Cold or H1N1 here is how to tell

From the desk of Gordon Quinton

7:13 a.m.

 

Good morning

 

I know you have heard a lot about the H1N1 flu (or Swine flu as it is often called).

 

As a father, I was not too concerned until my daughter, called me reporting flu like symptoms. I talked with a childcare expert and she provided me this symptom table outlining the differences between a cold and a flu. Remember the experts say the regular flu isn’t here yet so please pass this table onto to friends and family especially those with young and older members in the household. And I hope you find yourself under column 2, the cold. If you do find yourself having the flu, don’t panic: very few are presenting the severe symptoms as reported on the news… just monitor your symptoms closely and keep in touch with your doctor.

Personally, I would even suggest contacting the doctor’s office to report your child as having flu-like symptoms because if you are that 1-in-a-million person who has the more severe case, knowing what to do ahead of time instead of waiting for your doctor to call you back at home could mean precious hours that you or your child need to gain access to some of the more specialized drugs. To get these drugs your doctor at this time has to apply for their use on a case-by-case basis. I know the government is trying to streamline the application process for the drugs, but you are still dealing with a bureaucracy and they aren’t made for speed.

 

The only way to stop the spread of the epidemic is to spread the awareness!

Symptom	Cold	H1N1 Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold.	Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases. A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu.
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold.	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough).
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold.	Severe aches and pains are common with the flu.
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week.	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu.
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold.	60% of people who have the flu experience chills.
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold.	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu.
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold.	Sneezing is not common with the flu.
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days.	The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours. The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains.
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold.	A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases.
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold.	Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu.
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold.	Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu.

 

Keep emphasizing to your family the importance of hand washing after being with others. Those little hand sanitizers that you can carry around seem like a good idea.  

 

I wish for all of you to stay in good health.

 

Gordon Quinton

 

 

Parent’s Matter with Teenage Drivers!

 

Found this great article in the Insurance Journal and wanted to pass it along……..please share it with the ones you love

The bottom line is  Parents matter!

 Driving safety can be added to the growing list of positive health behaviors associated with parental involvement.

Youths who perceived their parents as involved, including those with orientations involving rules and support (authoritative), rules only (authoritarian), or support only (permissive), generally had more-desirable attitudes and behaviors regarding driving safety than did those with uninvolved parents.

However, adolescents with supportive active parents (rules, monitoring, and support) were most protected.

These results have a clear, actionable message for parents.

To protect teens from crashes, parents should set rules and effectively monitor driving behaviors. On the basis of our results and other health behavior literature, effective monitoring typically is most effective when given in a supportive context. Clinicians and other trusted parenting sources should be conveying this message to parents.

Our findings call for further work to explore how parents can be most effective in fostering safe driving behaviors. Parental support remains a poorly defined concept, and optimal monitoring strategies need to be established as new technologies are created to support this important parental role. Moreover, evidence-based interventions need to continue to be developed to increase awareness and implementation of authoritative parenting behaviors, as well as to help teens become more receptive to parental involvement in their safety.

WHO’S REALLY TEXTING YOU ?

From The Desk Of Gordon Quinton

September 16, 2009

MOBILE PHONES
 I never thought of this…….
 
 This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names
 on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which
 contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet… Etc..was stolen.
  
 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone
 telling him what had happened, hubby says ‘I received your text asking
 about our Pin number and I’ve replied a little while ago.’
  
 When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all
 the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen
 cell phone to text ‘hubby’ in the contact list and got hold of the pin
 number. Wit hin 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their
 bank
 account.
  
 Moral of the lesson:
 Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in
 your contact list.
 
 Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad,
 Mom, etc….que
 
 And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked
 through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
 
 Also, when you’re being text by friends or family to meet them
 somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from
 them. If you don’t reach them, be very careful about going places to
 meet
 ’family and friends’ who text you. 

Please pass this on to all your loved ones

Thanks

Gordon Quinton

GPS SYSTEMS BEWARE!

From Gordon Quinton

September 14, 2009

This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic
 technology.
  
 A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew
 had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car
 was parked on the grass which was adjacent to the football stadium and
 specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car
 included  a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been
 prominently mounted on the dashboard.
  
 When the victims got home, they found that their house had been
 ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
  
 The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They
 then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain
 entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football
 game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they
 knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear
 that  they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
 
 Something to consider if you have a GPS – don’t put your home
 address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you
 can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know
 where you live if your GPS were stolen.

Please feel free to pass this info to family and friends.

Thanks

Gordon Quinton

HOUSE FIRES

September 10, 2009

7:14 a.m.

As your home age’s it’s important to make sure your home insurance keeps pace too. In the event of a fire your insurance company is only responsible to bring your home back to the same condition it was in prior to the fire. Let’s say that your house was built in 1973, the town may now require that you bring certain items in your home up 2009 Fire code. If your home policy does not have LAW and ORDINANCE coverage you might have to pay out of pocket for the cost of the upgrades on your home and that can be significant Please call me today to make sure that your home policy has the “LAW & ORDINANCE COVERAGE” so that you and your family are properly protected. Call 585-388-9530 or email me anytime.

 

GQ

Listen to my radio show this Sunday 7pm

August 20, 2009

7:13 a.m

Hey

Just wanted to invite you to listen to our radio show this Sunday night at 7pm.   This week’s topic will be Parent’s with Teenage Driver’s and how you can lower your insurance costs.

Check me out at www.wham1180.com

 

Thanks

GQ

Drop your kid off your insurance while away at college ?

August 4, 2009 Gordon Quinton

This is not something I would recommend doing.  If your son/daughter is a passenger in another persons car or borrows a friends car at school and they get in an accident your auto policy will protect you and them.  If they are removed from the auto policy your insurance company could deny your claim

Don’t be short sighted on this one pay the  little extra now and have peace of mind!

G.Q

Kids & College

August 7, 2009  Gordon Quinton

If your son/daughter is heading to college this fall and wont be taking their car with them.  Call your agent and let them know.  A lot of insurance companies give an away at school discount that can be as high as 50% of their premium so make the call to your agent right now. If they don’t offer that discount call me so I can get you with a company that will give you the discount

G.Q

Try This Trick When Renting A Car!

August 8, 2009  Gordon Quinton

For years when I went on vacation I would always buy the midsize or minivan depending on my situation at that time.  The last two times I rented a car I selected the compact/economy car and when I get to the counter they always try and up-sell you.  The last two times I have been able to get into an SUV for an additional $5.00 per day.  Give it a try!

G.Q

Teenager’s & Car Insurance

August 10, 2009  Gordon Quinton

What a great time in your life, sleepless nights with your kids behind the wheel of your car and your insurance company making you take out a home equity loan to pay for them to be able to drive….Anyways, the good news is that most insurance companies dont require you to add your son/daughter to your auto insurance until they become licensed. So keep them on a permit til their 25 and then they can pay their own….Also please keep in mind that if they are licensed and you forget to add them on right away insurance companies have the right to back-charge you from the day their were a licensed driver so make sure you get them added as soon as they get their license   

G.Q.