Who Should Get Vaccinated Against Influenza

Flu season is approaching once again.  I know there are people who say they don’t need to be vaccinated.  The very young and elderly are the most susceptible to complications from the flu that leads to hospitalization or even death.  Unless you fall into one of the categories listed below, please get immunized for those around you, if not for yourself.

The following information comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/whoshouldvax.htm

Everyone older than 6 months is recommended for flu vaccination with rare exception. The following lists include all people recommended to get the flu vaccine, those who are not recommended to receive either the flu shot or the nasal spray vaccine, and those who should take certain precautions before getting vaccinated. Talk to your doctor or nurse if you have any questions regarding which flu vaccine options are best for you and your family.

All persons aged 6 months and older should be vaccinated annually, with rare exceptions.

Vaccination to prevent influenza is particularly important for persons who are at increased risk for severe complications from influenza, or who are at high risk for influenza-related outpatient, emergency department, or hospital visits. When vaccine supply is limited, vaccination efforts should focus on delivering vaccination to the following persons (no hierarchy is implied by order of listing):

·       are aged 6 months through 4 years (59 months);

·       are aged 50 years and older;

·       have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, neurologic, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);

·       are immunosuppressed (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus);

·       are or will be pregnant during the influenza season;

·       are aged 6 months through 18 years and receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection;

·       are residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities;

·       are American Indians/Alaska Natives;

·       are morbidly obese (body-mass index is 40 or greater);

·       are health-care personnel;

·       are household contacts and caregivers of children aged younger than 5 years and adults aged 50 years and older, with particular emphasis on vaccinating contacts of children aged younger than 6 months; and

·       are household contacts and caregivers of persons with medical conditions that put them at higher risk for severe complications from influenza.

Special Consideration:

·       People who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to eggs, or who have a severe allergy to any part of this vaccine, may be advised not to get vaccinated. People who have had a mild reaction to egg—that is, one which only involved hives—may receive the flu shot with additional precautions. Make sure your healthcare provider knows about any allergic reactions. Most, but not all, types of flu vaccine contain small amount of egg.

The following groups should not receive the flu shot (TIV):

·       People who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to influenza vaccine.

·       People with a history of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called GBS) that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine and who are not at risk for severe illness from influenza should generally not receive vaccine. Tell your doctor if you ever had Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Your doctor will help you decide whether the vaccine is recommended for you.

·       People who are moderately or severely ill with or without fever should usually wait until they recover before getting flu vaccine. If you are ill, talk to your doctor about whether to reschedule the vaccination. People with a mild illness can usually get the vaccine.

The following groups should not receive certain types of flu shots:

·       People under 65 years of age should not receive the high-dose flu shot.

·       People who are under 18 years old or over 64 years old should not receive the intradermal flu shot.

The following groups should not receive the nasal spray vaccine (LAIV):

·       Adults 50 years of age and older or children from 6 through 23 months of age. (Children younger than 6 months should not get either influenza vaccine.)

·       People who have ever had a severe allergic reaction to eggs. People who have had a mild reaction to egg—that is, one which only involved hives—may receive TIV (not LAIV) with additional precautions. Make sure your healthcare provider knows about any allergic reactions. Most, but not all, types of TIV flu vaccine contain small amount of egg.

·       People who have had a severe reaction to the vaccine in the past.

·       People with asthma and children younger than 5 years with one or more episodes of wheezing within the past year.

·       Pregnant women.

·       Anyone with certain muscle or nerve disorders (such as seizure disorders or cerebral palsy) that can lead to breathing or swallowing problems.

·       Anyone with a weakened immune system.

·       Anyone in close contact with someone whose immune system is so weak they require care in a protected environment (such as a bone marrow transplant unit). Close contacts of other people with a weakened immune system (such as those with HIV) may receive LAIV. Healthcare personnel in neonatal intensive care units or oncology clinics may receive LAIV.

·       Children or adolescents on long-term aspirin treatment.

·       People with a history of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (a severe paralytic illness, also called GBS) that occurred after receiving influenza vaccine and who are not at risk for severe illness from influenza should generally not receive vaccine. Tell your doctor if you ever had Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Your doctor will help you decide whether the vaccine is recommended for you. Tell your doctor if you have gotten any other vaccines in the past 4 weeks.

·       Anyone with a nasal condition serious enough to make breathing difficult, such as a very stuffy nose, should get the flu shot instead.

·       People who are moderately or severely ill with or without fever should usually wait until they recover before getting flu vaccine. If you are ill, talk to your doctor about whether to reschedule the vaccination. People with a mild illness can usually get the vaccine.

How to Build a Team

If you’re new to network marketing or have been struggling trying to build a team, there are techniques that may help you get started.  The number one thing that many affiliates get wrong…  Share the business opportunity, don’t sell it! To share your opportunity, your goal is to direct prospective affiliates to a website.  If you have a good website, your site will sell the business for you!  All you have to do is get them there! You can, of course, promote your websites online in myriad places, and you can  do so FREE.  You need not pay to advertise your business online.  That is not to say that you should never do so, but at least at the beginning, you don’t want to spend money you have not yet earned, so take advantage of the countless ways to market your business at no cost.    Offline, you can drive people to your website by joining local business networking groups, distribute flyers or place free or low-cost ads in local newspapers. If you are giving more than a 30 second summary and an invitation to visit your site to your prospects, you are wasting your time.  Instead, keep your summary very brief and allow your websites do the work. The main benefit of directing people to your websites is that it takes you out of the role of salesperson.  Your websites are excellent tools to professionally inform prospects about the opportunity you are offering.   Your websites will provide nearly all the answers to your prospects’ questions.  However, the role of your websites is not to explain every little detail about your business. So after reviewing the initial information, if they want to know more, you can answer their additional questions on your next contact.     After reviewing your websites, your prospects will either be interested in learning more - or not.  Since they will learn about the business through your website, you don’t have to pressure them.  If they want to join, they will tell you.     The difference between outright selling and this approach is that you are simply encouraging them to learn all about your company, the opportunity and your products.  After reviewing the information, if they are interested in taking the next step, they have basically sold themselves. By utilizing this method, your goal is to have your prospects commit to reviewing your website.  Relationship building is the best way to achieve that goal.  By developing a relationship with your prospect first, you can identify the reason they want a home business; then you can offer them your solution. If your prospects start to ask questions right after you have referred them to your site, simply refer them again to the websites.  I usually say jokingly, “My website explains it better than I do.” Or, you can say, “That’s a great question and everything will be explained on my website.”   If the prospect does not follow through and visit your website, you would not want them on your team anyway!  One of the biggest mistakes a new Network Marketer makes is creating an interest with a prospect and not following-up.  Be sure to arrange for a follow-up appointment with them or just call them after a few days. If they are very interested, they may well contact you first. Never attempt to force information on your prospects.  Again, build the relationship first so they will be open to hearing what you have to share.  You can’t recruit every prospect, and if you are “pushy” about trying to do so, you may lose your potential friendship and even damage your reputation. If your prospects are reluctant to accept your information, accept their decision, and move on.

************************

Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle

 

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare® Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  

Are You Taking Advantage of the Power of Social Media Branding?

I recently spent some time reading over some statistics about social media branding.  Knowing these statistics can guide us to know which sites are the most active, what age groups participate on various sites and much more.  I’d like to share a few of these stats. 

·        If your product or service is best for a particular gender or age groups, it may be beneficial for you to know that 71% of all females use social media, while 62% of males use social media.    The largest age group that is active on these sites is between 18-29 years of age at 83%.  Of those who are 30-49 years old, 77% use social media.  Fifty-two percent are in the 50-64 age groups, while only 32% are 65 or older. 

·        To capture the largest audience, it can definitely help to know the time of day that the most people frequent various sites.  These times may vary, but in general, these are the high-traffic times for the most popular social media sites.  

o   Facebook: Traffic is highest between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET;

o   Twitter, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET is best;

o   Google+ has the most traffic between 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. ET;

o   On Pinterest, Saturday morning is the very best time to post, but between 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET there is also high traffic. 

o   LinkedIn: It is best to post here before or after business hours.  The best times are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET or 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET 

·        80% of active users on Pinterest are female, and 50% of those have children. 

·        Among marketers who use social media for their business, 85% do so for increased exposure; 69% strive to increase their website traffic; 58% use it to generate leads; 55% believe social media will improve their search engine ranking; 46% reduce their marketing expenses using these sites; and 40% prefer social media marketing to improve their sales. 

·        Social networks now reach 82% of the world’s internet population. It may be helpful to consider that 133 million Americans read blogs regularly; Facebook has 800 million active users; two-hundred-thirty million people are on Twitter; and LinkedIn users now total 135 million. 

I read about far more numbers than these, but there were dozens of pages, so I’ll limit this post to these few.  By studying these statistics, you may wish you adjust your social media marketing.  Posting at different times than when you have been or on different social media sites.  I plan to do so to determine if the changes reflect increased traffic and/or sales.

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Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle

 

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare® Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  

Really? You're not a member of IBOToolbox yet?

I joined IBO Toolbox two years ago today, so it was a nice “anniversary” gift to be selected its Featured Member of the Day (FMOD) on this particular date.

I have been chosen FMOD several times since joining, and I am very pleased each time.  I am glad to see that by simply helping others to promote their businesses and promoting my own, my activities are acknowledged with the FMOD honor.

Interestingly, this is the second time in a row I was chosen as FMOD on a Sunday.  I normally do not visit IBOToolbox on Sunday’s.  I wouldn’t have even known I was selected had I not received so many email alerts about private messages I received on IBO.

IBOToolbox has been driving traffic to my websites consistently almost from the beginning.  For those who are new to the platform, it is important for you to realize that only consistent activity on the platform produces results.  The more active we are, the more associates we acquire; and those associates help us promote our businesses while we help them promote theirs.

I participate on a few different forums and social media sites, but on no other forum have I felt the connection I do with my IBO friends.  “Do unto others…” is the way IBO associates think and behave.  There simply is no other site that compares.

I am grateful to all my wonderful IBOToolbox associates for their support and friendship. 

If you too would like the benefits and enjoyment of IBOToolbox, you can join the platform here:  http://www.ibotoolbox.com/invited.aspx?jid=11454

************************

Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle

 

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare® Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  

How to Build a Network Marketing Team

If you’re new to network marketing or have been struggling trying to build a team, there are techniques that may help you get started. 

The number one thing that many affiliates get wrong…  Share the business opportunity, do not sell it!

To share your opportunity, your goal is to direct prospective affiliates to a website.  If you have a good website, your site will sell the business for you!  All you have to do is get them there!

You can, of course, promote your websites online in myriad places, and you can do so FREE.  You need not pay to advertise your business online.  That is not to say that you should never do so, but at least at the beginning, you do not want to spend money you have not yet earned, so take advantage of the countless ways to market your business at no cost.   

Offline, you can drive people to your website by joining local business networking groups, distribute flyers or place free or low-cost ads in local newspapers.

If you are giving more than a 30 second summary and an invitation to visit your site to your prospects, you are wasting your time.  Instead, keep your summary very brief and allow your websites do the work.

The main benefit of directing people to your websites is that it takes you out of the role of salesperson.  Your websites are excellent tools to professionally inform prospects about the opportunity you are offering.   Your websites will provide nearly all the answers to your prospects’ questions.  However, the role of your websites is not to explain every little detail about your business.  So after reviewing the initial information, if they want to know more, you can answer their additional questions on your next contact.    

After reviewing your websites, your prospects will either be interested in learning more - or not.  Since they will learn about the business through your website, you do not have to pressure them.  If they want to join, they will tell you.    

The difference between outright selling and this approach is that you are simply encouraging them to learn all about your company, the opportunity and your products.  After reviewing the information, if they are interested in taking the next step, they have basically sold themselves.

By utilizing this method, your goal is to have your prospects commit to reviewing your website. Relationship building is the best way to achieve that goal.  By developing a relationship with your prospect first, you can identify the reason they want a home business; then you can offer them your solution.

If your prospects start to ask questions right after you have referred them to your site, simply refer them again to the websites.  I usually say jokingly, “My website explains it better than I do.” Or, you can say, “That’s a great question and everything will be explained on my website.”   If the prospect does not follow through and visit your website, you would not want them on your team anyway! 

One of the biggest mistakes a new Network Marketer makes is creating an interest with a prospect and not following-up.  Be sure to arrange for a follow-up appointment with them or just call them after a few days. If they are very interested, they may well contact you first.

Never attempt to force information on your prospects.  Again, build the relationship first so they will be open to hearing what you have to share.  You cannot recruit every prospect, and if you are “pushy” about trying to do so, you may lose your potential friendship and even damage your reputation.

If your prospects are reluctant to accept your information, accept their decision, and move on.

************************

Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

 

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle

 

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare® Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.  

ID Theft - of Your Health?

I frequently hear people say that they have no need for ID Theft Protection, like LifeLock®, because they don’t use credit cards.  They don’t seem to realize that credit card theft is not the only way a thief can steal your identity, and perhaps ruin your life. ID Theft is one of the worst and fastest growing crimes today.  Its victims’ lives can be virtually destroyed.  However, what I don’t believe many people think about when they reflect on ID theft is that even their health records can be stolen. Today, in most doctors’ offices, it is likely that at least some of your private information - from your social security number, details of your last blood tests, your last mammogram to your family history – is stored electronically.  My personal physician walks around with a laptop to refer to my records, not a chart as he used to do.  All my records are neatly stored in that computer.  What if the laptop ended up in the wrong hands? The staff might even take my records – or yours - home on a flash drive.  Doctors also use smart phones, receiving, inputting and sending patient records over cell phone lines. There have been security measures put in place, passwords required to access the information, but as we know, computers are not 100% secure, no matter what measures are taken. According to a report by the Ponemon Institute, a Traverse City, Michigan-based firm that conducts research about privacy and security: •Health data breaches have grown nationally over the past few years by 32%.  Not because of blatant stealing of records by employees, but rather, because of employee negligence and lack of oversight. •72 organizations were surveyed, and nearly all reported that they had at least one incident of lost or stolen medical information in the previous year. •Of the four out of five doctors who claim they use smart phones, over half reported they are not taking precautions to encrypt information. •According to the report by Ponemon Institute, there are three main causes for data breaches.  1) Lost or stolen computing devices, 2) Unintentional release of information by contractors; and unintentional employee action. •Of those who responded, more than half reported they had little or no confidence that their particular system would be able to detect allbreaches. Throughout the U.S., medical records of more than 19 million people have been reported breached since September 2009.  (That is when the new federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health – HITECH - Act increased the penalties for providers whose data are stolen, lost or otherwise breached, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights.)  Plus, thousands of smaller breaches occur annually. A Detroit-area woman recently filed a lawsuit after a transcription service inadvertently put her medical information on the Internet, her name, medical record number and diagnosis of "cervical dysplasia secondary to HPV (human papillomavirus)," according to the law suit. Let’s say someone gained access to your health insurance card and visited a physician.  That person is then diagnosed and treated for diabetes using your insurance card.  From that point forward, every time you see a physician or visit a hospital, you will have that diabetes diagnoses in your medical records, which may well cause treatment that could result in injury or even your death – because you don’t truly have diabetes.  Once your medical records are breached, it is nearly impossible to get them reinstated to their original state.  This is a Crime that may well go unnoticed, until it is too late.  It isn’t clear how often medical information is misused; a person who steals an ID to get prescription drugs might slip through for years unnoticed. A stolen laptop with patient data might be reported to local police, but never be linked to fraudulent billing in another jurisdiction. According to Pam Dixon, founder of the California-based World Privacy Forum testified before Congress on the subject of medical ID theft, reported that medical information is worth $50 on the street, compared to $1 or $2 for a Social Security number.  There are few safeguards for medical ID theft.  If you are one of those people who believe they have no need for ID Theft Protection, think again.  Your financial life, your credit, and yes, even your life and health can be ruined without this protection. My company, Xpress Healthcare, offers a Lifestyle Select Discount Plan, which includes LifeLock® for only $19.95 per month for your entire immediate family in your home!  Prior to having this plan, I paid $12.95 for myself and another $12.95 for my husband for ID Theft Protection.  Now, both of us are covered for $5.95 less than we were paying before, PLUS the Lifestyle Select Discount Plan includes discounts on Pet Care, Roadside Assistance, Legal Access and more at no additional cost!  If you don’t have ID Theft Protection, please look at our plans at http://ibourl.net/EverydaySavings.  Even if you already have protection, please compare our coverage and the cost of our plan.  Perhaps you can save money and get an even better protection using LifeLock®. Please don’t risk losing everything!  It could happen to you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The source for some of this information was found here: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-02-12/Data-breaches-put-patients-at-risk-for-identity-theft/53065576/1 ************************ Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more athttp://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).   Please visit my Facebook Page athttp://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle   To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare™ Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.

Which is the Best Cell Phone Carrier

Some people absolutely love their cell phone carrier and believe theirs is the best available.  However, many factors go into selecting a cell phone, and there simply is no ONE best carrier.

 

The most important thing to look at when selecting a carrier is your location. Every carrier will have “gaps,” with no reception is certain specific areas.  Look at a map of each company’s coverage to be certain they have good coverage where you live and work. You may want to ask your friends, family and neighbors who live in the area which carrier they use.

 

If you travel into different countries, you should be sure the carrier supports GSM technology.  There are devices to get around this if your phone does not have GSM, but I won’t get into that here.  Some companies strictly operate in the United States or in other countries, not worldwide.

Because the smartphones we use today, making phone calls is only one thing we use them for.  So, you must consider data speeds which enable your phone to download apps, send and receive emails, access the internet and more.  Like voice coverage, data coverage too varies by location and strength. 

Exactly how you plan to use your cell will help you determine which plan you choose from whichever carrier you decide upon.  How many calling minutes will you need?  How much data comes with the plan?  Choose your plan based on these factors, and be sure to consider price.  Remember that taxes and fees will be added to the plan.  Don’t spend more than you can afford or purchase a plan that offers more services than you will use.

Plan contracts are still the norm for the moment, but prepaid carriers are just beginning to expand.  There is a possibility that the major carriers will offer pre-paid service in the near future.  With a contract, you usually receive a great discount on the phone itself up front.  Keep in mind though that you’ll be paying for that plan for the contracted amount of time – even if you decide later that you don’t like that particular phone.  I have also read that T-Mobile has a hybrid that combines the two concepts. I don’t know all the details, but it is another thing to consider.

Be sure to read the terms of the plan’s contract.  You may think you’re getting unlimited calling, some companies actually limit when you can call or charge more for calls made a certain days and times.  The same applies for texting and data plans.  So read the terms carefully. 

There are phones that are available only with one carrier.  The iPhone and Samsung Galaxy can be purchased from different carriers, but that does not mean their customer service or plans will be the same.  Don’t purchase a phone strictly because you love it without considering the points above. 

Customer service, unfortunately, is unpredictable.  Some people may have a wonderful experience with one company about which someone else tells a horror story.  There really is no way to be certain customer service will be good.  If it turns out to be poor service after you have signed your contract, be your own advocate to acquire the service you expect.

Many people today have eliminated land line phones from their homes.  It is rather interesting, because in decades past, we kept adding more extension phones to our home lines to enable us to access our phones wherever we are in our home.  Apparently that is no longer the case.  I have heard, however, that it is a good idea to keep a land line in case of emergencies.  Cell phone services may not be available if there is a disaster.  Something else I just read today is that during a crisis, if you have a cell phone that works, send a text message to your loved ones to let them know you’re all right instead of tying up cell service that first responders may need.

I’m sure there is a lot more we want to consider when purchasing a new phone and carrier.  This post is intended to address the basics.  I hope some readers find it helpful.

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Learn how to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more at http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).

Please visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle

To learn about Julie Klein and how you can be successful in network marketing, look at the Xpress Healthcare™ Business Opportunity at http://joinxpresshealthcare.com.