When they greet each other during a major disease outbreak, they don’t shake hands.  That could spread disease from one person to another.  Instead they bump elbows!  After all, you can’t cough or sneeze onto your elbow!  Try it!

In fact, back in 1918, there was a very bad flu outbreak that killed millions of people around the world.  Well, in Prescott, Arizona, shaking hands was against the law!

Tamiflu (oseltamivir), up until now, has only been approved by the FDA, for children over 1 year of age who are infected with the “flu”.  Now, the Food and Drug Administration has expanded its approval of Tamiflu to be used on children as young as one year of age as a preventative (prophylaxis) - so they won’t get the flu if they are exposed to someone who has it.

This approval was based on a study that found that 17% of children in a flu-infected household caught the flu while on “sugar” pills while only 3% of children caught it while on Tamiflu.

Of course, there are side effects and there has been some adverse publicity associating Tamiflu with neuropsychiatric disorders.  How much of this is “hype” and how much is science should be something you should discuss with your doctor or pediatrician.

This might have greater importance in the future if we are faced with a pandemic.  However, the key is not to get a prescription and give it indiscriminately.  That might cause the rise of resistant strains of viruses. 

The best advice at this time is to follow the advice of your local public health leaders.

Source: Kirn TF.  FDA Extends Oseltamivir Approval Down to Age 1.  ACEP News. February, 2006.

Little by little, we will be telling about how to prepare your Disaster Kit and what to put in it.

Today, it’s the flashlight.  You know how hard it is to find something in the basement or the closet when it’s dark.  Your best friend is the flashlight.  Imagine how difficult it would be if your whole house becomes dark because of a disaster in your area!  That can happen very easily if the power or electricity fails because of a storm or a tornado or whatever.

So, in that kind of situation, the flashlight can be your best friend.  Get one.  It doesn’t have to be expensive and probably your folks have a couple somewhere in the house.  Once your grownups give you one, make sure it works, and then put it in the Disaster Kit.

Your job is not finished, however.  These flashlights run on batteries and these batteries don’t last forever.  So besides making sure you have a flashlight you have to make sure you have batteries in your Kit.  Don’t leave them in the flashlight because sometimes, if left there too long, they can leak.

Well, that’s all for now.  Take care of you and your family and neighbors.

Dr. Paul

Hurricanes rotate in a counter-clockwise direction around an “eye.” Hurricanes have winds at least 74 miles per hour. When they come onto land, the heavy rain, strong winds and heavy waves can damage buildings, trees and cars. The heavy waves are called a storm surge. Storm surges are very dangerous and a major reason why you MUST stay away from the ocean during a hurricane warning or hurricane.