Amongst all the hysteria about the H1N1 and the flu in general, there has been little discussion about how respiratory illnesses are actually spread. With the exception of a few rare respiratory diseases (tuberculosis being a notable exception), these illnesses are not spread by breathing in droplets. They truly need to be directly placed on your eyes, nose, or mouth to be spread.

For the mothers out there, this can certainly occur when a child you are holding coughs or sneezes in your face. But, in typical human interaction this is rarely the case. We polite adults make great efforts to cover our coughs and sneezes. This, however, is likely the source of the spread. It is these hands that are covered with viral respiratory droplets that touch our door handles, remote controls, keyboards, faucets, etc.

However, it is not enough for our hands to have the virus particles on them. They are not absorbed through the skin. We must then take our contaminated hands and inoculate our eyes, mouth or nose with the infections. By the way, the eyes are the best source for direct inoculation of infections.

As such, if I could give one take home message it is this: DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE.  Avoiding touching your face is the number one thing you can do to avoid cold and flu infections of all varieties.

by Rambod A. Rouhbakhsh, MD, MBA, FAAFP, FASLMS Site Medical Director, Legacy Medical Group - Lake Oswego/West Linn/Canby/Woodburn Primary Care Physician, Legacy Medical Group – Lake Oswego 412 A Ave., Suite 200 503.635.2496

Healthy MOM™ is brought to you in partnership with Legacy Health.

Congratulations Nichole Paulson - winner of the Turkey Blooper Contest.

Nichole shared her best turkey blooper: "When I cooked my first turkey, I thought I would be real cool and try one on the barbeque. It turned out great. It was a beautiful golden brown. My parents were over and as my dad was carving the turkey, he called me into the kitchen and brought it to my attention that I had left all of the giblets sealed in the bag, inside the turkey. Noone had ever told me to check both ends!"

Thank you Nichole and Congratulations! Read more great Turkey Bloopers, and to add your own, visit this post. Click here

It is that time of year that we give thanks.  We are thankful for our children, homes, and family. 

I am particularly thankful for what I have received, love, family, and good friends.   It is not always easy to remember the good things that we have, especially when life is pelting us with lemons.  Please take heart.  Make the best decisions that you can with what you have.  You will come out the other end with new found knowledge and courage.

Money MOM

Saturday night I attended the Retread Threads fashion show at the Corvallis Artisans Market featuring Cosmic Chameleon, a new resale and artisan consignment shop downtown.

Here is one of the owners, Nikki, modeling some of the CC fashions:

and her adorable daughter:

I LOVE Cosmic Chameleon for many reasons, and am thrilled to have them as a new advertiser in the holiday issue of MOM.

If you haven't visited Cosmic Chameleon (next to Downtown Dental on SW 2nd St) - I strongly encourage you to. They have such a funky and cool mix of clothing for adults and kids - there really is something for everyone there. They also feature handmade goods from local artisans, so you can always find something unique. The store is completely kid friendly, as Joyelle and Nikki are moms themselves. And the best part - a portion of their proceeds go to local non-profits. Stop in, support a local mom-owned business, and pick up something super cool!

Our FIRST ISSUE features BIRTHDAY PARTIES.  We want to know about your great Birthday party.  Where was it?  What was so great about it?  Do you have pictures to share?  Who made the cake?  Email rachel@mommag.com.

Mom Magazine was at Kadlec Regional Hospital's Halloween party for kids at their new pediatrics ward on the fifth floor of the hospital last Saturday.  A fun time was had by all and lots of healthy treats were given out:  granola bars, orange juice, fruit roll-ups, trail mix, just to name a few.  For those who haven't seen this amazing new facility, it is difficult to describe with mere words (part of the reason we are including a few photos).  The thoughtfulness that went into the design is nothing short of extraordinary.  Quite simply, everything there is designed around one theme: making child patients and their families as comfortable as possible during their stay.  The entire ward is based on an underwater theme complete with many huge fishtanks; each room has a undersea creature theme complete with murals on the ceiling, there is a family meeting room complete with a kitchen and laundry facilities where families of child patients can spend time with them; and there is a high tech computerized library where parents can do research or work while visiting.  This is a truly world class children's facility that the community can be proud of; especially proud since it was entirely funded locally with private donations![gallery link="file"]

"Patients are calling our office in mass quantities these days with very similar questions regarding the flu. I listened to this NPR report this morning on 'Morning Edition' and found it to be both helpful and informative. It may save you the hassle of trying to get through the doctor's busy phone lines! Although, if ever you still have questions you should always call." ~ Dr. Dickson, Samaritan Health Services

Listen now! Boost your Flu I.Q. Link to NPR site for story.