• When to Seek Emergency Medical Care
• Steps to Lessen the Spread of Flu in the Home
• Placement of the Sick Person
• Protect Other Persons in the Home
• If You Are the Caregiver
• Using Facemasks or Respirators
• Household Cleaning, Laundry, and Waste Disposal

The main way influenza viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes that are propelled through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby.
Influenza viruses may also be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose) before washing their hands.

People with novel H1N1 flu who are cared for at home should:
• Check with their health care provider about any special care they might need if they are pregnant or have a health condition such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or emphysema
• Check with their health care provider about whether they should take antiviral medications
• Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.
• Do not go to work or school while ill
• Stay home for at least 24 hours after fever is gone (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine) except to seek medical care or for other necessities.
• Get plenty of rest
• Drink clear fluids (such as water, broth, sports drinks, electrolyte beverages for infants) to keep from being dehydrated
• Cover coughs and sneezes.
• Clean hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often and especially after using tissues and after coughing or sneezing into hands
• Wear a facemask (if available and tolerable) when sharing common spaces with other household members to help prevent spreading the virus to others. This is especially important if other household members are at high risk for complications from influenza.
• Be watchful for emergency warning signs LINK to below that might indicate you need to seek medical attention.
When to Seek Emergency Medical Care
Get medical care right away if the sick person at home:
• Has difficulty breathing or chest pain
• Has purple or blue discoloration of the lips
• Is vomiting and unable to keep liquids down
• Has signs of dehydration such as dizziness when standing, absence of urination, or in infants, a lack of tears when they cry
• Has seizures
• Is less responsive than normal or becomes confused

Steps to Lessen the Spread of Flu in the Home

When providing care to a household member who is sick with influenza, the most important ways to protect yourself and others who are not sick are to:
• Keep the sick person away from other people, LINK TO BELOW especially others who are at high risk for complications from influenza
• Remind the sick person to cover his coughs and clean his hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after coughing and/or sneezing
• Have everyone in the household clean their hands often, using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. Children may need reminders or help keeping their hands clean
• Ask your health care provider if household contacts of the sick person—particularly those contacts who may be pregnant or have chronic health conditions—should take antiviral medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®) to prevent the flu
• If you are in a high risk group for complications from influenza you should attempt to avoid close contact (within six feet) with household members who are sick with influenza. If close contact with a sick individual is unavoidable, consider wearing a facemask or respirator, if available and tolerable. Infants should not be cared for by sick family members.
Placement of the Sick Person
• Keep the sick person in a room separate from the common areas of the house if possible. Keep the sickroom door closed
• Have the sick person wear a facemask – if available and tolerable – if they need to be in a common area of the house near other persons
• Unless necessary for medical care or other necessities, people who are sick with an influenza-like-illness should stay home and keep away from others as much as possible. If persons with the flu need to leave the home (for example, for medical care), they should wear a facemask, if available and tolerable, and cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
• If possible, sick persons should use a separate bathroom. This bathroom should be cleaned daily with household disinfectant
Protect other People in the Home
• The sick person should not have visitors other than caregivers. A phone call is safer than a visit
• If possible, have only one adult in the home take care of the sick person. People at increased risk of severe illness from flu should not be the designated caretaker, if possible
• If you are in a high risk group for complications from influenza, you avoid close contact (within six feet) with household members who are sick with influenza. If close contact with a sick individual is unavoidable, consider wearing a facemask
• Avoid having pregnant women care for the sick person
• Avoid having sick family members care for infants
• All persons in the household should clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based rub frequently, including after every contact with the sick person or the person’s room or bathroom
• Use paper towels for drying hands after hand washing or dedicate cloth towels to each person in the household
• Maintain good ventilation in shared household areas (e.g., keeping windows open in restrooms, kitchen, bathroom, etc.)
• Antiviral medications can be used to prevent the flu, so check with your health care provider to see if some persons in the home should use antiviral medications
If You Are the Caregiver
• Avoid being face-to-face with the sick person.
• When holding small children who are sick, place their chin on your shoulder so that they will not cough in your face.
• Clean your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub* after you touch the sick person or handle used tissues, or laundry.
• Talk to your health care provider about taking antiviral medication to prevent the caregiver from getting the flu.
• If you are at high risk of influenza associated complications, you should not be the designated caretaker, if possible.
• If you are in a high risk group for complications from influenza, you should attempt to avoid close contact (within 6 feet) with household members who are sick with influenza. Designate a person who is not at high risk of flu associated complications as the primary caretaker of household members who are sick with influenza, if at all possible. If close contact with a sick individual is unavoidable, consider wearing a facemask. if available and tolerable. For more information, see the Interim Recommendations for Facemask and Respirator Use
Using Facemasks or Respirators
• Avoid close contact (less than about 6 feet away) with the sick person as much as possible
• If you must have close contact with the sick person, spend the least amount of time possible in close contact and try to wear a facemask
• Used facemasks should be taken off and placed immediately in the regular trash so they don’t touch anything else.
• Do not reuse disposable facemasks. If a reusable fabric facemask is used, it should be laundered with normal laundry detergent and tumble-dried in a hot dryer.
• After you take off a facemask, clean your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Household Cleaning, Laundry, and Waste Disposal

• Throw tissues and other disposable items used by the sick person in the trash. Wash your hands after touching used tissues and similar waste.
• Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, and toys for children) clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on the product label.
• Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately. These items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first. Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap.
• Wash linens (such as bed sheets and towels) by using household laundry soap and tumble dry on a hot setting. Clean your hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub right after handling dirty laundry.