Connecting the Dots

When it comes to fighting a virus there is the passive approach of wearing surgical masks and avoiding crowds, and there is the active approach of creating an environment that is lethal to viruses. It is up to you what one you want to use.

As the world gets ready to go into panic mode about an unseen foe of microscopic per portions, people feel helpless to fight it. Instead they simply do there best to avoid it. That is simply because they do not know how to fight it.

Viruses are a fairly simple organism, and some are mild and others can kill you. How a person gets infected depends on the virus. In cases like the HIV virus, infection comes from physical contact. Unprotected sex that lacks enough lubrication can cause micro tears to the penis and vagina causing the chance of infection.

In the case of the H5N1 bird flu, it has yet to mutate to be human to human so as said before we need to wait and see. Also the H5N1 virus will not stop because the swine flu has grabbed the headlines for the moment.

As for the swine flu, it is important to know that pigs are often the bridge between animal and human viruses. Once an animal virus picks up genetic material from pigs, the chances it can be transmitted to humans goes up drastically.

The worst case virus is an airborne virus that can be exhaled from an infected person or animal, and breathed in to infect another. That is why surgical masks are being warn as a last line of defense hoping to screen out viruses.

So now it comes down to taking an active approach or a passive approach, and that comes down to knowing what kills viruses. Very simply viruses are fragile and it does not take much to destroy them. Seeing as they are too small for a flyswatter, you need to use their natural enemy to kill them. The biggest enemy a virus has is ultraviolet light. Expose a virus to enough UV and they will perish in just a few seconds of exposure. The UV from the sun will do that but it is not intense enough to do the trick in a few seconds. A virus could last several minutes to several hours on a cloudless day. The intense UV from a tanning bed is about the amount needed to kill a virus in a few seconds.

Now not to sound like we are pushing a particular product, but there is one item you can buy that will protect you at least in your house. That product is an air cleaner by Sharper Image that for the most part stands head and shoulders above the rest. In fact it is so good the only negative press about it is being generated by manufactures of other air cleaners, and that simply speaks volumes.

The air cleaner itself is a bit pricey but what it does is outstanding. The top end models not only clean the air but they are equipped with a UV light to put a quick end to viruses. There are no filters to clean and uses the same technology that causes dust and other things to stick to your computer screen. You simply wipe it down every few days with a damp paper towel and it is good to go. It also uses only about 10 watts of electricity to run, and that translates to about $3.00 per month if you run it 24-7.

At the moment Sharper Image is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy as they tend to sell luxury items, but given the fact that the swine flu is about, they could be turning a big black bottom line inside a month with huge back orders.

Other air cleaners that use hepa filters do not get it all and are much more expensive to run. So in short more money up front, ends up being the best deal in the end.

To find this air cleaner simply google ‘sharper image air cleaner’. Once you do that you may note that they are not available in a particular country. Then you need to check the voltage requirements as well as the frequency of electricity. The frequency must match if you plan to use a step down or step up transformer to adjust the voltage. Although it is just an air cleaner, it does have computer components and must be treated the same as a any electronic item you would buy.