Wedding, You and the Swine Flu
We live in a unique time!
Worldwide Mass Transit can place a person on multiple continents within hours.
Our lifestyles can place us in congested areas where we come in contact with hundreds, if not thousands of people everyday. Coming in contact with illness and disease can be a mere cough, sample of food or touch of a door handle , away.
Did You Know?
An estimated 2.1 million Brides and Grooms
will come in contact with roughly
525,000,000 wedding guests this year.
Who are these guests?
Where have they been?
Are they contagious?
Did they get sick at my reception?
Living in fear is not the answer, however, being aware of who you invite and keeping good records of who attends your wedding can help bring proper health attention to guests that may be unaware of why they are feeling so rough?
Planning a wedding is a busy time. It’s easy to get caught up in the maelstrom of deadlines that can veer attentions away from issues that may choose to find you. Getting proper rest, eating healthy and drinking plenty of water are some of the best ways to keep your health defenses in top shape.
If you notice a guest that exhibits signs of illness, keep in touch with them after your event to assess whether or not it was just a passing illness or part of a bigger outbreak that could affect you and your guesst in the days and weeks to come.
Swine Flu and You
Swine Flu Facts
H1n1 – Swine Flu Prevention Tip
What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash
In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
For more information regarding you, your wedding and travel: CDC
Vigilance is the key to a happy and successful wedding.
Hiring Wedding Professionals that are conscious of current health issues is a good sign that they have you and your guests best interests at heart. Ask what protocols and Professional Courtesy is in place to ensure that your Wedding Vendor will fulfill their contracted obligation to you in case they or their staff become ill. If necessary, have them describe in detail who and how they will notify you and how they will make the necessary arrangements to ensure you are not “left without” on your wedding day.
Vendors that could pose the greatest risk?
Busier is NOT always BETTER…! Vendors that have direct contact with you or your guests that offer “commodity” price rates to maximize potential events have a greater chance of becoming exposed to a person or group of persons, due to an increased frequency of potential contact to those that may carry a contagious illness, which could pose health issues for you or your guests. A hectic demanding schedule, stress, fatigue and exposure to a contagious illness can easily become a lethal combination.
We are living in a society and economic time that compels many people to work 2 and sometimes 3 jobs to make ends meet. The Wedding Industry is filled with many upstarts, hobbyists and part-timers burning the candle at both ends leaving little time for recovery and a good healthy lifestyle.
Paying a little more for Personal Services offered by Professionals who know how to say “NO…there are simply too many risks in stretching ourselves too thin”, may be all that stands between you, your guests and a health outbreak.
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