Wiser Brain

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to attend a symposium about H1N1 virus. Let me share to you what I got from it and also add information from my personal knowledge.

The H1N1 virus that had caused a great stir both local and international is getting a lot of attention lately. The public dreaded the virus and is causing panic to some. The WHO had announced that the virus is now pandemic at level 6.



In order to lessen the anxiety of the many, education is the best intervention. For those who don't know, the H1N1 virus came from a recombination of the 4 strains of virus: 2 strains from swine flu, 1 avian/bird flu and 1 human flu.

Are there any vaccinations against H1N1?

Yes. But it is not yet available in the market and still under study. It would take an estimate of 5-6 months before it will be available.

During this cold and rainy season, what are the ways of preventing H1N1 virus?

First things first. Change your personal hygiene if needed. Good hygiene habits are extremely important.

A lot of people don't wash their hands after using the toilet, before eating, and after eating. Proper washing of hands is important and frequency is necessary. Though some may recommend an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, nothing beats what I call the hand washing fantastic duo of "SOAP and WATER".

The Tissue versus the Handkerchief. I would go for the tissue. In my opinion, it's more hygienic. But I’ll not commend it to those allergic to it. Always keep in mind to be responsible, dispose it to its proper place. Its not bad to bring a hanky especially if you have a cold or cough. If you have no handkerchiefs or tissue available, you can cough or sneeze at the counterpart of the elbow.

Observe proper etiquette. Practice social distancing.

Keep a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle.

If you are overweight, then make the necessary effort to lose weight. Don't be deceived just by looking at yourself, "I don't look fat." I know some collegues who don't seem overweight but when we had our yearly medical check-up, we later found out that they are. Compute for your Body Mass Index (BMI) and check whether you have a normal weight.


Always go for a balanced diet. If you need to decrease your food intake, then do it. But make sure that you'll still get the nutrients and minerals that your body needs. Starving yourself just to lose weight is dangerous to your health.

Limit your sodium intake. Remember that as the negative polarity attracts the positive polarity, the situation goes the same for the sodium and water. Sodium attracts water. So if there is a lot of salt or sodium taken and then you drank a lot of water, the heart will have additional workload and would have to exert more effort in order to pump. Though the heart compensates in order to cope up with the workload, consider this not a good sign because you'll just end up exhausting your heart early which may lead up to a lot of complications in the future.

Avoid eating fatty foods. Instead of that yummy fried porkchop oozing with cholesterol, why not eat white meat such as fish and chicken (without the skin of course)? You can grill, broil or steam them. It's way healthier and better.

Have an active lifestyle. Exercise daily at least 30 minutes a day. It can drastically improve not only your health but also your life.

Lastly, always have your blood pressure checked. Those who have of history of hypertension in their family should be more careful for heredity also plays an important part. Always keep in mind that prevention is better than cure.

Take a look at this commercial. I really find it cute and amusing at the same time. Hey, let's play a guessing game. Is the child a boy or a girl? Hmmm..



Here's the video:

The three of us (my mother, sister and I) would always remind my father to lose more weight and to lessen his food intake. Though he did shed some pounds, he is still overweight. And it really bothers me a lot. My father has always been very confident and proud that at his age of 50, he is not taking any maintenance drugs unlike others who are hypertensive at such a young age. (That's one of the things I dislike about him)

But recently, he has been diagnosed with hypertension and has been prescribed with Amlodipine. He's bombarded with my "I-told-you-so" looks.

Now, what can you do if you are hypertensive?

For me, it begins with LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION.

Make healthy living a habit...
...and stick to it.

I wanted to share an entry of my wellness journal about pain:

Pain according to McCaffery is "whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he (or she) says it does". It is can be classified as either physiological, psychological or both physiological and psychological. Proper management is vital in every pain.


We have associated our security, satisfaction, self-worth or freedom with something that we are not getting from persons, society, God, or life as a whole.

Some examples might be when:
1. Others lie to or deceive us. They do not support us when we need them. 3. They reject or criticize us. 4. We fail at some task, which we feel that we should have succeeded at. 5. We loose a loved one. 6. Our loved one shows preference to another. 7. People important to us do not show us the respect we expect. 8. Others do harm to us or our loved ones. 9. We are accused of doing or saying something we did not do. 10. When are falsely suspected of having ulterior motives. 11. "Friends" gossip about us behind our backs. 12. We are not given the raise of promotion we believe we deserve at work. 13. Others do not keep their agreements with us. 14. We are robbed. 15. We lose our fortune in some way.

We feel hurt because we have not received the respect, love, affection, loyalty, truth, kindness and justice that we were expecting.

Whenever I feel pain, I do write them down in a notebook or I type them in my e-diary. I don't know how it helps relieve pain but it really works. Maybe it has something to do with my emotional well-being. But I believe that we are the sole creators of our reality. We as souls create our reality through: our past choices, thoughts, words and action, our present conscious and subconscious beliefs, feelings and needs, the lessons we have chosen to learn at this stage of our evolutionary process. and how we subjectively interpret what is happening.

Though we feel like we can't take it anymore, the good thing of experiencing pain is that it increases our resistance to life's lessons, and makes us strong just like a narra tree and flexible just like a bouncing ball once thrown hard, always bounces higher.

Pain is inevitable. In one way or another, as we travel the road of life, we have experience it a couple of times and soon there will be more to come.

Every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year, a new disease pops out of nowhere. Bacterias mutate and viruses replicate. Like the current pandemic disease of today, Influenza A (H1N1) which was first called as “swine flu” has brought fear and agitation not only to one nation but to the whole world.

It’s expensive to be sick. That is why there is a quotation “Bawal magkasakit.” The money you have worked hard in a lot of years may be gone in a short while if you get sick.

Why wait to be one? Always remember that prevention is better than cure. Practice healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet, boost your immune system, exercise. As much as possible, if you can live simple then be one.

I believe that life is the best thing that God has given to us. In return, we must live our life to the fullest and at the same time utilize both our talents and skills in order to be of service to others.