Health Advisory: What is FLU?

11:09 PM

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What is FLU?

Flu or influenza is a contagious disease caused by the influenza virus. Each year 5% to 10% of adults and 20% to 30% of children catch the flu.
 

Is it FLU or a common COLD?

Flu is not just a common cold. If you have a high fever (39-40'C), headache, severe cough, extreme fatigue and/or aches and pain, you may have a flu. Unlike common cold, flu causes severe illness and life threatening complications in many people.
 

How does FLU spread?

Flu is very contagious. You can catch it from the air from someone who is sneezing or coughing, from close contact with someone who has flu or from touching contaminated objects and transferring germs to the respiratory system.
 

Who is at risk?

Anyone can catch flu. Being fit and healthy does not stop you from getting it. You can also unknowingly infect others, as it takes 1-4 days for symptoms to appear. Some people are at increase risk of developing life-threatening complications if they contract flu, e.g. the elderly, young children, people suffering from diabetes, asthma, chronic heart, lung or kidney disease.
 

What are the complications of FLU?

Complications of flu can include:
1. bacterial pneumonia
2. ear infections
3. sinus infections
4. dehydration
5. worsening of chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure , asthma or diabetes.
 

What is H1N1 Flu?

H1N1 flu is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. It has 2 genes from flu viruses that normally circulate in pigs in Europe and Asia, plus avian genes and human genes. Scientists call this a "quadruple reassortant" virus.
 

Is the Flu vaccine safe?

The vaccine will not give you flu. The inactivated flu vaccine contains noninfectious killed viruses, which merely alerts the body to the threat of the virus. Flu vaccines are well tolerated and safe. The most common frequent associated reaction is mild soreness at the injection site.
 

Is it possible to prevent FLU?

YES, it is possible to prevent flu through vaccination. The efficacy of flu vaccines has been clinically proven. Many countries all over the world recommend flu vaccination before the flu season.
 
Credit: Nurse Jonah

ruthie

WORD OF THE DAY: Soiree

5:39 PM

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soi·ree or soi·rée \swä-'rā\

Definition: a party or reception held in the evening

Examples of SOIREE
1. a fashionable soiree at a fancy hotel
2. After the interview she took me to a coffee-and-cake soiree at a wealthy student's house. —Thomas Keneally, The Tyrant's Novel, 2004
3. Ostensible grownups can be reduced to screaming toddlers over who gets the credit for bringing in a major donor's gift—and thus gets the inside track for a better seat at the next big soirée. Bring into this piranha tank an attractive, ambitious, wealthy woman who made an almost instant connection with the President and his wife, and the knives start flashing. —Viveca Novak, Time, 14 June 1999
4. Mariah Carey's voyage into pop stardom begins on a fateful Friday evening in 1988 when she and dance songbird Brenda K. Starr—for whom Carey was a background singer—attend a music industry soiree. —Larry Flick, CD Review, December 1994

Origin of SOIREE
French soirée evening period, evening party, from Middle French, from soir evening, from Latin sero at a late hour, from serus late; akin to Old Irish sír long, lasting and perhaps to Old English sīth late — more at since
First Known Use: 1802

CREDIT: M-W.com

ruthie

i.e. versus e.g.

7:20 AM

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i.e.

The Latin phrase id est means "that is," so i.e. is a way of saying "in other words." It's designed to make something clearer by providing a definition or saying it in a more common way.

EXAMPLE: I'm going to the place where I can concentrate best, i.e., the beach.

- - -

e.g.

The Latin phrase exempli gratia means "for example", so e.g. is used before giving specific examples that support your assertion.

EXAMPLE: I like Korean singers, e.g., 2NE1, TVXQ and SS501.

TIP: It is best not to use "i.e." or "e.g." when speaking. Instead, say "that is" or "in other words" in place of "i.e.", and "for example" or "for instance" in place of "e.g.".

ruthie

WORD OF THE DAY: Pulchritudinous

9:02 PM

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Definition: physically beautiful

About the word:
If the meaning of this word seems counterintuitive, it's probably because the word's Latin ancestor pulcher ("beautiful") is unfamiliar, and pulchritudinous sounds more disgusting than enchanting.

CREDIT: M-W.com

Honestly, I would rather be called either simply pretty or cute than pulchritudinous in public. :)

ruthie

Which is it...Advise or Advice?

7:19 PM

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Now we will have a simple grammar lesson. We will differentiate the usage of the words, advice versus advise. People tend to interchange the two words because they only differ with a single letter.

Advice is a NOUN.
You can give someone a 'piece of advice'.
For example:
1. Let me give you some advice on how to replace your lights.
2. The advice was effective if it's followed.


Advise is a VERB.
For example:
1. He advised me to replace my lights before night falls.
2. Please advise.


Using the two words, example:
She advised me to love my parent more. It's an advice I'm willing to take.

ruthie

What are the new Blog Tools for you?

5:52 AM

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Before, one of the limitations when you have an old blog is you cannot transfer your old posts to your new account or blog. Now, blogspot.com is maximizing your blogging experience by adding a new blog tool.

This is for us users to import, export or delete blog. With the new blog tools, we can transfer posts and comments from a previously exported Blogger blog. But it's possible that the current tool is not yet working for other blog software.

Check this out:

What are the necessities of blogging?

3:22 AM

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Since my friends have known that I have been blogging for years. Everyone is asking me how to create blog and all stuff about blogging. Based from experience, what I can say is that you have to possess several things to blog (love) and be blogged (loved) in return (hehehe):

1. You have to have the passion in writing. Simplest and the most basic. It's the same, your writing again, but on a whole different medium.
2. You have to have computer and internet connection available. I know a lot of bloggers who failed to develop the love of blogging because of limitation in resources. Well, its true, how can you blog if you don't have a way to blog it, right?
3. You must have a purpose or reason. You cannot simply create a blog because you wanted to. More likely than not, you will end up not updating your blog at all. The best is blog about something that you are passionate about, the reason why you wanted to blog, to be heard.


So, I think that if you have the things mentioned above, there's nothing stopping you from blogging. Go on, start blogging now!