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General Public Information - H1N1
On this page:
To protect yourself and others from the flu:
- Stay home if you are sick, until you are fever-free for a full 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
- Cough and sneeze into your elbow, or into a tissue. Throw this tissue away.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, but especially after coughing and sneezing. Alcohol-based hand gels can also be used.
- Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes. Germs can be spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Avoid contact with sick people. If you are at very high risk for complication, you may want to avoid large crowds.
- Vaccination is the best protection against the flu. If you haven’t done so already, get both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines.
- Consider getting a pneumococcal vaccine if you are 65 years and older, less than 5 years of
age or 5-64 years of age with underlying medical conditions, and have not have this vaccine in
the last 5 years. Studies have shown that influenza (flu) infections increase a person’s
risk for developing bacterial pneumonia. In previous flu pandemics, many flu-associated deaths
occurred in people who had bacterial pneumonia along with influenza. Contact your health care
provider for this vaccine.
- Contact your health care provider if there are flu-like symptoms in a household where anyone is younger than 2 years old, 65 years or older, pregnant, and/or has an underlying medical condition. There are prescription medicines (antivirals such as Tamiflu®) that may help.
For more information on these medications, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/antivirals/quickfacts.htm
- Although most people can stay home to recover without seeing a health care provider, anyone with the flu should seek medical attention for:
- Dehydration
- Trouble breathing
- Getting better, then suddenly getting a lot worse
- Any major change in condition
The information below is information for the public specific to H1N1 (“Swine Flu”). Details
for high risk groups and those who care for them can be found below or on the buttons on the left hand
side of this page. Information on other types of flu, as well as preparing for any pandemic can
be found by clicking on the buttons on the top left side of this page.
Can’t find the information you need?
If you are looking for a place to get vaccinated for either seasonal
flu or H1N1 flu:
For more general information:
- H1N1 PSA - four public service announcements with Dr. Dora Mills, Director, Maine CDC and comedian Bob Marley on H1N1.
- H1N1 Fact sheet (Word | PDF) - gives basic information on the
h1N1 flu and getting vaccinated.
- H1N1 What You Should Know - Power Point presentation containing
the basic information on H1N1 in a slide show format
- Frequently Asked Questions - includes more basic
information on what the flu is, how you can prevent getting the flu, vaccinations for the flu
and what you should do if you get the flu
- Good Health Habits Can Stop Germs -
basic information on preventing the spread of the flu and other illnesses, including printable
materials from the US CDC
- Foreign Language, English and Deaf/ Hard of Hearing
Resource Materials - including posters on handwashing, pandemic flu planning checklists
and H1N1 information for parents
The groups listed below are at higher risk of getting very sick from H1N1 flu
Also, some other groups are more likely to pass the flu on to others in these high risk groups:
Unlike seasonal flu, studies indicate people over the age of
64 have some immunity
to H1N1, which is probably why they are not being as commonly or severely affected by infection as
young people are.
More resources:
- Managing Stress Reactions (Word* | PDF*)
US CDC Flu information:
- For Individuals and Families -
basic information for the public from the US CDC
- CDC
flu information (pdf*) - Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School. Cover your cough or sneeze
if you do not have a tissue. Then, clean your hands, and do so every time you cough or sneeze.
- Stopping
the Spread of Germs - Stop the Spread of Germs Healthy habits at home, work, & school;
Printable Materials, flyers & posters, Cover Your Cough, Germ Stopper Poster.
- Clean Hands Saves
Lives - keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting
sick and spreading germs to others.
- Hand
washing to reduce Disease - Recommendations to Reduce Disease Transmission from Animals in
Public Settings
Educational materials, such as videos, activities, posters, and brochures:
- General prevention
- Hand-washing
- BAM!
Body and Mind. Teacher's Corner - In this activity, students will conduct an experiment
on washing their hands. They will learn that "clean" hands may not be so clean after
all and the critical importance of washing their hands as a way to prevent the spread of disease.
- CDC
TV - Put Your Hands Together (video) - Scientists estimate that people are not washing their
hands often or well enough and may transmit up to 80% of all infections by their hands
- Covering your cough
*free viewer or to request a hard copy
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