wasn't effective either. That article gave a fairly informative description of why hand washing was effective against the cold, but not against h1n1 because of the shape of the virus and the mode of transmission (airborne water droplets) http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/24/hand.washing.helpful/index.htmlFrom the CDC What kills influenza virus? Influenza virus is destroyed by heat (167-212°F [75-100°C]). In addition, several chemical germicides, including chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, detergents (soap), iodophors (iodine-based antiseptics), and alcohols are effective against human influenza viruses if used in proper concentration for a sufficient length of time. *What if soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed in my facility? Updated on Sept 14 If soap and water are not available and alcohol-based products are not allowed, other hand sanitizers that do not contain alcohol may be useful. I'm getting a vaccine!
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Nitpicking here - you can't kill a virus because it is technically not alive to begin with. You can deactivate it with heat, drying and exposing it to substances that compromise its structure.
Your best bet is to get vaccinated...when it becomes available...by which time you hopefully have not already gotten sick. Until that time, guard your health by keeping your immune system strong with frequent handwashing, rest, healthy diet, exercise and lots of time doing things that make you happy!
Oh, I just remembered a great tip from an experienced teacher: Do not let sick children throw their dirty tissues into a waste bin that sits in your studio or classroom. Make them take the used and virus saturated tissues with them to dispose of elsewhere.
Best regards,
Deborah
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Kresiler "Good quality" hand sanitizers are virucidal as well as bactericidal.It is not a gimmick. They usually contain chlorhexidine and alcohol.
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Update on the H1N1. The absentee numbers are down to 220 in the high school -still 20%. The state health official, according the local news, is saying that if you have flu symptoms it is likely H1N1. It is not influenza A or B. The first hand reports I am getting is that it is not any worse than typical influenza. People are recovering quickly. Hopefully when it reaches the rest of the country it will have even less of an impact.
Piano Teacher. Church Music Director. Kindermusik Instructor. Mom to four boys.
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