To prevent the flu virus from proliferating once you're infected

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My sister sent the message below to me -its from a doctor in India. 

 Take careful note of the part about gargling and swabbing the inside of the nose with warm salty water- and why.We've tried it and it seems to work amazingly well. Just another formula I guess, but smells better than onions- which I have actually tried for those horrible coughs that won't let you sleep and found that the onion works really well for that- just slice one and put it on a plate by your bed- preferably sliced side up so the fumes can escape. You won't cough but the next morning the stench is unbearable.The doctor's message follows.   Cheers!Prevent Swine Flu - Good Advice Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroidspecialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has workedin institutions like Hinduja Hospital ,Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine

Department andThyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W). The following message given by him makes a lot of sense and isimportant for all to know The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. Ina global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid cominginto contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 isnot so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptomsand development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, notfully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced(instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu): 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all officialcommunications). 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations totouch any part of face (except to eat or bathe). 3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine ifyou don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection inthe throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristicsymptoms. gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with saltwater has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on aninfected o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerfulpreventative method. 4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once everyday with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at using a Neti potto clean nasal cavities, but *blowing the nose hard once a day andswabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water isvery effective in bringing down viral population.*

5.. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich inVitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplementwith Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boostabsorption. 6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can.*Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in thereverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throatinto the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm. Pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know who mightpay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.