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?

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!

I have not seen this on any of the national news stations, nor in any of the newpapers.

Where is this happening?

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

H1N1 is a virus. Antibacterials won't help - they don't kill viruses. Hand-washing with regular soap would be more effective.

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.

I do the same thing. Just be careful as those products can ruin wood finishes.

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.

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

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.

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.html



From 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!

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.

Kresiler
"Good quality" hand sanitizers are virucidal as well as bactericidal.It is not a gimmick. They usually contain chlorhexidine and alcohol.

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.

Here in Australia they are recommending those in high-risk categories be immunised as a priority (pregnant women, healthcare workers, those with immune problems, diabetics, indigenous people) but the panic we had a couple of months ago in winter seems to have gone away. I suppose I was rather surprised to see the statistics which showed how deadly the ordinary seasonal influenzas had typically been!

Agreed currawong! Had a few infections through this year, stress + no sleep = sick ... but H1N1 isn't really bad, its just the terrible jokes that come with H1N1 that can really annoy me.

Yep...sorry about the misinformation. I checked with one of my physician friends last night and he said the alcohol in most sanitizers definitely helps. A good scrubbing session with soap and water is still better, but the sanitizers do help.

I fully expect to get H1N1 this year. I live near a hospital, and my wife works at the hospital, several of my friends work at the hospital, several of my students' parents work at the hospital. Some of these people work in pediatrics and the infectious disease department. They've already diagnosed some cases here, so I know the virus is running around town somewhere.

Guess we'll see how good my immune system is!

Oh...one thing I'm doing is limiting my physical contact with students and the piano they play on. Since people become infectious before they show symptoms, I could have H1N1 today and have no idea. I carry that little bit of knowledge around in the back of my mind every day, hoping that I don't do anything to infect others.

Me too. There is much more contact with beginners and especially their little hands. You have to touch them. Helping to place their fingers on the keys, opening their books and I sitting close enough to them to point to the notes on the page makes contact with germs unavoidable. Older advance students open their own books I am able to sit further away form them. This week I avoided demonstrating on the piano (and touching the keys after a student). Wouldn’t you know it, last night I had all beginners.

Tonight I have a family of four and the parent is a pediatrician. Yikes.

No offense Gooddog, but that's disgusting! Why in the world would he suggest that? Is someone planning on digging in the trash? That's what trash cans are for! The "dispose of elsewhere" would probably be my driveway where I would have to touch them to pick them up lol!

FYI: I had 6 piano kids yesterday, 3 out sick. Son's history class of 30 had 9 out sick, my own classroom of 16 had 4 out sick.

Well I picked up some hand sanitizers, but they only killed 60% of the bacteria. So back I went and got the 99.9% ones! (So what's the .1% issue?) So just check the bottles!

Here's hoping no one has to shut down a piano studio!

I don't keep a trash can in my studio. I do keep tissues and after a student blows his nose I ask him to put it in his pocket (and throw it away at home). I don't think that's disgusting. Then I give them a drop of hand sanitizer.

I actually heard this from a veteran teacher and also saw it in a teaching textbook. Did you ever think about the affect of sitting next to a virus filled trashcan for an hour? The book was addressing the fact that new public school teachers often get sick and one way to battle this was to avoid keeping a tissue filled trashcan near the teacher's desk. I have extended this. I request my students thrown their tissues in the large can outside my classroom or keep them in their pockets to dispose of later. I think it helps.

Sorry for butting in her, but my RN self can't help it. If I were you, I'd wipe down the keys after every student, if it won't hurt the piano. It's the friction that kills the bacteria more than the wipe, so you could probably use a more gentle wipe more frequently and then do the Clorox at the end of the day.

The most important thing is not to touch your face, and to teach your students not to. It drives me nuts to see people putting their fingers in their mouths or touching their face, hair, etc... You never really get your hands clean, just decrease the viral and bacterial count (think of how long a surgeon scrubs - almost 10 minutes with a hard brush and potent antibacterial scrub).

The virus can hang in the air and on surfaces for a long time.

The key is to break the pathogen cycle in as many places as possible, and the last place is keeping it out of your body, by not introducing to your mouth or nose.

Take care and stay well!